Congratulations to Aaron West, one of three finalists in the Newcomer Award category of the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards (TIEA), presented by Godolphin. Currently the racing operations manager at Bradley Thoroughbreds LLC, West originally hails from Arkansas, where he was bitten by the Thoroughbred bug at Oaklawn Park. A move to Kentucky followed, as did a graduation from the North American Racing Academy (NARA) after focusing on ground skills and barn management. First a yearling groom at Lane's End Farm, West landed at Bradley Thoroughbreds. He coordinates with owners–making sure everyone is licensed, ensuring silks and papers are in the right spots, and organizing seating on race days; provides updates on breezes; works with trainers on horses' targets; and more.
“Aaron comes to work every day with a can-do attitude,” said Pete Bradley.
Click for the video feature on West done by TIEA.
Other finalists for the Newcomer Award are Robert Cole of FTBOA and Alexis Kolasa of Denali Stud. The Newcomer Award is presented annually to an individual who has been in racing or breeding for under five years and has shown ambition to continue a career in some facet of the Thoroughbred industry while also improving his or her skills and knowledge.
A total of seven award categories will be honored by TIEA for 2020. Maria Cristina Silva of New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) has already been announced as the winner of the Community Award, while the winners in the other categories will be announced live in a virtual ceremony hosted by Jill Byrne and streamed at the TDN homepage Thursday, Nov. 5, at 12:00 p.m. ET. All finalists will be spotlighted in TDN in the days leading up to the ceremony.
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