For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jade Eisenzimmer
(859) 224-2702
2019 PETE PEDERSEN “OUTSTANDING STEWARD” AWARDS NOMINATIONS DEADLINE EXTENDED TO SEPTEMBER 15
Lexington, Ky. (July 25, 2019) — The Racing Officials Accreditation Program (ROAP) announced today that the deadline for the 2019 Pete Pedersen Awards has been extended to September 15, 2019. The Pete Pedersen Award is presented annually to stewards who have made important contributions to the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing industries. The award is named in honor of the longtime outstanding steward and noted journalist Pete Pedersen.
Anyone in the horse racing industry can nominate a past or present steward for the 2019 Pete Pedersen Award by going to horseracingofficials.com and clicking on the green “Pete Pedersen Award” banner on the ROAP homepage. The nominator needs to provide a brief résumé of the steward’s career; three letters of reference from track management, a racing commission, and a fellow steward; and additional letters of support from horsemen, jockeys, racing fans, turf writers, and racing officials.
The Pete Pedersen “Outstanding Steward” Award Selection Committee is composed of Hall of Fame Jockey Pat Day, former leading trainer and ROAP accredited steward Hal Wiggins Jr., retired The Jockey Club steward and NYRA track veterinarian Dr. William “Ted” Hill, CHRB Executive Director Rick Baedeker, TOBA President Dan Metzger, Remington and Lone Star Parks President Scott Wells, and University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program Director Wendy Davis.
The recipients will be recognized Tuesday, December 10, at the annual awards luncheon at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program’s Global Symposium on Racing and Gaming in Tucson, Ariz.
Pete Pedersen, for whom the award is named, worked as a steward in California for 50 years before retiring at the age of 85 in 2005. The Seattle native became the second steward to receive the Eclipse Award of Merit, in 2002. He was also the recipient of the Laffit Pincay Jr. Award in 2008 for serving the racing industry with integrity, dedication, determination, and distinction. Pedersen worked at nearly every track on the West Coast, and his reputation for objectivity and kindness is widely known.
A list with bios of previous Pete Pedersen Award winners can be found at https://www.horseracingofficials.com/roap-pete-pedersen-award-recipients.
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The mission of ROAP is to accredit and provide continuing education to all racing officials, stewards and judges in the horse racing industry. By doing so ROAP is enhancing the image and upholding the integrity of horse racing at all levels.
ROAP, which receives primary funding from The Jockey Club and is based in its Kentucky office, is a 501(c)(6) organization whose board of directors is made up of representatives from 17 industry organizations and ten at-large representatives. Stewards and judges receive their accreditation and continuing education credits through this program. The website address for ROAP is horseracingofficials.com.