NEWSLETTERS

Newsletter dated September 6, 2006

NTWA Newsletter from President Tom Law
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Greetings fellow Turf writers. Here’s hoping this newsletter finds you satisfied and not too saturated with the summer’s workload and looking enthusiastically toward an exciting fall season on the road to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs.

Reference to the Breeders’ Cup allows me to get right into the meat of this monthly update, and specifically on the status of the 47th annual National Turf Writers Association Awards Dinner scheduled for Wednesday, November 1 at The Olmstead in Louisville. Additional information and invitations to the dinner will be mailed to all members and other industry participants very soon so be on the lookout.

Thanks to fairly strong voter participation for our awards, the NTWA will honor three outstanding individuals/groups during the awards dinner, which is always one of the highlights of Breeders’ Cup week.

The formal press release announcing the three winners of the Mr. Fitz Award (Team Barbaro), the Joe Palmer Award (Dr. Dean Richardson/New Bolton Center), and the Walter Haight Award (Steven Crist) is attached below. As you will see from the brief descriptions in the release, all three winners are very worthy recipients. I can also report that based on early conversations with each of the winners, all were optimistic they would attend the dinner despite busy schedules and prior commitments during Breeders’ Cup week.

Other award winners are honored by other organizations and associations during our dinner, including the Red Smith Kentucky Derby Writing Awards courtesy of Churchill Downs and the Breeders’ Cup Writing Awards courtesy of Breeders’ Cup Ltd./National Thoroughbred Racing Association. The deadline for submission of entries for the Red Smith Awards closed last week but entries are still being accepted for the Breeders’ Cup Writing Awards.

Jim Gluckson, recently a deserving winner of the Red Smith Good Guy Award from the New York Turf Writers Association, sent out the rules in late August for the Joe Hirsch Award for newspaper articles and the Bill Leggett Award for magazine articles. In case anyone did not receive the rules or an invitation to compete, I’ve attached the letter below:
 
August 29, 2006
Dear Media Member:
The NTRA and Breeders’ Cup invite you to participate in the 12th annual Joe Hirsch/Bill Leggett Breeders’ Cup Writing Awards. These awards will recognize journalistic excellence in media coverage of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
The writing awards are in two categories: the Joe Hirsch Award for outstanding writing in a newspaper and internet, and the Bill Leggett Award for best coverage in a magazine. Entries are limited to articles written specifically about the 2005 Breeders’ Cup at Belmont Park. The NTRA and Breeders’ Cup will form a panel of judges to vote on the entries.
Recipients will receive their awards at the National Turf Writers Associations Annual Dinner during the week of the 2006 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs.
RULES FOR PARTICIPATION
1) Participation is limited to accredited members of the media.
2) All articles submitted must have been published in a newspaper or magazine prior to January 1, 2006.
3) Individuals may submit only one article per category.
4) Entrants must submit actual clippings from the publication. Internet submissions must include actual print out date when article first appeared.  No manuscripts will be accepted.
5) All articles must be submitted in English. Articles published in a language other than English must be accompanied by an English translation.
6) All entries must be received at NTRA/Breeders’ Cup by October 1, 2006.
Please return the completed entry form with your submission(s). If you have any questions, please contact me at the phone number or e-mail address below. Thank you for your interest and participation.
 Best regards,
 Carol Paulick
 NTRA/Breeders’ Cup
 859.422.2614
 cpaulick@ntra.com
 
Bob Curran of the Jockey Club asked me to include two bits of information--the updated Thoroughly Thoroughbred booklet currently available from the Jockey Club, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, and the availability of the Round Table conference transcripts. The contents of the press releases are listed below:
 
Updated Thoroughly Thoroughbred Booklet Now Available
Thoroughly Thoroughbred, a 14-page color booklet produced by The Jockey Club with support from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA), has been updated with new information, photos, and facts, it was announced today.
Our first version of Thoroughly Thoroughbred, which we published in 2003, was extremely popular with individuals and groups seeking information about the Thoroughbred industry, said Dan Fick, executive vice president and executive director, The Jockey Club. The new version covers the fundamentals plus includes more up-to-date information.
Thoroughly Thoroughbred provides newcomers to the sport general information about the Thoroughbred breed and the racing industry. Topics include information such as origins of the breed, racing in the media, educational opportunities and professions in the Thoroughbred industry, Thoroughbred charities, and a glossary.
The Jockey Club receives numerous requests, especially from groups such as 4-H clubs and schools, for information on the Thoroughbred, Fick said. Together with the NTRA and TOBA, we’ve created a booklet that answers many of the most frequently asked questions about the Thoroughbred industry and provides resources where people can find more detailed information.
Thoroughly Thoroughbred is available on an individual or small-quantity basis and by bulk to libraries, museums, racetracks and other industry organizations. To request brochures, please contact Shannon Luce at The Jockey Club, (859) 224-2716; Jill Pendygraft at NTRA, (859) 422-2679; or Erin Halliwell at TOBA, (859) 276-2291. A PDF version can be found online at www.jockeyclub.com/pdfs/thoroughly_thoroughbred.pdf.
 
Round Table Conference Transcript Available on Jockey Club Website
August 23, 2006
Contact: John Cooney (859) 224-2714
 A transcript of The Jockey Clubs 54th Annual Round Table Conference, held in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Sunday, Aug. 20, is now available on The Jockey Club’s website at www.jockeyclub.com/roundtable_06.asp.
The conference included presentations on the activities of The Jockey Club, medication, wagering integrity, synthetic surfaces and Thoroughbred racing in New York state.
 
 
NTWA Press Release for 2006 award winners:
 
National Turf Writers Association to honor Team Barbaro, Richardson and New Bolton Center, Crist

The individuals associated with undefeated Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, veterinary surgeon Dr. Dean W. Richardson and the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicines New Bolton Center, and veteran racing journalist Steven Crist will be honored later this year with awards presented by the National Turf Writers Association.

’Team Barbaro’--the group of Barbaro himself, owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson, trainer Michael Matz, assistant trainer and exercise rider Peter Brette, and jockey Edgar Prado--will receive the Mr. Fitz Award during the 47th annual NTWA Awards Dinner on November 1 at The Olmstead in Louisville, Kentucky. Presented annually to an individual or group for typifying the spirit of racing, the award is named for the late Racing Hall of Fame trainer Jim Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons. Past winners of the Mr. Fitz Award include Nick Zito, Bill Shoemaker, John Henry, Joe Hirsch, and Bob and Beverly Lewis.

Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill Downs by 6 1/2 lengths after running one of the fastest final quarter-miles in the race’s history to stay undefeated in six career starts. He suffered a career-ending injury two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes and is currently recovering from surgery to repair his broken right hind leg and subsequent laminitis contracted in his left hind leg.

Dr. Richardson and the New Bolton Center will receive the Joe Palmer Award, named for the former New York Herald Tribune Turf Writer and presented annually for meritorious service to racing.

Dr. Richardson is Chief of Surgery and the Charles W. Raker Professor of Equine Surgery at Penn Vets Widener Hospital at New Bolton Center. He is an internationally recognized orthopedic surgeon whose research focuses on cartilage repair and has been at New Bolton Center since 1979. New Bolton Center, which opened its doors to the media and staged timely press conferences in the immediate hours and days after Barbaro’s surgery, is located on a 700-acre tract of land in Kennett Square.

Past winners of the Joe Palmer Award include Laffit Pincay Jr., Richard Duchoissois, Eugene Melnyk, Charlie Whittingham, John Gaines, E. P. Taylor, Secretariat, and Allen Paulson.

Crist, chairman and publisher of Daily Racing Form, will receive the Walter Haight Award named for the former Washington Post Turf writer and columnist and presented annually for excellence in Turf writing. A graduate of Harvard University and a reporter and columnist for the New York Times from 1981-90, Crist also founded the critically acclaimed daily newspaper The Racing Times. He later served as a member of New York Governor Mario Cuomo’s Commission on Racing and as a vice president of the New York Racing Association in the mid-1990s. Crist is also author and co-author of several books, including Exotic Betting, Betting on Myself: Adventures of a Horseplayer and Publisher, and The Horse Traders.

Crist is the second consecutive winner of the Walter Haight Award from the Form, joining 2005 winner Jay Privman. He also joins fellow Form writers Don Fair, Saul Rosen, Barney Nagler, Joe Hirsch, and Leon Rasmussen as winners of the award. Other previous winners include Steve Haskin, Jennie Rees, Andy Beyer, Ed Bowen, Bill Nack, Kent Hollingsworth, Bill Leggett, and Red Smith.
 
 
One final note, our organization will conduct one of its two meetings on the morning of Thursday, November 2. The NTWA board will meet first, followed by the general membership at a time and place to be announced hopefully in the next newsletter.

Please feel free to get in touch with me with any questions or concerns at tlaw@thoroughbredtimes.com or at my office at 859-260-9800 ext. 125. Thanks again, and best of luck at the races.
 
Tom Law
NTWA President
September 5, 2006 

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