Samaha to Receive Virgil 'Buddy' Raines Award

Dr. Chris Samaha, who founded the industry-leading Backstretch Community Assistance Program at Monmouth Park more than 30 years ago, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Virgil "Buddy" Raines Distinguished Achievement Award, it was announced May 5 by Monmouth Park. The Raines Award, currently in its 31st year, is presented annually prior to Monmouth Park's season opener. It honors men and women who have demonstrated a continuing commitment to the sport of Thoroughbred racing as an owner, trainer or administrator, and whose conduct has been exemplary for professionalism, integrity, and service to the sport. Monmouth Park's 81st season of racing gets underway on Saturday, May 9. The 55-year-old Samaha, a sports psychologist, launched a substance abuse program for backstretch workers in 1995 that has since involved into a support system for all types of health issues. The program offers free counseling, as well as health education programs, for licensed stable hands, grooms, hot walkers, and exercise riders and offers access to a variety of medical screenings. Samaha resides in nearby Shrewsbury, N.J. "I would have burned out long ago if it was strictly a treatment program, but I have all of the other components that help everyone on the backstretch, whether directly or indirectly," Samaha said. "I'm passionate about what I do, and I would not have stayed in it this long if I didn't believe this a good industry." Samaha's program features a free lunch program for backstretch workers and he provides Thanksgiving dinners for those workers prior to the stable area closing for the winter. Free medical clinics and screenings are key components of the program as well. Previous Raines Award Winners 1996: J. Willard Thompson 1997: Danny Perlsweig 1998: Warren A. "Jimmy" Croll 1999: Joe Pierce Jr. 2000: Peter Shannon 2001: Dennis Drazin 2002: Sam Fieramosca 2003: Charles and Marianne Hesse 2004: Janet Laszlo 2005: Richard Malouf 2006: John Forbes 2007: Ben Perkins Sr. 2008: Gerald and Carolyn Sleeter 2009: Joel Kligman 2010: John Tammaro III 2011: Frank Costa 2012: John Mazza 2013: Ebby Novak 2014: Chuck Spina 2015: Bob Baffert 2016: Ed Barney 2017: Bob Kulina 2018: Mike Musto 2019: Tim Hills 2020: Leonard Green 2021: Bill Anderson 2022: Millie Fleming 2023: Pat McBurney 2024: John Bowers Jr. 2025: John Heims