NYRA Congratulates NYTHA’s Dionne Johnson and Maria Cristina Silva, Thoroughbred Industry Award Winners presented by Godolphin

by Jim Reisler

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) congratulates Dionne Johnson and Maria Cristina Silva of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) for earning 2020 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards presented by Godolphin.

Johnson, NYTHA’s longtime Business Manager, was honored with the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Administration Award. Silva, who is the Backstretch Program Coordinator at NYTHA, received its Community Award.

They were cited among a group of talented and dedicated frontline workers, who, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, “continued their hard work, often requiring endless hours, to provide the care for our equine athletes,” as Jimmy Bell, President of Godolphin in America, said during the ceremony.

"We are extremely proud of Maria Cristina and Dionne,” said Joseph Appelbaum, NYTHA President. “They care so deeply for the backstretch community and it is wonderful for them to be acknowledged with a Thoroughbred Industry Employee Award."

The Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, now in its fifth year in the U.S., were announced Thursday at a virtual awards ceremony hosted by Studio 46 Media in Lexington, KY. It is sponsored by Godolphin in partnership with the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA), The Jockey Club, and Breeders’ Cup.

For more about the program and all the winners, go to https://tiea.org/#awards.