Jockey Club opens regulatory veterinarian fellowship, offers loan repayment support

The Jockey Club reopened its Racing Regulatory Veterinarian Fellowship on May 1, putting up to $25,000 in loan repayment behind one of racing’s most difficult jobs: keeping licensed veterinarians in the regulatory lane where they monitor racehorse health, safety protocols and medication oversight.

Applications are due by June 15, with reference letters due June 26, and the 2026 winner will be announced in August. The fellowship, established in 2025, is built for veterinarians working for a government agency, racing commission, racetrack or racing association. The winner is chosen from finalists reviewed by The Jockey Club and a panel of veterinary experts.

The point of the program is bigger than one award. The Jockey Club said it created the fellowship to strengthen the racing regulatory veterinary field and to encourage recent graduates to pursue it. Kristin Werner, deputy general counsel and director of industry initiatives, said the industry faces a serious shortage. “The racing industry suffers from a prominent shortage of equine veterinarians, something we must actively try to change to continue to improve the safety and integrity of our sport,” she said.

That shortage matters because regulatory veterinarians sit at the center of race-day protection. They are the veterinarians checking the horses, helping enforce safety standards and supporting the medication rules that underwrite public confidence in the sport. By tying loan repayment to that service, the fellowship tries to make a high-responsibility career path more sustainable for younger veterinarians carrying heavy debt loads.

The 2026 cycle broadens the applicant pool as well. The original language limited applicants to graduates within seven years of the application date, but the new notice opens the fellowship to all veterinary graduates, with preference given to those within 10 years of graduation. That change gives The Jockey Club a larger pipeline to draw from while still steering the award toward early-career veterinarians most likely to stay in racing oversight.

The fellowship already has a precedent. Dr. Rebecca Butler of the Minnesota Racing Commission won the 2025 award, giving the program an early example of how loan relief can support state-level regulatory work. The announcement also fits a wider workforce problem in veterinary medicine. The American Veterinary Medical Association has reported continuing demand for veterinarians and rising student debt for new graduates, while the federal Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program uses a similar tool to recruit doctors into shortage areas.

The Jockey Club’s Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing, held every August in Saratoga Springs, New York, has become the setting for the fellowship’s biggest moment. That makes the award more than a hiring incentive. It is now part of the sport’s larger effort to protect horses, strengthen oversight and preserve trust in the racing product itself.