The Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award competition has been held for the 16th time to honor the best of long-format race writing. Three finalists were selected by a panel of judges from nearly two-dozen submissions published during 2021. It was a year in which top-tier entries were dominated by fiction, with two finalists falling into that category--both lively tales featuring strong female protagonists. The third finalist is an inspirational true story of a one-eyed champion's trek to the apex of his sport.
The Award was launched back in 2006 by Dr. Tony Ryan, a world-renowned businessman and philanthropist with a passion for good horse racing and great writing. It was won that first spring by two-time Eclipse and Associated Press Award winner Joe Drape for Black Maestro, a biography of early twentieth century African-American jockey Jimmy Winkfield. In the years that followed, winners and finalists would include an eclectic assortment of histories, biographies, autobiographies, anthologies, investigative reporting, and works of fiction--one of which was honored as well with the prestigious National Book Award. All had two things in common: superb writing and riveting plotlines. This year was no different.
Dr. Ryan passed away in 2007, after which his son Shane carried on the competition in his name. The 2021 winner will receive a $10,000 check--among the most lucrative prizes in all of publishing--while each runner-up receives $1,000. All three finalists will be awarded a crystal trophy constructed in the form of the iconic stone tower at the Ryan family's Castleton Lyons farm near Lexington.
Because of Covid, the two most recent winners were announced via Zoom teleconference. The winner will be announced on November 3rd at a by-invitation winner's cocktail reception to be held at the Ryan family's Castleton Lyons farm near Lexington.
This press release has not been edited by BloodHorse. If there are any questions please contact the organization that produced the release.
