New York Racetrack Chaplaincy

Kim Weir, the Director of Strategic Growth for Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga, received the first Nancy Kelly Volunteer Award for her extraordinary volunteer efforts with the New York Race Track Chaplaincy at a luncheon held Tuesday at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York, the chaplaincy said via a NYRA release on Wednesday. The award is named in honor of the late Nancy Kelly, a former president, vice president and longtime volunteer with the New York Chaplaincy. Kelly passed away in February 2024...

Len Green has issued a $25,000 challenge grant to raise money for the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy's Summer Enrichment Program, in memory of his wife, Lois, who passed away May 31. The Chaplaincy's summer enrichment program provides the children of backstretch workers the opportunity to attend local summer camps when their families travel to Saratoga for work during the race meeting. "In Hebrew tradition there is a saying which translates to `may her memory be a blessing,' said the Chaplaincy Board President Ramon Dominguez about the gift. "It is up...

Scott and Cindy Heider and their Heider Family Foundation have issued a $10,000 matching grant to raise money for the New York Race Track Chaplaincy's Summer Enrichment program, the focus of a TDN feature earlier this week. The Chaplaincy started the summer program 10 years ago to allow families to stay together when racing shifts to Saratoga, sending the children to local summer camp programs while the parents work. "The kids love it," Humberto Chavez, New York Chaplain for the Race Track Chaplaincy of America told the TDN last week....

The mission of the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy is to better the lives of the some 3,500 people who care for the horses at the NYRA racetracks, which, among other things, means finding an outlet in the summer for the children of the backstretch workers during the Saratoga meet. It's a huge need given the obstacles backstretch families encounter when it comes to how to care for their kids, but the Racetrack Chaplaincy has come up with an answer. Some 10 years ago, the group started the Saratoga Enrichment Program,...

Lois Green, the co-owner of DJ Stables with her husband Len, passed away Wednesday morning, May 31, according to her husband. She was 84. Green graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Biology. She was a trustee of the Leonard and Lois Green Charitable Foundation. "Lois was an avid reader of the TDN and was a truly involved horse person," said Len Green in an email. "Her specialty was the vet work and breeding. She was manager of DJ Stable in the early years. Under her leadership we won...

The finalists for the 2021 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards have been announced, including three finalists in six of the seven categories, as well as the winner and runner-up of the Thoroughbred Industry Community Award. This year's Community Award winner is Nick Caras of the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy, with Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association's Diana Pinones as runner-up. While the 2020 awards ceremony was held virtually, the 2021 finalists will be honored during an awards ceremony at Keeneland Oct. 15. The weekend includes travel and accommodation for out-of-town finalists, a tour...