New York Racetrack Chaplaincy | Horse Racing Free Tips

Len Green Issues Challenge Grant in Memory of Wife Lois

Len Green has issued a $25,000 challenge grant to raise money for the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy's Summer Enrichment Program, in memory of his wife, Lois, who passed away May 31.

The Chaplaincy's summer enrichment program provides the children of backstretch workers the opportunity to attend local summer camps when their families travel to Saratoga for work during the race meeting.

“In Hebrew tradition there is a saying which translates to `may her memory be a blessing,' said the Chaplaincy Board President Ramon Dominguez about the gift. “It is up to those of us who knew and loved the person who passed to keep their spirit alive and to remember and share the goodness they brought to the world. This is what Len is doing with this grant. He is honoring and remembering the incredible Lois Green and her love for Thoroughbred racing and the backstretch community. We are humbled and blessed, and we pledge to be worthy of this generosity as we serve those who make racing possible.”

Green said he was inspired by the $10,000 challenge grant issued by the Heider Family Foundation last week. That challenge has been met, raising $20,000 for the program.

“If people want to honor Lois and what she's done, I thought this was a great way to do it,” said Green. “Here, if it can help and other people can do it and pick up on it, just imagine what good it could do for people on the backside! I remember how important summer camp was. Lois used to work on the playground in Red Bank, New Jersey in the summer, with no air conditioning, and I would say, `why would you do that? Why don't you work in an office?' And she'd say, `I'm doing it for the kids.'”

Green said he believed things happen for a reason. “Random things,” he said. “Man plans and God laughs. So many owners never go back to the barns and see what's going on. But I met Chaplain Humberto (Chavez), and he's doing worthwhile things.”

To donate to the challenge, visit the rtcany.org webpage, or click here.

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Heider Family Foundation Issues Challenge Grant for Chaplaincy Summer Enrichment Program

Scott and Cindy Heider and their Heider Family Foundation have issued a $10,000 matching grant to raise money for the New York Race Track Chaplaincy's Summer Enrichment program, the focus of a TDN feature earlier this week.

The Chaplaincy started the summer program 10 years ago to allow families to stay together when racing shifts to Saratoga, sending the children to local summer camp programs while the parents work. “The kids love it,” Humberto Chavez, New York Chaplain for the Race Track Chaplaincy of America told the TDN last week. “They get out of city life and get into the country.”

Scott Heider saw the article, sent it to his wife, Cindy, and the pair decided to jump in and help.

“We race under Heider Family Stables, and we also have a foundation here in Omaha, the Heider Family Foundation,” Cindy explained. “We work with a lot of different organizations, whether it's under-served youth, education, a little bit in the arts, mental health, and over the years have supported some organizations in racing, like the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, programs on the backstretch, Blue Grass Farms Charities, and New Vocations. We like to support the good the work that everyone is doing; they're working really hard, and helping a lot of people working really hard that don't have great support systems. Scott saw the article, forwarded it to me, and we saw that the chaplaincy was doing some great work in the summer program. So between us, we said we should help them a little bit. and then when I talked to (General Manager) Karen (Chavez) today, I said to her, `I don't know if it's helpful to do a match, but if so, this is the time to do it.”

Said Chaplain Humberto Chavez, “We are grateful to TDN for allowing us to speak from the heart about what this program means for our families. The kids have the opportunity to experience the outdoors, make new friends, take on new challenges, and develop confidence in themselves and their abilities. We have found that the impact of participating in the summer program is lifelong and we often hear from the kids, now adults, who have come through the program what a difference it has made in their lives. We are thankful for the widespread support from the industry and individuals.”

Said Cindy Heider, “There are people who don't have access to help, and a lot of people don't want to ask for help. But it's important to reach out to those people, especially the kids.”

Asked why they were moved to give, she said simply, “It's not a why. It's a why not.”

The Heiders will match up to $10,000 that is raised from now through July 6. To donate, visit the Chaplaincy webpage's summer enrichment program page by clicking here.

All donations made up until July 6 will count toward the challenge grant.

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Racetrack Chaplaincy Seeking Donations for Summer Camp Program

The mission of the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy is to better the lives of the some 3,500 people who care for the horses at the NYRA racetracks, which, among other things, means finding an outlet in the summer for the children of the backstretch workers during the Saratoga meet. It's a huge need given the obstacles backstretch families encounter when it comes to how to care for their kids, but the Racetrack Chaplaincy has come up with an answer. Some 10 years ago, the group started the Saratoga Enrichment Program, which places the children of Saratoga backstretch workers into local summer camps during the meet.

“The kids love it,” said Humberto Chavez, New York Chaplain for the Race Track Chaplaincy of America . “They get out of city life get into the country.”

When racing moves to Saratoga, the backstretch workers have to adjust. There is no housing for families on the Saratoga backstretch, which leaves only a few options, one of which is a campground near the track made available by a local church. But that doesn't solve what to do with the children. During much of the rest of the year, they go off to school during the week while their parents work their backstretch jobs. With schools closed during the Saratoga season, parents sometimes have to choose between working or staying home to take care of their children.

“What they do is the mom or dad goes up to work in Saratoga and kids and the other parent stays back home here at Belmont or in Florida or Kentucky,” Chavez said. “That was the only other option. In that case, the family component wouldn't be together. As a chaplaincy, we believe that families need to stay together. Families had traditionally always been very cautious about bringing their kids with them to Saratoga because of the restrictions of the track.”

To have the camp option solves much of the problem. The workers can go about their day knowing that their children are being looked after and having fun.

The chaplaincy has partnered with five camps and accepts children as young as six and as old as 14. Chavez said that in a typical year about 25 kids will sign up for the program.

“The highlight of it last year came with a young girl who had never owned or ridden a bike,” said New York Race Track Chaplaincy president Ramon Dominguez. “We partnered with Saratoga Shredders, which has a youth mountain bike program. They donated bikes for each individual child in our program. They taught this girl how to ride a bike. That was her highlight and our highlight. That's what we're here for, to give them an experience that would be hard to have back home in a city environment.”

The Saratoga Enrichment Program is wholly dependent on donations and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Thoroughbred Charities of America, and NYRA are among those who help out. The group also depends on donations from individuals, and Chavez admitted that donations “have been a little light” this year.

“We get donations from individuals who love what we do and want to give a child a good opportunity to spend a good summer in Saratoga and keep the nucleus of the family together,” Chavez said. “We need people to help. It's for the kids and it helps their mons and dads who are working really hard in the industry.”

To donate to the Saratoga Enrichment Program click here.

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Lois Green of DJ Stables Passes Away

Lois Green, the co-owner of DJ Stables with her husband Len, passed away Wednesday morning, May 31, according to her husband. She was 84.

Green graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Biology. She was a trustee of the Leonard and Lois Green Charitable Foundation.

“Lois was an avid reader of the TDN and was a truly involved horse person,” said Len Green in an email. “Her specialty was the vet work and breeding. She was manager of DJ Stable in the early years. Under her leadership we won two Parx ownership awards and are in their Hall of Fame.”

Wonder Wheel | Coady

Fifteen hundred of the stable's now 2,500 wins came under Lois Green's management, along with seven leading owner titles at different tracks, and the stable's first Grade I winner, Do It With Style, purchased by her son, Jon, for $23,000 at Fasig-Tipton. Len Green had told him he could go to $20,000, and told him to resell the horse; Lois vetoed that decision, and they kept the filly, who went on to win the Ashland at Keeneland.

Green was a certified genius, said Jon, and a MENSA member with an IQ of over 160. She completed a certification course at Cornell on how to assist mares with foaling, learned to fly an airplane, and could fix anything mechanical, he said.

“She was a strong advocate for safety and fair play,” said Len Green. “She named (two-year-old champion filly) Wonder Wheel after her favorite Coney Island ride. She was a credit to the game and will sorely be missed by all who knew her.”

Upon being named TOBA Owner of the Month in November, 2019, Lois was asked about the dynamics of operating a family stable. “Well, fortunately, we've learned how to discuss without arguing and come to conclusions that are the best for the horses and for each other,” she said at the time. “And obviously we don't always agree on everything, but having great trainers to work with and good therapists helps,” she said with a laugh. “Family businesses are always interesting.”

DJ Stables' longtime trainer, Mark Casse, was shaken by the news.

“Tina and I are heartbroken,” he said. “She was just the epitome of class and a lovely, lovely lady. Jon is obviously very involved in racing, as is Len, but I don't think a lot of people realized how much she loved horse racing. After we would win a big race–or any type of race, really–she would call me and we would go over the race in detail. I'm going to miss those calls. I'm crushed. I just wish we could have won the (Kentucky) Oaks this year for her. It's tough.”

Lois Green and Mark Casse | courtesy of the Green Group

Len and Lois Green were married for over 60 years.

She is survived by her children, Jon, the general manager of DJ Stables and his wife Michelle, her daughter Beth, her daughter Debbie and her husband Marty, and grandchildren Carly, Griffin, Robin, Wyatt and Kenny, as well as “adopted family members” Aron Yagoda and Karlene Bauer.

Services will be held Friday, June 2, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Congregation B'nai Israel, 171 Ridge Road, Rumson, NJ.

Anyone wishing to make a contribution in her name should do so to New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program, or to the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy.

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