Keppler, Gingras and Fusco win John R. Brennan Scholarships

Liam Keppler, Jaiden Gingras and Ryley Fusco have been announced as the 2024 SOA of NY / Yonkers Raceway John R. Brennan Scholarship Award winners.

Sandra Kaufman, Chairman of the SOA of NY Scholarship Committee, announced that Liam Keppler is the 1st place winner in the amount of $10,000, Jaiden Gingras is the 2nd place winner in the amount of $5000 and Ryley Fusco is the 3rd place winner in the amount of $3000.

Joseph Faraldo, President of the SOA of NY stated that the winners are the recipients of a scholarship award named after a longtime good friend, harness racing trainer and SOA of NY field representative, John R. Brennan.

Liam 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.

Jaiden 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 8964 wins with career earnings of $235 million.

Ryley 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.

The annual SOA of NY / Yonkers Raceway John R. Brennan scholarships are awarded to SOA 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.

From the SOA of NY