The Virgil "Buddy" Raines Distinguished Achievement Award was established in 1996 by Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey in honor of the trainer, Virgil W. Raines. The annual award honors an owner or trainer competing at the track who has shown a dedication to the sport of Thoroughbred racing through exemplary conduct demonstrating professionalism and integrity.
Recipients 1996 - J. Willard Thompson 1997 - Daniel Perlsweig 1998 - Warren A. Croll Jr. 1999 - Joseph H. Pierce Jr. 2000 - Peter Shannon 2001 - Dennis Drazin 2002 - Sam Fieramosca 2003 - Charles & Marianne Hesse 2004 - Janet Laszlo 2005 - Richard Malouf 2006 - John H. Forbes 2007 - Ben W. Perkins Sr. 2008 - Gerald & Carolyn Sleeter 2012 - John Mazza 2013 - Everett "Ebby" Novak 2014 - Chuck Spina 2015 - Bob Baffert 2016 - Ed Barney 2017 - Bob Kulina 2018 - Mike Musto 2019 - Tim Hills 2020 - Leonard Green 2021 - Bill Anderson 2022 - Millie Fleming References
The 2008 Virgil W. Raines Award at Monmouth Park