What is TIEA?
The Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, know as T·I·E·A or TI·EA (tee-a), is an awards program that recognizes and rewards the outstanding talent, diligence and commitment of the farm and racing stable staff who are at the heart of our sport. TIEA strives to acknowledge those who may never have their name in the program or accept a trophy in the winners’ circle, those who will otherwise never receive recognition for their hard work and dedication to their job and our sport.

There are 7 award categories, with three finalists recognized in six of the categories and a total of $122,000 in prize money awarded!

Who is eligible for the awards?
TIEA is open to anyone who works in the Thoroughbred industry — anyone can nominate, and anyone can be nominated. Nominees must be legal residents of the United States and employed in the United States.

Who can nominate?
Nominations for the Awards can be made by, but are not limited to, trainers, owners, breeders, stable staff, farm, staff, office personnel and office administrators. Nominators can be employers, colleagues, friends or family of the nominee.

When do I nominate?
2024 TIEA nominations will open Wednesday, May 8th and will close at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard time on Sunday, July 14th. The 2024 Awards Ceremony will be held at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky on October 15th.

How do I nominate?
There are three ways to nominate:

1) Nominate online here

▪ You can fill out the essay questions online, OR
▪ Upload a word document or PDF with your answers, OR
▪ Upload an audio or video file answering the nomination form essay questions

▪ Please do not submit an edited video, audio and video files will be transcribed and submitted as a written form

2) Print out and complete the nomination form by hand here

▪ Once completed, submit nomination by mail to:

Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards
2365 Harrodsburg Rd. Suite A 200
Lexington, KY 40504

▪ Scan and email to awards@toba.org

3) Call (859) 977-4655 to nominate over the phone

▪ When nominating over the phone, you will be required to answer all of the questions on the nomination form – please have the form in hand when you call.

Who decides the finalists and winners?
The process for determining finalists is two-fold: first, a short list panel of judges will determine three finalists in all categories as well as the winner of the Community Award; second, a final judging panel will conduct in-person interviews to select the winner of each award category.

The judging panel is comprised of volunteer industry professionals and changes each year. If any conflict of interest arises between a nominee or finalist and a judge in an award category, said judge is recused from performing their duties in that given category.

Who organizes the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards?
TIEA is facilitated in partnership with Godolphin, Breeders’ Cup, The National HBPA, TOBA and The Jockey Club. Godolphin also sponsors the “Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards” in England, Ireland and Australia and is the primary benefactor of the awards.

What role to the individual award category sponsors play?
The seven title sponsors of the individual award categories contribute financially to TIEA and are helping to spread the reach of the awards program. They will present the trophy to the winner of their award category at the ceremony in October.

If I have other questions, is there a telephone number I can call?
Yes, call TIEA at (859) 977-4655 or email info@tiea.org. You can click on the “contact” link on the top of this page and email TIEA.

What is Godolphin?
Godolphin is the global thoroughbred breeding operation and horseracing team founded by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Today Team Godolphin spans across four continents, from our home in Dubai to Europe, Australia, Japan and America.