Liam Keppler, Jaiden Gingras and Ryley Fusco are the 2024 Standardbred Owners Association of New York / Yonkers Raceway John R. Brennan Scholarship Award winners.
Sandra Kaufman, Chairman of the Standardbred Owners Association of New York (SOANY) Scholarship Committee, announced on Wednesday, July 3 that Liam Keppler is the first-place winner for the amount of $10,000 USD, Jaiden Gingras is the second-place winner four the amount of $5,000 USD and Ryley Fusco is the third-place winner for the amount of $3,000 USD.
Keppler is attending Pennsylvania State University pursuing a degree in Biology and a Minor in Psychology. His father, Scott, has been an amateur driver since 1983 with 31 wins and has owned racehorses since 1985.
Gingras will be attending Rider University in New Jersey pursuing a degree in Finance. His father, Yannick, has been a driver since 1998 and has 8,964 wins with career earnings of $242 million.
Fusco is attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte pursuing a degree in Biology. Her father, Paul, has been a driver and trainer since 1991 and has 330 driving wins and 891 training wins.
Joseph Faraldo, President of the SOANY, stated that the winners are the recipients of a scholarship award named after a longtime good friend, horse trainer and SOANY field representative, John R. Brennan.
The annual Brennan scholarships are awarded to SOANY members in good standing, members of their immediate families and immediate family members of a backstretch employee (caretaker) for studies beyond the high school level. The recipient is chosen based on merit and financial need. The applicants were judged first by an independent third party, who selected the top five candidates. Then the Scholarship Committee selected the top three winners from the five finalists. Personal information from all the candidates is redacted when presented to the independent party and the Scholarship Committee to assure a blind judging process.
(With files from SOANY)