T.I.P. Opens Applications for Thoroughbred, Young Rider Awards Until June 30
T.I.P. is taking nominations for two awards that turn retired Thoroughbreds into headline stories, with $5,000 grants and a June 30 deadline.
The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program has opened applications for its two annual non-competition awards, and the clock is already running toward a June 30, 2026 deadline. The online forms are available for the Thoroughbred of the Year Award and the Young Rider of the Year Award, giving owners, trainers, retrainers and families a clear target date to nominate the horses and riders whose post-racing work keeps Thoroughbreds in the spotlight.
The Thoroughbred of the Year Award goes to a horse that has excelled away from the racetrack, including in equine-assisted services, police work and other second careers where athleticism, temperament and intelligence still matter every day. The award carries a $5,000 grant that goes to the nonprofit connected to the horse, or to a horse-related charity chosen by The Jockey Club if no nonprofit is linked to the nominee. That makes the award more than an honor roll entry. It sends money back into the aftercare pipeline that supports the horse’s next chapter.
The Young Rider of the Year Award puts a different kind of spotlight on the breed’s future. It recognizes a rider 18 or under as of January 1, 2026, who owns or leases a Thoroughbred for 4-H, Pony Club or similar activities. The winner is determined through an essay contest, and the award totals $5,000 annually. For young riders, the prize ties the breed’s aftercare story to the next generation of horsepeople, the ones learning how to retrain, manage and present Thoroughbreds in new disciplines.
T.I.P. was created in October 2011 to encourage the retraining of Thoroughbreds after racing or breeding careers end. The Jockey Club says it has reinvested more than $112 million into the Thoroughbred industry since 2010, with another $7 million added this year to bring the total near $120 million, including support for aftercare and second careers. That scale helps explain why these awards matter: they are part of a broader system that keeps the breed visible in show rings, therapy programs, recreational riding and mounted work long after the final start.
The size of that community showed again at the 2025 T.I.P. Championships at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, from Oct. 2-5, where 227 Thoroughbreds competed. The new award cycle now extends that same message into 2026, with one deadline and two honors aimed at proving that the Thoroughbred story does not end at the finish line.
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