Santagata Honored With Mike Venezia Memorial Award

The New York Racing Association announced July 10 that retired grade 1-winning jockey, longtime NYRA jockey valet, and Brooklyn, N.Y., native Nick Santagata is the 2026 recipient of the Mike Venezia Memorial Award. Santagata, the winner of 4,144 races with earnings of $74,129,642 in a career of more than 30 years, was chosen by a committee comprised of members of the Venezia family, representatives of The Jockeys' Guild and retired Eclipse Award-winning jockey Richard Migliore. Santagata will be recognized and honored during a winner's circle ceremony Aug. 2 at Saratoga Race Course. Santagata, 69, becomes the first retired jockey to earn the Venezia Memorial Award. In addition to honoring his accomplishments as a jockey, the award acknowledges Santagata's decadeslong contribution in mentoring and supporting a generation of riders. He remains a familiar presence at the New York tracks. Santagata galloped horses in the mornings until 2024, and he continues to work closely with riders as a NYRA valet. "As a jockey and throughout my career, I have always tried to represent the sport to the best of my ability," Santagata said. "This award means so much because Mike Venezia was someone I really admired. My family and I look forward to celebrating this award and thanking the Venezia family here at Saratoga Race Course." For Migliore, the 2003 Venezia Memorial Award winner and now with NYRA TV, the award carries on the memory of Venezia, and this year is extra special for honoring his friend, Santagata. "Like Nick, I sat in the jockey's room as a young rider and learned a lot about how to be a professional from Mike Venezia," Migliore said. "That Nick is this year's Venezia Award winner is a testament that the qualities of what it takes to be a top jockey, a horseman, and a mentor are timeless. I can't count the times I've walked into the jockey's room and found him advising a young rider. On behalf of the past winners of this prestigious award, I congratulate Nick. He richly deserves this honor." The Mike Venezia Memorial 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 in 1988. Venezia, like Santagata, was from Brooklyn, and won more than 2,300 races in his 25-year career. "Nick was a 'jockey's jockey'—tough, dedicated and with an enduring love for our sport," said Terry Meyocks, president and CEO of The Jockeys' Guild. "As the winner of the Venezia Award, he joins an elite group of riders, many of them Hall of Famers, who are distinguished as great riders and as role models. We're proud to welcome Nick to this group." One of the most popular jockeys in his day, Santagata said he dreamed as a boy of playing shortstop for the New York Yankees, but turned to the track upon realizing he was better suited to being a jockey. In a career that spanned from 1977 to 2009, he was known as a "traveling rider," who competed primarily at tracks in the Northeast, including Belmont Park, Saratoga, and Aqueduct Racetrack in New York; the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park in New Jersey; Laurel Park in Maryland; and Penn National Race Course and Philadelphia Park (now Parx Racing) in Pennsylvania. Among Santagata's top victories were the Vosburgh Stakes (G1) with Another Reef in 1985 and the Bay Shore Stakes (G2) on Buck Aly in 1986; both races were at Aqueduct, where he captured the Aqueduct winter meet riding title with 62 wins in 1986. His winningest year as a jockey was 1993, with 214 victories and nearly $3.9 million in purse earnings. Santagata rated his best memory on the track as winning his 4,000th race of his career via disqualification in 2006 at Penn National. The Venezia Memorial Award is a 13-inch bronze sculpture with a title that reads, "The Jockey, A Champion." Santagata joins a legendary group of riders who have won the award previously, led by Venezia, who posthumously earned the inaugural award in 1989. Other winners include Bill Shoemaker, Chris McCarron, Angel Cordero Jr., Jerry Bailey, Mike Smith, Pat Day, Laffit Pincay Jr., Robbie Davis, Eddie Maple, Gary Stevens, Jorge Chavez, Mike Luzzi, Dean Kutz, Richard Migliore, Patti Cooksey, Edgar Prado, Ramon Dominguez, John Velazquez, Jon Court, Mario Pino, Kendrick Carmouche, Joe Bravo, Javier Castellano, DeShawn Parker, Julien Leparoux, Junior Alvarado, Brian Hernandez Jr., and the 2025 winner, Irad Ortiz Jr.