A proud graduate of the prestigious College of William & Mary and a former teacher and coach at his hometown high school in Virginia, Ferris Allen III knows the value of education.
Now, the licensed Thoroughbred trainer of nearly 50 years with nearly 2,300 career wins to his credit based at Laurel Park is funding a scholarship program he hopes will help others in their educational pursuits.
The Ferris Allen Bootstraps Scholarship was launched last month by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association with the goal of providing up to $10,000 annually for qualified college or university students.
Qualified candidates include those who have been employed on the backstretch at Laurel Park or historic Pimlico Race Course or worked in another support area of Maryland's Thoroughbred racing industry over the past three years, and are enrolled in a four-year college or university for the fall of 2023.
“The idea behind it is to try to identify serious students that are trying to swing going to a four-year school and to give them a boost to get over the hump and help them so they don't have to incur so much debt to access an American dream,” Allen said. “We realize that $10,000 will not be enough to finance somebody's [entire] education, but it may be helpful enough for someone to keep going or to pursue their education.”
Allen, who serves on the MTHA's board of directors, said the idea for the scholarship stemmed from his desire to help the child of a former stable employee dating back to the early years of his training career, which began in 1976 after teaching government and coaching baseball and basketball for three years at Varina (Va.) High School.
“It could be any industry or any family situation. It's a tough climb. Social and economic circumstances are a huge factor in what kind of chance somebody has at success. This is one little thing we can do,” Allen said. “What we're after here is finding that kid that's affiliated with the backstretch that's trying to pull themselves up by the bootstraps through a college program and say, hey, we're fully supportive of you and here's some help.”
Allen has been a mainstay on the Maryland circuit for more than 40 years, receiving the Outstanding Service to Maryland Horsemen Award in 1990 and leading all Maryland trainers in wins in 1999. Among his many stakes winners are 1999 Barbara Fritchie (G2) winner Passeggiata, Chrusciki, Palette Knife, Miracle Wood and Wicked Awesome. Miracle Wood won four stakes and placed in seven others including seconds in the Jim Beam (G3), Woodlawn (G3) and Fairmount Derby (G3) in 1986, when he also ran fifth in the Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
Applications for the Ferris Allen Bootstraps Scholarship are due Aug. 15 and can be completed at http://ferrisallenscholarship.com.
“I think there's certainly someone out there maybe going into their second year of college and living at home and finding it daunting,” Allen said. “We had a conversation the other day. Kind of the whole purpose of this thing is to find the right person. Yeah, it would be great if the right person finds us, but let's [also] do some real work and make some effort in trying to find them.”
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