Carmouche wins George Woolf Award
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Kendrick Carmouche, the second-generation jockey who has ridden on the New York circuit since 2015, has been named the winner of the 2025 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award after a nationwide vote of his peers, the administrator of the award, Santa Anita Park, announced on Monday.
Carmouche, the son of the Louisiana jockey Sylvester Carmouche, has ridden for 25 years, mostly in Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and New York. He is known for his outgoing relationship with fans and his willingness to volunteer for nearly any cause benefiting riders or horses.
The George Woolf Award is considered one of the highest honors for a U.S. rider, recognizing achievements both on and off the track, by a vote of fellow competitors. The award’s namesake was a popular rider at Santa Anita who died after a fall during a race at the track in 1946.
Raised in Louisiana’s back country, Carmouche began riding professionally at the age of 16, following in the footsteps of his father. He later won seven riding titles at Parx in Pennsylvania before relocating to New York, where he is a fan favorite at Saratoga Race Course and among the town’s charitable community.
“Twenty-five years of living as a professional jockey and living as a son of a jockey, this award means that the pavement I have put down in the industry has been shown to a lot of people and they’ve seen me grow over the years,” Carmouche said in a release announcing the award. “I’m just honored, very honored.”
Carmouche will receive the award during a public ceremony in the winner’s circle at Santa Anita this spring. The date has yet to be decided, Santa Anita officials said.
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