Special Awards at the Mega-Makeover
Special awards are sponsored by individuals, organizations, or companies to support their own initiatives and goals.
Thoroughbred Makeover Champion, People's Choice Award, and Ambassador Award are offered every year. Other awards rotate in and out depending on sponsor interest.
Thoroughbred Makeover Champion
Presented by: Churchill Downs
The Thoroughbred Makeover Champion is the overall winner of the event, chosen from the ten discipline winners by the judges from all disciplines. Judges will rank each horse from 10th -1st, with each place having a point value associated (1st ranking highest and worth 10 points and so on) and the horse accumulating the most points is crowned the Thoroughbred Makeover Champion. Judges are asked to consider which horse they believe is the best trained of the ten finalists
Cash prize: $10,000 to the winner
2021 Winner: Forthegreatergood (Laura Sloan)
2020 Winner: Thunderous Affair (Lindsey Partridge)
Past winners:
2019 Winner: Cowboy Swagger (Fallon Taylor)
2018 – Reloaded (Elisa Wallace)
2017 – Old Tavern (Charlie Caldwell)
2016 – Fairway King (Lauren Turner)
2015 – Soar (Lindsey Partridge)Past winners:
2014 – Icabad Crane (Phillip Dutton)
People's Choice Award
Presented by: Achieve Equine
The People's Choice horse will be selected by text vote by the public. The People’s Choice winner will win the right to direct a donation to the equine-related 501(c)3 of their choosing. The RRP will hold $2,500 in escrow and will issue payment directly to the chosen charity.
2021 Winner: Icarius (Alexandra Beckstett)
2020 Winner: Legend's Hope (Jazz Napravnik)
Thoroughbred Makeover Ambassador Award
Sponsored by: Pyrois Media
Awarded to a Makeover trainer, official or volunteer who best embodies a spirit of teamwork, cooperation, sportsmanship and inclusivity. Individuals will be nominated for the Ambassador Award during the Thoroughbred Makeover at the info desk, and the RRP staff will select a winner from the pool of nominees.
2021 Winner: Dr. Shannon Reed
Honorable Mention: John Roberts
Past winners:
2019 Winners: Alyssa Myatt and Peg Sorenson
2018 – Jen Ruberto
2017 – Kyle Rothfus
2016 – Michelle Craig
2015 – Olivia Dixon
Special Awards Confirmed for 2022
As special awards are confirmed for 2022, they will be listed here. Past offering of special awards by organizations or individuals does not confirm current availability.
Best Conditioned Award
Sponsored by: Nina Bonnie
A trophy halter and $200 will be awarded to the best conditioned horse in each division.
New Vocations Award
Sponsored by: New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program
New for 2018; trophy coolers awarded to the top-scoring junior, amateur, and professional mounted on New Vocations graduates
Roses of Sharon Memorial Award
Sponsored by: Jen Ruberto and the Ruberto Family
New for 2018; the Roses For Sharon Memorial Award was created to honor the lives of Sharon Ruberto and Rose Arbogast. To be eligible for the award, a horse must have begun and ended their racing careers with the same owner, trainer or both on record. They need not to have had stayed with those connections the entire time (could have been claimed or sold) but they must have returned to them. Minimum of at least 5 starts.
Cash prize: $1,000
