The Jockey Club awards five scholarships to grow Thoroughbred workforce
Five Jockey Club scholarships put $76,000 a year into the sport’s next vets, researchers, and managers, with horse safety and staffing at the center.
The Jockey Club did more than hand out academic aid. It put $76,000 a year into the pipeline that keeps Thoroughbred racing staffed, treated, and moving, with five scholarships aimed at students headed into veterinary care, equine research, rehabilitation, and race-track operations.
William Fallon, one of the Jockey Club Scholarship recipients, graduated from Wake Forest University and is headed to Cornell University’s veterinary school after working as a veterinary technician at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute since March 2020. Beverley Grace Goderre, another Jockey Club Scholarship recipient, is taking the award into a more specialized lane, with advanced study at the Ontario Veterinary College and research focused on factors associated with sudden death in racehorses. Goderre plans to graduate from the University of Guelph in December 2026 with a Master of Science in Cardiovascular Physiology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, then continue on to a PhD through December 2030 while serving as an equine teaching herd manager, sessional lecturer, and clinical cardiology assistant.
The other recipients point just as clearly to where the industry needs help. Marilee Herrera is working through a degree in Equine Rehabilitation and Equine Business and Sales, after time in the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program. Julissa Sepulveda, the Benevolence Scholarship recipient, is pre-vet at the University of Kentucky and comes from a family with more than 15 years in the horse racing business. Ciara Dominguez, who received the Jack Goodman Scholarship, is already licensed as a groom in Arizona, works as an assistant trainer, and is using the Arizona racing pathway to move toward bloodstock or farm management.
That mix matters. Racing does not just need more people, it needs the right people in the right lanes: veterinarians who understand the breed, researchers who can spot health risks before they turn catastrophic, and managers who know how to run barns, farms, and backstretches. The Jockey Club opened applications for its paid internship program and its five academic scholarships on November 10, 2025, and the internship program can accommodate up to three interns. The organization also continues to support the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program, which it says is the only program of its kind offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees centered on racing.
The broader workforce push also ties into diversity and access. The Jockey Club became an Ed Brown Partner in January 2024, supporting the Ed Brown Society’s mission to create opportunities for young people of color through mentoring, training, internships, and scholarships. In a sport where staffing, safety, and leadership depth matter every day, this is how the next generation gets built, one vet student, one groom, one analyst, and one future manager at a time.
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