Nick Santagata becomes first retired jockey to win Venezia Award
Nick Santagata became the first retired jockey to win the Venezia Award, with NYRA honoring his 4,144 wins, $74 million career and steady mentorship at Saratoga.
Nick Santagata became the first retired jockey to win the Mike Venezia Memorial Award, a choice that recognized far more than his 4,144 victories and more than $74 million in earnings. NYRA named the 69-year-old Brooklyn native, a retired Grade 1-winning rider who later worked as a longtime jockey valet, as the 2026 recipient and will honor him at Saratoga Race Course on August 2.
The selection carries unusual weight because it pushes the Venezia Award beyond active-riding achievement and into the daily culture of the backstretch and jockeys’ room. Santagata is still a visible presence around New York racing, and Richard Migliore said he has often found him advising young riders. That steady, hands-on role is what set Santagata apart: the award is meant for sportsmanship and citizenship, but this year it also recognized the institutional memory and mentoring that help the sport function every day.
The award’s history makes that choice especially resonant. Created in 1989, it honors Mike Venezia, the Brooklyn-born rider who won more than 2,300 races in a 25-year career and died from injuries suffered in a spill at Belmont Park in 1988. Santagata shares Venezia’s Brooklyn roots, tying the 2026 honor back to the same New York racing lineage the award was built to preserve.
A committee made up of Venezia family members, representatives of The Jockeys’ Guild and retired Eclipse Award-winning jockey Richard Migliore selected Santagata for the honor. Terry Meyocks and Migliore both highlighted Santagata’s professionalism and his value as a steady adviser in the room, underscoring why this award has become a measure of character as much as results. Recent winners include Irad Ortiz Jr. in 2025, Brian Hernandez Jr. in 2024, Junior Alvarado in 2023, Julien Leparoux in 2022 and DeShawn Parker in 2021, but Santagata’s selection adds a new layer by recognizing a man whose influence continued after he stopped riding. That makes the August 2 ceremony at Saratoga less a farewell tribute than a nod to the people who keep New York racing moving from the inside.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
