“Vox Populi” Award
“Horse racing already has established avenues to award outstanding accomplishments, and we certainly should honor superior performance. But achievement can be measured in many ways, and fans occasionally feel a disconnect when the horses who most impacted the public are not recognized through the traditional equine awards. The industry is long overdue in annually acknowledging the star horse who brings the most excitement and attention to the sport. It is my hope that the Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award will be an honor that reflects the heart and soul of racing and will help build upon the devotion the public has for a horse they love.”
~ Penny Chenery, 2010
Rapid Redux wins 2011 Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award!
Rapid Redux
In 2010, the great racemare Zenyatta was celebrated as the inaugural winner of the Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award, which annually recognizes the horse that brought the most excitement and attention to the sport. The new tradition of naming America’s most popular race horse continues with 2011 winner Rapid Redux.
Rapid Redux, who recently set a modern-era record with 22 consecutive wins by a U.S. horse and tied the great Citation with 19 wins in a single season, has been selected to receive the 2011 Secretariat Vox Populi, or “Voice of the People,” Award. The award recognizes the horse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the American public and gained recognition for Thoroughbred racing. Although all of this year’s Vox Populi nominees received generous support, the 5-year-old chestnut colt ultimately emerged as the top choice across the board of the three determining bodies – online voters, the Vox Populi Committee and Mrs. Penny Chenery, who established the award last year. Among thousands of online voters from more than 30 countries, 39% chose Rapid Redux, while the other contenders — Goldikova, Havre de Grace and Uncle Mo — split the remaining votes.
“The goal of thoroughbred horse racing is to win races,” said Mrs. Chenery. “In each race, no matter what amount of money the winner receives, what the distance of the race or the surface it is run on, one horse wins. And that’s what we are all trying to do with our stable – win races so that feed bills can be paid and the costs of keeping the endeavor afloat can continue. Thousands of races are staged in America every year for every level of competition and thousands of horses win them, but rarely the same horse. So for one horse to beat his field 19 times in one year is flat out phenomenal. For that we honor Rapid Redux today. We also honor his people who put him in a position to win each time, a rare and valuable skill. Rapid Redux and his team are a rare blend of ability and prudence. They never ran him over his head and he never failed to pull it off. Well done to all!”
The custom-made Vox Populi trophy was awarded to Rapid Redux’s owner, Robert L. Cole Jr., and trainer, David J. Wells, Jan. 15 at Santa Anita Park in a public ceremony featuring an autograph signing, video presentation, and special guest appearance by Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay.
2011 Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award committee members:
Charlsie Cantey – Long-time national television horse racing commentator
Steve Cauthen – Hall of Fame jockey and 1978 Triple Crown winner aboard Affirmed
Mark Ciardi – Mayhem Pictures, Producer of 2010 Disney Studio’s film “Secretariat”
Ed Seigenfeld – former Executive Vice President at Triple Crown Productions
Eric Wing – NTRA Senior Director of Media Relations
Amy Zimmerman – Executive Producer, HRTV and Producer for NBC and ESPN racing telecasts
For all those who voted, thank you for your participation!
The Secretariat "Vox Populi" Award Trophy
Q & A with Penny Chenery about the Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award
What is the Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award?
“Vox Populi” is an age-old Latin expression that literally means “voice of the people.” The award gives recognition to the horse that generated the most fan response during the year.
What motivated you to create the Award?
Racing has an established award system in place that is fundamentally based on past performance. But there is nothing that honors the horse that best captures the attention and affection of the public. The fans are the life-blood of our sport and their collective “voice” deserves to be heard and formally recognized. In the past decade alone, extremely popular horses like Funny Cide, Smarty Jones, and Barbaro all captivated the imagination of the public but were ultimately left unrecognized in terms of traditional divisional year-end honors. How can we, as an industry, expect the rest of the world to embrace our sport, when we don’t annually honor our most beloved horses internally?
How will the winner of the Award be decided?
Each year the winner will be selected based upon the horse who most resonates with the public and gains recognition for the sport. I envision a democratic process involving a diverse panel of distinguished racing personalities and representatives, from within and outside the industry, working together in unison with the “voice” of the general public. The selection process will involve the utilization of an open on-line poll to help quantify public opinion.
What is the Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award’s relationship to the Eclipse Awards?
Initially none. The Eclipse Awards recognizes the “professional’s” choice based upon the evaluation of statistical track performances. The Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award measures the “public’s” choice and their emotional sentiment. Simply put, the The Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award is not concerned or constrained by who beat whom in which race, the Award reflects who the fans were pulling for. And it is not meant to conflict with the Eclipse Awards but to enhance how we honor our racing heroes.
How will the Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award be presented?
An award that speaks for the public should allow the public to participate in its ceremony. The presentation to 2011 winner Rapid Redux will take place at Santa Anita Park on January 15th, 2012. This will be a wonderful day of races where fans of any age are invited to come and celebrate the winner’s accomplishments and express their affection with the connections.
What is your future vision for the Secretariat “Vox Populi” Award?
I would like it to provide an ongoing platform for the voice of the fans to honor the horses they love, a touchstone for what’s best and brightest within our sport.
