Dr. Chris Samaha wins 2026 Virgil Buddy Raines Award for backstretch service

Monmouth Park named Dr. Chris Samaha the 2026 recipient of the Virgil “Buddy” Raines Distinguished Achievement Award during its opening-day press event for the track’s 81st racing season in Oceanport, New Jersey, on May 5. The honor, now in its 31st year and presented annually before the season opener, did not go to a headline trainer or a big-name owner. It went to the man who helped build one of racing’s most important pieces of invisible infrastructure.

More than 30 years ago, Samaha founded the Backstretch Community Assistance Program at Monmouth Park, and the program has since grown far beyond its original mission. BCAP began as a substance-abuse program, then expanded into a broader support system for health issues on the backstretch, where many of racing’s essential workers live and work. According to BCAP’s materials, licensed horsemen in New Jersey can use its services at no charge, including counseling for substance abuse and addiction, interpersonal issues, licensing issues, stress management, anger management, and referrals. The program also provides onsite health services such as medical-clinic screenings and flu and COVID-19 shots.

That kind of service matters because the sport is held together by people most fans never see. The grooms, exercise riders, hot walkers, kitchen staff, and barn crews who keep the day-to-day operation moving do not show up in the odds or the post parade, but their quality of life shapes the health of the entire barn area. The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Charitable Organization says its mission is to improve the lives of both humans and horses through programs and services for backstretch workers at Monmouth Park, and Samaha’s work fits squarely into that purpose.

The Raines Award itself carries weight because it has long recognized professionalism and integrity in Thoroughbred racing. It was established in 1996 in honor of trainer Virgil W. Raines, and recent recipients have included John Heims in 2025, John Bowers Jr. in 2024, Pat McBurney in 2023, Bill Anderson in 2021, and Leonard Green in 2020. Samaha’s selection stood out because it centered backstretch welfare and health care, not racetrack results.

That is the real story here. Racing does not survive only on stakes purses and marquee days; it survives because someone is there to help the people who rise before dawn and keep the horses and the barns functioning. Samaha spent three decades doing exactly that, and Monmouth Park’s award recognized the labor that keeps the sport standing long after the cameras leave.