MTHA names finalists for awards

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

The MTHA awards process is as follows: A slate of candidates for each category is prepared by three individuals with knowledge of day-to-day racing in the state and submitted to the MTHA Board of Directors. Each member then votes for their top three candidates in each category.

Before last year, the awards for owner, trainer and jockey were voted upon by the broader panel of media members, publicists, journalists and racing officials that votes for the Maryland-bred awards through the Maryland Horse Breeders Association. The MTHA also added equine awards for five categories last year.

The following are the nominees.

OWNER
Mens Grille Racing
Michael Scheffres
The Elkstone Group

TRAINER
Kieron Magee
Brittany Russell
Michael Trombetta

JOCKEY
Jaime Rodriguez
Sheldon Russell
Jevian Toledo

MALE DIRT HORSE OF THE YEAR
Double Crown
Factor It In
Seven’s Eleven

MALE TURF HORSE OF THE YEAR
Nagirroc
Wicked Prankster
Witty

FEMALE DIRT HORSE OF THE YEAR
Fille d’Esprit
Hybrid Eclipse
Intrepid Daydream

FEMALE TURF HORSE OF THE YEAR
Bosserati
Canadian Ginger
Shasta Star

CLAIMER OF THE YEAR
‍Brother Conway
Classier
Uncaptured Storm

To be considered for the owner, trainer and jockey awards, each nominee must have at least 20 starters within Maryland for the calendar year of the award and 50% of starters in Maryland.

The nominees for Maryland-bred awards will be released by the MHBA soon. The breeding industry-related awards are selected by a separate panel. All awards will be presented at the Renaissance Awards dinner.

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