RTCA White Horse Award Nominations Open

The Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) is seeking nominees for its 19th Annual White Horse Award (WHA), which honor the selfless servants and unsung heroes of Thoroughbred racing. This year's winner(s) will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 2 at Del Mar just prior to the beginning of the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

The White Horse Award is an annual award given to individuals who have done something heroic on behalf of human or horse within the last 12 months. To submit a nomination for this award, visit the RTCA's website here.

The deadline for submission is Sept. 18. For more information, contact the RTCA National Service Center at (859) 410-7822.

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Saratoga Mini-Golf Challenge Leads To A Bonanza For Backstretch Charities

When NYRA TV analysts Andy Serling and Anthony Stabile kiddingly challenged one another to a mini-golf game during the Sunday, July 18 broadcast of Talking Horses at Saratoga Race Course, neither could ever have dreamed the outcome.

The joke quickly gained traction after Serling received a text from Kirk Wycoff of Three Diamonds Farm. “Make it a foursome – two-on-two. Get the losing team to donate $5,000 to New York-based backstretch charities,” Wycoff suggested.

And with that, the on-air challenge became a reality.

More texts and many more donations proceeded to pour in, including $5,000 from thoroughbred owner Louis Lazzinnaro of Nové Italian Restaurant in Wilton, N.Y., who encouraged some friends to give as well. And by the time the mini-golf game ended on Monday, Aug. 2, it had raised $100,000 for New York-based backstretch organizations.

“It's a testament to the generosity of people in horse racing,” said Serling, half of the Serling/Wycoff mini-golf team which took on Stabile and Lazzinnaro amidst the waterfalls and rotating windmill hazards at Goony Golf in Lake George, N.Y. “And it shows what can happen when a lot of people gather and are ready to have some fun, which affords the opportunity to create real benefit. That's one of the beauties of Saratoga, which lends itself very well to that.”

Sharing the donations will be another foursome – the Saratoga-based aftercare organizations Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Old Friends at Cabin Creek; as well as the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America, New York Division, and the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA), which serve backstretch communities in New York.

“The horse racing family is the greatest family in the world,” said Stabile. “While we're competing for the same dollars, we're still a family and when the chips are down, we're there to lift each other up. We're fortunate enough to be able to make our living at the track, so giving a little back to the people and to the horses who keep it going is the least we can do.”

Serling said the unique concept grew thanks to the generosity of Wycoff, Lazzinnaro and a lot of like-minded racing enthusiasts.

“It shows the commitment of people involved in horse racing and the importance of doing something for the workers on the backstretch and the horses, all of whom give so much to us,” he said. “Who would ever have figured that this is where a game of mini-golf would lead?”

Ah yes, the game.

“Kirk Wycoff is one of the greatest mini-golfers I've ever seen,” said Stabile.

Fortified by Wycoff's three holes-in-one, the Serling/Wycoff team defeated Stabile and Lazzinnaro, otherwise known as “Team Nové,” by 15 strokes.

“In this case, it's just fine to be on the short end,” said Stabile. “There's no such thing as a donation that's too small. But raising $100,000 for these great charities? I could never have predicted that – and it comes at an amazing time.”

Stabile refers specifically to the BCCA, where he serves as a member of the advisory board.

“There's never a bad time to donate,” he said. “But given that the BCCA has just opened its Saratoga child care center to go along with the one they operate at Belmont Park, it's great timing.”

Lazzinnaro agreed. “All are superstar organizations,” he said of the donation's recipients. “The people who work there have dedicated their lives to what they do. That's why it's great this worked out.”

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RTCA to Host Seventh Annual Golf Tournament

The Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) will host their Seventh Annual Golf Tournament at Champions Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, KY, home of the PGA Barbasol Championship. All proceeds go to support RTCA National and racetrack Chaplaincies everywhere.

The tournament will begin Monday, Oct. 4, with lunch at 12 p.m. and a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Included in the registration fee are green fees, boxed lunch, a team photo, food after the round and golf gifts. The tournament will be followed by an award ceremony. A host of prizes will be given out for longest drive, closest-to-the-pin, door prizes and other special games. Among those are a chance to win a hole-in-one Grand prize of an all-expenses paid Hawaiian vacation.

To register or request sponsorship information, contact the National Service Center of Race Track Chaplaincy of America at 859-410-7822, or go to https://www.rtcanational.org/events.

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RTCA Golf Tournament Offers Valuable Prizes

Better than $50,000 worth of agricultural equipment will be available to any golfer that registers a hole-in-one during the upcoming Racetrack Chaplaincy of America Sixth Annual Golf Tournament, to be held Oct. 6 at Champions Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky, thanks to Equine Equipment. The proceeds from the event benefit RTCA National and racetrack Chaplaincies everywhere.

In addition to an all-expenses-paid Hawaiian vacation, three additional prizes can be won by anyone who scores an ace. Individual holes on the course will have hole-in-one prizes of a Toro mower valued at $10,000, an Exmark mower valued at $10,000 and the choice of a $35,000 New Holland tractor or skid steer.

“We always try to give back to the horse industry, and there’s no better way to do that than by helping to advance the mission of the RTCA,” said Steve Andersen, founder of Equine Equipment. “We are lucky to have partners like Toro, Exmark and New Holland that can make promotions like this possible. I really hope to be arranging for delivery of a new mower, tractor

or skid steer after someone scores an ace.”

“We are thrilled to add such wonderful prizes to the hole-in-one chances at this year’s tournament”, said Dan Waits, RTCA Executive Director. “It may be a rarity, but this adds

another level of anticipation and every try at the pin will be exciting. Our sincere thanks to Equine Equipment for making this happen.”

Registration remains open for the event. For additional information, contact the RTCA at (859) 410-7822 or visit www.rtcanational.org.

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