The National Purebred Racing Association, Daily Racing, National Lawn Writers and Broadcasters today announced the winners of the 2022 Eclipse Media Awards in six categories.
The winners of the 2022 Eclipse Media Awards are as follows:
Eclipse Media Award winners will be presented with their titles at the 52nd Annual Eclipse Awards and Dinner at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on January 26.
- Photography—Wendy Wooley—“Elbow room please,” Paulick Report, October 1, 2022.
- Writing—Featured/Commentary—Tim Layden—“Under the Super Bowl: The Ghost of Hollywood Park,” NBCSports.com, February 8, 2022.
- Writing—Business News—Tom Law—“The big tally,” Purebred Mid-Atlantic, July 1, 2022
- Live broadcast—NBC Sports Breeders’ Cup World Championships November 4-5, 2022: Lindsay Schanzer—NBC Sports equestrian producer
- Featured TV Show—NBC Sports—”Cody’s Wish” November 5, 2022: Jack Felling—coordination producer
- Audio/Multimedia—Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN)—Breeders’ Cup World Championship, November 5, 2022: Mike Penna—HRRN president
Featured/Write a Review—Tim Layden
Layden, a major NBC Sports writer, won the third Media Eclipse Award for “Below the Lawn of the Super Bowl: The Ghosts of Hollywood Park,” published on NBCSports.com on Jan. February 8, 2022. Layden, from Simsbury, Conn., won his first Eclipse Award in 1987 for writing for the Capital newspapers in Albany, NY and in 2018 for Sports Illustrated for writing. His Feature/Comment on broadcaster Charles “Chic” Anderson.
The honor mentioned in the Feature Film/Commentary category went to Natalie Voss, a three-time Eclipse Award winner for “After entering a difficult world, ‘Gumbo’ The Colt Is Overcoming The Odds,” appearing appear in the Paulick Report on September 5, 2022, and Eclipse Award-winning Bryce Miller for “The Complicated Case of Equestrian Trainer Peter Miller Returns Del Mar,” posted in the San Diego Union-Tribune on July 21, 2022.
The winning article can be viewed here.
News/Business—Tom Law
In “Big Tally,” Law, born and raised in Saratoga Springs, NY, participated in the 2022 Preakness Stakes (G1) for the Purebred Mid-Atlantic and reported on the Klaravich Stable’s Early Vote victory in the crown jewel. second of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Md. This is the second Eclipse Award for Law, who shared the 2011 Audio/Multimedia and Internet Award with Greg Charkoudian of the Thoroughbred Times, where he worked for over 14 years in Lexington prior to joining. ST Publisher as Editor-in-Chief in 2012.
Covering a sharp race report, Law bolstered his piece with quotes from winning coach Chad Brown’s decision to skip the Kentucky Derby (G1) for the win. Vote early and his preparation against the Preakness in Baltimore. Law also takes jockey Jose Ortiz’s decision to ride in the Early Vote and his calculated win streak.
Winning articles can be accessed here.
Honor in the News/Business category goes to Jay Hovdey, five-time Eclipse Award winner for “Airline Landing at a Special Place in History”, published in BloodHorse Daily on 4th. September 2022 and Paul Halloran for “Fairy Tales,” about Cody’s Wish, published in the Saratoga Special on August 31, 2022.
Television—Live Racing Program—NBC Sports
For the third year in a row, NBC Sports won the Eclipse Award for Live TV for its broadcast on NBC, Peacock, and USA Network, culminating in two-day coverage of the Breeders World Championships. ‘ 39th Cup from Keeneland in Lexington, with a dazzling performance by Flight route in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Continuing to provide audiences with technical innovations and more viewing opportunities, NBC Sports used unique views from the track with access to approximately 75 video sources, including many live cameras for jockey and mic for jockeys and trainers/owners; a back camera; horse racing camera that connects to real-time data allowing viewers to see a graphical overlay over replays, including speed, current position, distance from the leader and distance from the finisher ; and a megalodon camera to share live action footage of the fashion and taste around the event. For personal access to the horses, NBC Sports used Breeders’ Cup Contender Cams, which have a paddle ISO camera and a roof front ISO camera. For the first time, NBC Sports has added a full-screen TV sub-set so two analysts at our desk can dig deep into each Breeders’ Cup race.
Joining Schanzer on the production team is director Kaare Numme; production assistant Caroline Sayer; assistant director Jared Sumner; deputy director Jeff Burriesci and editor Amy Zimmerman.
NBC’s talented team includes Ahmed Fareed, Jerry Bailey, Randy Moss, Britney Eurton, Donna Brothers, Kenny Rice, Nick Luck, Matt Bernier, Steve Kornacki and Larry Collmus.
Drama—NBC Sports
On “Cody’s Wish,” NBC Sports produced a special, which aired on the USA Network on November 5, about one of the most moving stories of 2022 about teenage Cody Dorman and his racehorse. Cody’s Wish . Cody Dorman was born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects many parts of the body. At the age of 4, during a casual visit to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Cody went to Gainsborough Ranch in Versailles, Ky., and immediately bonded with a pony, later named Thing. Cody’s wish. After Cody’s Wish started the race, Cody went to see him win his first race at Churchill Downs in 2021. Cody entered the next races to see Cody’s Wish win two more times. After the segment aired, Cody was also in Keeneland to watch Cody’s Wish win the Big Ass Fans’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland during the World Championship.
“Cody’s Wish” is narrated by Tom Hammond, an award-winning former NBC broadcaster. Ryan Yeager is the editor. Lindsay Schanzer is NBC Sports Senior Producer for Horse Racing.
The Honorable Mention in the Drama category went to ESPN for “Bob Baffert Conversation” produced by Kristine Kugler, which aired on May 6, 2022.
Audio/Multimedia—Equestrian Radio Networks
Horse Racing Radio Network won the Eclipse Audio/Multimedia Award for the third time for its live broadcast of the Breeders’ Cup World Championship on November 4-5, 2022 at Keeneland in Lexington.
The Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic 2022 is one of the most anticipated races of the season, headlined by the remarkable Flightline, who were unbeaten in five career starts before the race. HRRN went behind the scenes with pre-race interviews with Flightline’s co-owner and breeder, Jane Lyon, and produced a film that tells Flightline’s story as a child before he became a child. Be a star on the track.
In addition to Penna, the HRRN team included Bobby Neuman, Jude Feld and Jeff Bloom. Keeneland broadcaster Kurt Becker provided a live call of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The show was produced by Lee Dellapina along with engineer Shawn Seay. Production assistance was provided by Feld, Justin Taylor, Keith O’Brien, Fanny Salmon and Michelle Penna.
The Honorable Mention in the Multimedia Audio category went to Horse Racing Nation for “Jockey wins first in Saratoga thanks to her father’s crass training,” about Robbie Davis and his daughter Jackie. The video was produced by Andrew Capone and posted on August 13, 2002.
Photography—Wendy Wooley
Wooley, from Lexington, Ky., won his first Eclipse Award, for “Elbow Room Please,” a face-shot of the $500,000 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on October 1, depicting an intensely protracted battle between the winners of the Kentucky Derby rich attack and runner-up in the Kentucky Derby in 2021 Charlie’s Hot Stick . Wooley’s image captured Rich’s Strike rider Sonny Leon attempting to elbow rider Tyler Gaffalione and his mount, Hot Rod Charlie, during a rope battle. Hot Rod Charlie won in Lukas Classic at half the length.
The winning photo can be viewed here.
The Honor Award in the photography category went to Eclipse Award winner Scott Serio for Hall of Fame coach D. Wayne Lukas’ “The Coach” photo, which made his debut on the web. Hipismo.net on November 15, 2022.
This press release has been edited by BloodHorse Staff for content and style.
