Finalists Announced For 2025 End-of-Year Awards

The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association has announced the 2025 finalists for various horsemen and equine awards that will be presented as part of this year’s Renaissance Awards luncheon, which will be scheduled for  this spring.

The Renaissance Awards honor the top owner, trainer, jockey and breeder of the previous year in Maryland, as well as Maryland-bred horses in various categories and other awards for horses that have competed with distinction at Maryland tracks but may not be Maryland-bred.

The MTHA awards process is as follows: A slate of candidates for each category is prepared by several individuals with knowledge of day-to-day racing in the state and through statistics compiled by Equibase. The human categories are Owner, Trainer and Jockey, while the equine categories are Dirt Male, Dirt Female, Turf Male, Turf Female and Claimer of the Year.

The candidates are submitted to the MTHA Board of Directors and selected media memebrs and handicappers, and each member then votes for their top three choices in each category. The MTHA, beginning with the 2022 racing season, added the five equine categories to the overall Renaissance Awards program.

The Backstretch Worker of the Year Award, selected by MTHA staff after trainers are solicited for nominees, also is part of the Renaissance Awards program. 

Based upon discussions by organizers, the Renaissance Awards will be rebranded to a race day luncheon, most likely at the end of March. Details on the event will be announced soon.

The following are the finalists for the three human awards and five equine awards: