The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form
and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) announced today
that Bob Mayberger of Albany, N.Y., has won the 2011 Media Eclipse Award
for Photography for his panoramic picture of Thoroughbreds jumping over
a fence during the A.P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase at Saratoga
Race Course on August 4. The photo appeared on the Sports Illustrated
Snapshot web site that same day.
This is the first Eclipse Award for Mayberger, 58, a staff photographer for Eclipse Sportswire. Mayberger's photos are regularly seen on Horse Racing Nation.
"Bob has worked tirelessly for Eclipse Sportswire and they have been a valued partner," said Mark Midland, Co-Founder of Horse Racing Nation. "Our fans are used to seeing Bob's fantastic work on Horse Racing Nation every week."
For his winning photo, Mayberger, who began taking pictures from
the Saratoga grandstand 10 years ago, placed his Nikon D300 remote at
the base of the mid-stretch fence at Saratoga, prior to the Smithwick,
which was the first race of the day. The picture’s ‘fisheye” effect
captures six horses from the ground-level under an oval shaped,
cloud-dotted sky. To the left of photo, three horses are seen leaping
over the fence with the tote board as a background, and to the right,
the image reveals the sweep of the classic grey Saratoga roof of the
grandstand.
“I am unbelievably surprised and happy that I’ve won an Eclipse
Award considering the number of outstanding and talented photographers
that enter the competition each year,” said Mayberger, who photographed
225 stakes races in 2011. “It was a beautiful day at Saratoga and I
thought I would try a fisheye photo on the Steeplechase course for the
first time. Steeplechase racing allows you to get a shot of something
the average person doesn’t normally see. I know how lucky I am.”
Mayberger, who is a lawyer at a New York State appeals court, first
gained recognition as a photographer in 2008 for a widely circulated
photo he took of a loose horse shoe on Big Brown during the colt’s
failed attempt to sweep the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes.
Honorable mention in the Photography category went to Barbara
Livingston for her photograph of a double rainbow over the Twin Spires
of Churchill Downs, which first appeared on the Daily Racing Form Web
site on April 30.
Judges in the Photography category were Mike Kane, Thoroughbred
journalist and photographer; John Engelhardt, Director of Publicity at
River Downs, and Dan Johnson, former writer and photographer for the Des
Moines Register.
The Eclipse Awards, presented by the Daily Racing Form and
Breeders’ Cup, are bestowed upon horses and individuals whose
outstanding achievements in North America have earned them the title of
Champion in their respective categories. Those awards are voted by NTRA,
Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters
(NTWAB). Awards also are given to recognize members of the media for
outstanding coverage of Thoroughbred racing.
The 41st Annual Eclipse Awards will be held on Monday, January 16
at the Beverly Wilshire (A Four Seasons Hotel) in Beverly Hills, California.
