Mike Venezia Memorial Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually by the New York Racing Association to honor a jockey who exemplifies extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship. The award was created in 1989 to honor the memory of jockey Mike Venezia, who was killed in a racing accident in October, 1988 at Belmont Park.
The award is determined by voting from jockeys, turf writers and racing fans. The winner is announced in July of each year and at a ceremony held in the fall, each recipient receives a 13-inch bronze sculpture with a title that reads, "The Jockey, A Champion."
Recipients 1989 : Mike Venezia (posthumously) 1990 : Bill Shoemaker 1991 : Chris McCarron 1992 : Ángel Cordero Jr. 1993 : Jerry Bailey 1994 : Mike E. Smith 1995 : Pat Day 1996 : Laffit Pincay Jr. 1997 : Robbie Davis 1998 : Eddie Maple 1999 : Gary Stevens 2000 : Jorge F. Chavez 2001 : Mike Luzzi 2002 : Dean Kutz 2003 : Richard Migliore 2004 : Patti Cooksey 2005 : No award given 2006 : Edgar Prado 2007–2012 : No award given 2013 : Ramon Domínguez 2014 : John Velazquez 2015 : Jon Court 2016 : Mario Pino 2017 : Kendrick Carmouche 2018 : Joe Bravo 2019 : Javier Castellano 2021: DeShawn Parker 2022: Julien Leparoux 2023: Junior Alvarado 2024: Brian Hernandez, Jr.
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