backstretch workers

The New York Race Track Chaplaincy (NYRTC) will honor Tracy and Todd Pletcher for their generous and continued support of the New York backstretch community at its 16th Annual Fundraising Brunch, which will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 16 at the Saratoga National Golf Club in Saratoga Springs, New York. "This honor means the world to Tracy and to me," said Todd Pletcher. "Our record reflects a team effort and the members of the backstretch are key members of our team. The New York Chaplaincy does great work serving those...

Long before Shannon Arvin made headlines as the first female president and CEO of Keeneland and Jessica Paquette was named the first female full-time announcer at a major racetrack, Jenine Sahadi was breaking barriers as the first female trainer to win the Breeders' Cup. However, unlike the others, Sahadi made her mark and stepped away at the peak of her career. She now devotes herself to making a difference on the backstretch as the president of the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation. More than two decades into her time with the...

The Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy will host their 20th annual Race for Grace, a dinner and fundraising event to support the ongoing work of the chaplaincy, on Monday, May 2 at 6:00pm. As a kickoff to Kentucky Derby week, the event will be held on Millionaires' Row in the clubhouse at Churchill Downs. Nationally-recognized pastor Bob Russell will be the keynote speaker of the event and Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day will be the Master of Ceremonies. "20 years ago, we said let's do this thing called the Race...

In collaboration with Northwell Health, the New York Racing Association and the Backstretch Employee Service Team, a new health clinic will open for Belmont Park workers, it was announced Wednesday. The $200,000, 1,000-square-foot health clinic will provide a continuum of care and offer wellness programs for the thousands of backstretch workers at Belmont Park. The free program is part of Northwell's commitment to providing equitable care to all New Yorkers. "Clinics like this one are important because they allow quick access to care, before health issues become health care emergencies,"...

While racing seems to be scrambling for any piece of positive public perception it comes across, Sally Jane Mixon has a vision. She wants to save the lives of people across the country, and she wants to do it by bringing them to the backsides of racetracks to work with retired racehorses. "Mental health is a huge crisis right now everywhere you go," Mixon said. "The hope is to bring people who maybe have a bad taste in their mouth for racing and they'll come and work with off-track Thoroughbreds...

SUNY Empire State College and the NY Race Track Chaplaincy have reached an agreement that will allow the chaplaincy and the people that they serve, including he backstretch community, jockeys, and trainers, as well as family members who reside in their households, to participate in SUNY Empire's corporate and community partner benefits program. The agreement will provide eligible participants with a $50 orientation fee waiver and one-time $100 Better Together Scholarship. The partnership will also allow the two groups to identify areas of training that may be evaluated for college-level...

Level Playing Field, a sports documentary series featuring a range of stories that illuminate how public policies have contributed to inequities in the sports landscape, kicks off Sept. 14. Produced by Vox and Vox Media Studios, the series will be available on HBO and to stream on HBO Max. Included in the four-part series is "Down the Backstretch," which airs Tuesday, Sept. 28 from 8-8:30p.m. ET. The episode explores how the recent shift in United States immigration policy towards Central America impacted the horse racing industry. With laborers from Latin...

Blue Grass Farms Charities, Inc., (BGFC) received a $7,247 grant from the Honorable Order Kentucky Colonels (HOKC) to purchase 1,000 backpacks for farm and track workers' children--Kindergarten through Middle School--for the 2021 school year. In total, the HOKC will award $2.1 million in grants supporting 275 non-profits, impacting close to 3.7 million Kentuckians. "When HOKC Trustees met with grant applicants this year, we were reminded how hard the pandemic has made life harder for many folks, from first responders in community service charities to the clients themselves," said HOKC Commanding...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor issued a joint temporary final rule published Tuesday in the Federal Register that offers 22,000 additional H-2B visas to employers for the second half of the federal fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, 2021. The visas, used by employers such as racehorse trainers seeking seasonal guest workers, are capped at 66,000 annually, with an even split of 33,000 available for each half of the federal government's fiscal year. Six thousand of these supplemental visas will be reserved for nationals of...

Woodbine Entertainment will host a pop-up COVID-19 Vaccine clinic at Woodbine Racetrack, which is located in a 'hot spot', beginning Wednesday at 10 a.m. for the Rexdale Community. The vaccine clinic, which is supported by the North Etobicoke Community Cluster Partners, will operate for a minimum of three days and is open to individuals 18 years and older in 2021 and living in 'hot spot' communities in M9V and M9W. "We are very proud and grateful to be able to host this much needed pop-up clinic at Woodbine Racetrack for...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor have agreed to offer 22,000 additional H-2B visas to employers for the second half of the federal fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. These visas are used by employers, such as racehorse trainers, who seek seasonal guest workers. They are capped at 66,000 annually, with an even split of 33,000 available for each half of the federal government's fiscal year. The additional visas will be made available later this spring or early summer via a temporary final...

by Michael Dubb. Editor's note: The following letter appeared in the March 28, 2021 print editions of the Saratogian and Troy Record, and is reprinted here with their permission. While the pandemic irrevocably changed each and every one of us, perhaps no one will be impacted more significantly in the long term than our children. Mental health and education experts are just starting to reckon with the fallout of this unprecedented "lost year", which resulted in remote learning and isolation from friends and extended family. Most experts agree, however, that...