Annise Montplaisir

On Thursday, May 7, MGSW United (Giant's Causeway) walked down the ramp of a Sallee Horse Vans trailer and onto the grounds of Bryan Station High School in Lexington, Kentucky. It was his first day of school, and the Bryan Station students' heads could be seen pressed against the glass of every classroom window facing him to catch a glimpse of a horse in their schoolyard. For the next two hours, students came outside to visit United, classroom by classroom, meeting the embodiment of what they had spent the previous...

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame along with Amplify Horse Racing have partnered to launch 'The Winner's Circle Summer Camp', an immersive four-day experience aimed at introducing high school students to the thrilling world of thoroughbred racing, the group announced Tuesday. Taking place Tuesday, July 22 through Friday, July 25, in Saratoga Springs, NY, 'The Winner's Circle Summer Camp' will give participants access to some of the sport's most iconic locations and career opportunities. The four-day camp combines classroom-style learning at the National Museum of Racing and...

Tomorrow's Front Runners is a new TDN series spotlighting young people who got involved with horse racing through Amplify Horse Racing and are now pursing careers in the industry. Amplify is a 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to amplifying education, mentorship and career opportunities for young people in the Thoroughbred industry. Paola Castro was introduced to the world of horse racing two years ago on a visit to Churchill Downs. After touring the backside and the Derby Museum, she swore that she would be back again someday to watch the Kentucky...

Horse racing frequently talks about the importance of fan building, ownership development and growing our workforce. But imagine if the leading organizations in Thoroughbred racing truly joined forces to invest in tomorrow's fans, workforce, and owners. That's exactly what the golf industry did in 1997. The USGA, LPGA, Masters Tournament, PGA of America, and PGA TOUR collaborated to launch First Tee, a youth development non-profit with a mission to make golf accessible and affordable for all children. The USGA alone committed $3 million in the program's first three years--an amount...

Amplify Horse Racing has been named one of three top national awardees of the 2025 CareerViewXR Production Grant, a program developed by CareerViewXR, a division of Be More Colorful, joinging Keystone LifeSci Collaborative and Oklahoma Connections Academy to garner the award out of a pool of applicants from across the country. All three winners will collaborate with CareerViewXR to develop their own custom video-based field trip which connects students with real-world career paths in their communities and beyond. Amplify's video will place a spotlight on the Thoroughbred industry by showcasing a...

Amplify Horse Racing, which promotes education and career opportunities in the Thoroughbred industry for youth and young adults, is accepting applications for the spring 2025 intake of its mentorship program through Tuesday, Jan. 28, the nonprofit said in a release early Wednesday morning. The program offers an introductory step for young people interested in learning more about the Thoroughbred industry by pairing them with experienced professionals who provide valuable career guidance. The spring session will run from Mar. 1 through May 31. The suggested age range for mentee candidates is...

How did we get hooked on this sport? We all have stories about how our love affair developed and blossomed. The TDN will be reaching out to numerous notable people in the industry to get their stories to find out how they got hooked and stayed hooked on the sport. Annise Montplaisir, Executive Director, Amplify I became hooked on racing when I was 12 years old, after watching the 2007 movie "Ruffian." I already loved horses and was avidly involved in the 4-H horse project, but growing up on the...

When Amplify Horse Racing was founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2020, our goal was to engage youth with the Thoroughbred industry. As 2024 draws to a close, I reflect with immense pride on how Amplify isn't just engaging youth with the Thoroughbred industry-we have become the national youth arm of the U.S. industry. By the end of the year, Amplify will have directly reached over 28,000 individuals through classroom lessons, events, interactive activations, and conference presentations. We recently wrapped up one of our busiest programming weekends of the year,...

Amplify Horse Racing has launched its new Impact Campaign, an initiative aimed at raising $1 million to engage youth across the nation with horse racing, the organization said in a press release on Wednesday. The campaign will extend Amplify's reach and impact as the national youth arm of the Thoroughbred industry. Campaign goals include enhancing educational programs through curriculum creation and implementation, and the development of a mobile education unit, just to name a few. "Amplify is doing hugely important work for the industry by cultivating youth and young adult...

by Sara Gordon and Katie Petrunyak How do we guarantee a future for horse racing? Many will offer answers such as increased equine and track safety, improved wagering opportunities, and modernizing and embracing technological advancements. And though those are all extremely important, it will all be for naught if there is no incoming generation to grow the fan base and ultimately, hopefully, join the industry's workforce. That's where Amplify Horse Racing comes in. Founded in 2019 by Annise Montplaisir, now the Executive Director, and Madison Scott, a member of the...

Horse owner Brent Malmstrom told Wednesday's opening session of the annual National HBPA Conference that he has spent more than $620,000 "with no end in sight" on fighting the two-year suspension handed trainer Jonathon Wong after one of Wong's horses became the first to test positive in a post-race sample for the widely prescribed diabetes medication Metformin under the HISA era. The comments came during the opening session of the four-day National HBPA Conference at Prairie Meadows. While Malmstrom doesn't own the horse at the center of the case, he...

Amplify Horse Racing has been named the official mentoring partner of the Horse Racing Women's Summit. The announcement of the partnership coincides with release of "The Amplify Horse Racing Guide to Mentorship," which is designed as a resource to support HRWS members and followers on their own journeys as mentors, mentees, and the pursuit of personal and professional development. "We believe that engaging, elevating and investing in women will transform horse racing," said Jordyn Egan, HRWS Executive Committee member and Amplify Horse Racing board member. "Our official partnership with Amplify...