The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters today announced the winners of the 2022 Media Eclipse Awards in six categories.
The 2022 Media Eclipse Award winners are as follows:
Media Eclipse Award winners will be presented their trophies at the 52nd Annual Eclipse Awards Ceremony and Dinner at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida Jan. 26.
- Photography—Wendy Wooley—"Elbow Room Please," The Paulick Report, Oct. 1, 2022.
- Writing—Feature/Commentary—Tim Layden—"Beneath the Super Bowl's Turf: The Ghosts of Hollywood Park," NBCSports.com, Feb. 8, 2022.
- Writing—News Enterprise—Tom Law—"Big Tally," Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, July 1, 2022.
- Live Television Programming—NBC Sports Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 4-5, 2022: Lindsay Schanzer—NBC Sports producer of horse racing
- Feature Television Programming—NBC Sports—"Cody's Wish" Nov. 5, 2022: Jack Felling—coordinating producer
- Audio/Multimedia—Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN)—Breeders' Cup World Championships, Nov. 5, 2022: Mike Penna—HRRN president
Feature/Commentary Writing—Tim Layden
Layden, a writer-at-large for NBC Sports, has won his third Media Eclipse Award for "Beneath the Super Bowl's Turf: The Ghosts of Hollywood Park," which was published on NBCSports.com on Feb. 8, 2022. Layden, from Simsbury, Conn., won his first Eclipse Award in 1987 for Newspaper writing for Capital Newspapers in Albany, N.Y., and in 2018 for Sports Illustrated for his Feature/Commentary article on track announcer Charles "Chic" Anderson.
Honorable mention in the Feature/Commentary category went to three-time Eclipse Award winner Natalie Voss for "After Rough Entry To The World, 'Gumbo' The Colt Is Overcoming The Odds," which appeared in the Paulick Report on Sept. 5, 2022, and to former Eclipse Award winner Bryce Miller for "Complicated Case of Horse Racing Trainer Peter Miller Returns to Del Mar," which was published in the San Diego Union-Tribune on July 21, 2022.
The winning article can be viewed here.
News/Enterprise—Tom Law
In "Big Tally," Law, born and raised in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., covered the 2022 Preakness Stakes (G1) for Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred and reported on the victory by Klaravich Stable's Early Voting in the second jewel of racing's Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. This is the second Eclipse Award for Law, who shared the 2011 Audio/Multimedia and Internet Award with Greg Charkoudian of Thoroughbred Times, where he worked for more than 14 years in Lexington before joining ST Publishing as Managing Editor in 2012.
Enveloping crisp race reporting, Law bolstered his piece with quotes from winning trainer Chad Brown's decision to skip the Kentucky Derby (G1) for Early Voting and his preparations prior to the Preakness in Baltimore. Law also brought to light jockey Jose Ortiz's decision to take the mount on Early Voting and his calculated ride to victory.
The winning article can be accessed here.
Honorable mention in the News/Enterprise category went to five-time Eclipse Award winner Jay Hovdey for "Flightline Lands a Special Place in History," which was published in the BloodHorse Daily on Sept. 4, 2022, and to Paul Halloran for "Fairytale," about Cody's Wish, which was published in the Saratoga Special on Aug. 31, 2022.
Television—Live Racing Programming—NBC Sports
For the third consecutive year, NBC Sports has won the Eclipse Award for Live Television Programming for its broadcast on NBC, Peacock, and the USA Network, culminating its two-day coverage of the 39th Breeders' Cup World Championships from Keeneland in Lexington, with the scintillating performance of Flightline in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
Continuing to provide its audience with technical innovations and multiple viewing opportunities, NBC Sports employed unique perspectives from the track with access to approximately 75 video sources, including multiple live jockey cams and jockey and trainer/owner mics; a backstretch camera; jockey cams connecting to real-time data that allowed viewers to see graphic overlays on replays, including speed, current position, distance from the leader, and distance from the finish; and a megalodon camera to share live-action footage of the fashion and flavors surrounding the event. For individual access to the horses, NBC Sports utilized Breeders' Cup Contender Cams, featuring paddock ISO cameras and front-side ISO roof cameras. For the first time, NBC Sports added a side set with a full-screen telestration monitor for the two desk analysts to be able to take a deep dive into each Breeders' Cup race.
Joining Schanzer on the production team were director Kaare Numme; assistant producer Caroline Sayer; assistant director Jared Sumner; associate director Jeff Burriesci; and editorial producer Amy Zimmerman.
The NBC talent team was comprised of Ahmed Fareed, Jerry Bailey, Randy Moss, Britney Eurton, Donna Brothers, Kenny Rice, Nick Luck, Matt Bernier, Steve Kornacki, and Larry Collmus.
Television Feature—NBC Sports
In "Cody's Wish" NBC Sports produced a feature, which aired on USA Network on Nov. 5, on one of the most heartwarming stories of 2022 about teenager Cody Dorman, and the racehorse Cody's Wish . Cody Dorman was stricken at birth with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects many parts of the body. At age 4, in a chance visit through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Cody went to Gainsborough Farm in Versailles, Ky., and immediately bonded with a young foal, who was later named Cody's Wish. After Cody's Wish had begun racing, Cody came to see him win his first race at Churchill Downs in 2021. Cody went to subsequent races to see Cody's Wish win twice more. After the segment aired, Cody was also at Keeneland to see Cody's Wish win the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland during the World Championships.
"Cody's Wish" was narrated by former NBC award-winning broadcaster Tom Hammond. Ryan Yeager was the editor. Lindsay Schanzer is NBC Sports Senior Producer for Horse Racing.
Honorable Mention in the Television Feature category went to ESPN for "Bob Baffert Conversation," produced by Kristine Kugler, which aired on May 6, 2022.
Audio/Multimedia—Horse Racing Radio Network
Horse Racing Radio Network has won its third Audio/ Multimedia Eclipse Award for its live broadcast of the Breeders' Cup World Championships on Nov. 4-5, 2022, at Keeneland in Lexington.
The 2022 Breeders' Cup Classic was one of the most anticipated races of the season, headlined by the remarkable Flightline, who was undefeated in five career starts prior to the race. HRRN reached behind the scenes with pre-race interviews with Flightline's co-owner and breeder, Jane Lyon, and produced a feature telling the story of Flightline as a baby before he became a star on the track.
In addition to Penna, the HRRN analyst team included Bobby Neuman, Jude Feld, and Jeff Bloom. Keeneland announcer Kurt Becker provided the live call of the Breeders' Cup Classic. The broadcast was produced by Lee Dellapina along with engineer Shawn Seay. Production assistance was contributed by Feld, Justin Taylor, Keith O'Brien, Fanny Salmon, and Michelle Penna.
Honorable mention in the Audio Multimedia category went to Horse Racing Nation for "Jockey gets her 1st Saratoga win on filly trained by her dad," about Robbie Davis and his daughter Jackie. The video was produced by Andrew Capone and was posted on Aug. 13, 2002.
Photography—Wendy Wooley
Wooley, from Lexington, Ky., has won her first Eclipse Award, for "Elbow Room Please," a head-on photograph of the $500,000 Lukas Classic Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on Oct. 1, depicting a furious stretch battle between Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike and the eventual 2021 Kentucky Derby runner-up Hot Rod Charlie. Wooley's image captured Rich's Strike's jockey, Sonny Leon, attempting to elbow jockey Tyler Gaffalione and his mount, Hot Rod Charlie, in the battle to the wire. Hot Rod Charlie prevailed in the Lukas Classic by a half-length.
The winning photograph can be viewed here.
Honorable Mention in the photography category went to former Eclipse Award winner Scott Serio for his photo "The Coach" of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, which appeared first on Hipismo.net on Nov. 15, 2022.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
