Kiaran McLaughlin will be presented with the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters' Bill Mooney Award for displaying courage in the face of tremendous adversity. McLaughlin, long a leading trainer, has battled multiple sclerosis for more than two decades.
“I'm incredibly honored to receive this award,” said McLaughlin, who currently works as a jockey's agent for Luis Saez.
McLaughlin joins four prior Mooney winners–the award's namesake who died after a long battle with cancer in 2017, retired jockey Joy Scott, retired jockey and owner Rene Douglas and horsewoman Martine Bellocq.
“It's remarkable the way he's handled the adversity of MS all these years; you wouldn't even know it,” said McLaughlin's longtime friend, colleague and fellow former Lukas protege Todd Pletcher. “He's met it head on, never relinquished his pursuit of excellence, whether it was training and now as an agent for Luis.”
McLaughlin will be honored at the NTWAB's 62nd annual Awards Dinner at Malone's Prime Events in Lexington Nov. 2.
Other honorees at the NTWAB Annual Awards Dinner will be Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale (Mr. Fitz Award); Eclipse Award-winning photographer Barbara Livingston (Joe Palmer Award); Chris Lincoln (Jim McKay Award); and Mike Welsch and Tom Pedulla (Walter Haight Award), along with other writing award winners to be announced that evening.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
