Michael Joseph Venezia (May 5, 1945 – October 13, 1988) was an American

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

jockey who was killed in a horse racing accident.

Early life

Venezia was born on May 5, 1945, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Career

Venezia had been a jockey for twenty-five years and rode his first winner in 1964. He had ridden 2,313 winners when he was thrown from his horse, Mr. Walter K. and trampled to death by a trailing horse during a race at Belmont Park. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' reported he had recently said that the highlight of his career came on December 7, 1964, when he won six races in one day at Aqueduct Racetrack. Venezia was actually named Frederick Venezia (by tradition, after his paternal grandfather) when he was born. But his uncle, Michael Venezia, a Sergeant in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

was killed in action while fighting in Germany on April 18, 1945, so when the telegram announcing the tragic event arrived just after the birth, the name was changed to Michael in honor of the fallen uncle.

Death

Venezia was killed in a horse racing accident on October 13, 1988. He was survived by his wife, Helene, son, Michael Edward, and daughter, Alison.

Legacy

Annually since 1989, the

New York Racing Association The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens; Belmont Park i ...

provides the Mike Venezia Memorial Award to a rider who exemplifies extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship. Active in jockey affairs, Venezia served as president of the

Jockeys' Guild The Jockeys' Guild Inc. is an American trade association based in Lexington, Kentucky, representing thoroughbred horse racing and American quarter horse professional jockeys. The organization filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in ...

from 1975 to 1981.

References

New York Times articles on Mike Venezia
1945 births 1988 deaths Sportspeople from Brooklyn American jockeys Sports deaths in New York (state) Jockeys who died while racing Burials at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood {{US-horseracing-bio-stub