Santagata wins Venezia Award
:quality(75))
Retired jockey Nick Santagata has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Mike Venezia Memorial Award, the New York Racing Association announced Friday.
The Venezia Award is presented annually to a jockey who displays the extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship that personified Venezia, who died as the result of injuries suffered in a spill at Belmont in 1988. Santagata, 69, is the first retired rider to get the honor, which is voted on by a committee comprised of members of the Venezia family, representatives of the Jockeys’ Guild, and retired Eclipse Award-winning rider Richard Migliore.
Santagata will receive the award during a winner’s circle ceremony at Saratoga on Aug. 2.
Santagata won 4,144 races and his mounts earned $74.1 million in a career that spanned more than 30 years. He retired in 2009 and continues to work as a valet in the jockey’s room at NYRA tracks.
“As a jockey and throughout my career, I have always tried to represent the sport to the best of my ability,” Santagata said in a press release. “This award means so much because Mike Venezia was someone I really admired.”