- Nominations open Wednesday 7 October
- New ‘Racing Community Award’ category created to recognise those who have made an exceptional contribution to the racing industry
- Nominations will close on Wednesday 2 December 2015
Nominations will open a week today (Wednesday 7 October) for the 2016 Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards. The Awards, now in their 12th year, recognise and reward the outstanding talent, diligence and commitment of the stud and stable staff who are at the heart of our sport.
Sponsored by Godolphin and run by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) in association with the Racing Post, the Awards offer over £120,000 in prize money, with up to £40,000 available to a single yard or stud. The prizes will be presented in front of an invited audience on the evening of Monday 22 February 2016 at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge, London.
There are five categories dedicated to stud and stable staff including the David Nicholson Newcomer Award, Leadership, Rider/Groom, Stud Staff and Dedication to Racing. This year, in conjunction with Racing Welfare, we are delighted to announce the launch of a new category, the ‘Racing Community Award’. This is a new category to recognise those who have made an outstanding contribution to the racing industry.
The award will acknowledge those who support the stud and stable staff or have made an outstanding contribution to benefit the wider racing community. Nominees for this award do not necessarily need to be employed within the racing industry but are those who contribute to the greater good of the sport. Prize money for this new award will be £5,000 for the winner and £2,000 for each of the two runner-up’s. The same amount of money will be donated to a charity of the successful candidates’ choice.
Nick Rust, Chief Executive of the BHA, said:
“These annual awards are extremely important in giving employers and the industry an opportunity to recognise and reward the outstanding work stud and stable staff do day in, day out. The welfare of Racing’s workforce is core to the health of our sport and with the creation of the Racing Community Award we are delighted to work with Racing Welfare this year to widen the outreach of the Awards to the wider racing community.”
Dawn Goodfellow, Chief Executive of Racing Welfare, said:
“We are delighted to work with the BHA and Godolphin to establish a single industry awards ceremony by incorporating Racing Welfare’s Pride of Racing Awards within the Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards. The Racing Community Award will extend the outreach to cover the wider industry and this award is dedicated to activities not just in the workplace but throughout the racing community.”
Nominations for all the awards are accepted from anyone, so owners, trainers, colleagues and managers can all show their appreciation for hard-working members of staff.
The nomination process is very simple and this year is available to trainers online via the Racing Administration website.
Nominations can be completed online and forms can also be downloaded at stage.britishhorseracing.com/stablestaff and via www.racingpost.com or simply text AWARDS to 07970 527339 and a member of the team will arrange for a form to be sent to you.
Notes to editors:
1. The categories are: Leadership Award, Dedication Award, Rider/Groom Award, Racing Community Award, David Nicholson Newcomer Award.
2. The winner of each of the first four categories will receive a prize of £5,000 with an additional £5,000 also being awarded to the winner’s yard or stud. Two runners-up in each of these categories will win £2,000 each, with the same amount going to their yard or stud.
The winner of the Racing Community Award will receive £5,000, with the same going to a charity of their choice. The two runners-up will receive £2,000, with the same going to a charity of their choice.
The winner of the David Nicholson Newcomer Award will receive £2,000, with the same amount going to their yard or stud, while two runners-up will receive £1,000 each, with the same amount for their yard.
The Awards will also recognise an Employee of the Year, who will be selected from the winners of the first four categories. That winner will receive an additional prize of £15,000, with the same amount going to their yard or stud.
