Backside aid group wins award

Dogwood, the racing partnership, has named Jim Greene and Shirley Edwards, founders of the nonprofit Eighth Pole organization, the winners of its annual Dogwood Dominion Award, presented annually to an "unsung hero" in the Thoroughbred industry.

Greene, a trainer, and Edwards, an owner, founded Eighth Pole in 1989 to address health and substance abuse problems on the backstretches of Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park in New England.

In partnership with the Boston Medical Center, Greene and Edwards opened clinics to provide medical care to uninsured backstretch workers. The Eighth Pole also sponsors health fairs at the tracks and brings in volunteers to teach English to Spanish-speaking horse workers.

As part of the award, Greene and Edwards will receive a bronze statue and a cash award of $5,000 at a luncheon in Saratoga Springs on July 31.