The Jockey Club has announced the recipients of five scholarships to be awarded for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Megan Elcombe has been selected to receive The Jockey Club Scholarship, which provides $15,000 to a student who is pursuing a bachelor's degree or higher at any university and has demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in the Thoroughbred industry. Elcombe is studying veterinary medicine at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine with a graduation date of May 2024.
Carly Schuerger, who will graduate in May 2024 from California State University, San Marcos, with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and a minor in Business Administration, was awarded The Jockey Club Advancement of Women in Racing Scholarship ($20,000). She plans to become a racehorse trainer.
Silke Hoffman is the recipient of The Jockey Club Vision Scholarship ($20,000), which is open to students from a minority racial or ethnic group who are pursuing a career in the Thoroughbred industry. Hoffman is studying veterinary medicine at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine with a graduation date of May 2024.
Xochilt Solorio, a high school senior who plans to attend Northeastern University at the Boston campus in the fall of 2023 to study civil engineering and agriculture studies, is the recipient of the need-based The Jockey Club Benevolence Scholarship ($15,000). Solorio's parents work at Belmont Park; her father is a groom and day watcher and her mother is a hotwalker.
The Jockey Club Jack Goodman Scholarship ($6,000) is awarded annually to a student enrolled in the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program (RTIP). This year's recipient is Ben Atkinson, a junior in the program who has interned in the racing department at Del Mar and who plans to work in racetrack management.
“It is encouraging for our sport that each year we receive a promising and diverse group of candidates for our scholarship program,” said James L. Gagliano, president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club. “This year's applicants were no exception, and we have no doubt that the scholarship recipients will make a great impact on various segments of the industry.”
Applications for the 2024-2025 academic year will open this fall.
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