Entries are now being accepted by The New York
Racing Association, Inc., (NYRA) for the second annual Joe Hirsch Memorial
Writing Award to recognize outstanding print and internet coverage of the
Belmont Stakes.
Open to any member of the print/internet media who covered the 142nd
Belmont Stakes, won by Drosselmeyer, on June 5, 2010, the Joe Hirsch Memorial
Writing Award is accepting entries in two categories: Belmont Stakes
feature/advance, and Belmont Stakes wrap-up/follow.
The inaugural Joe Hirsch Memorial Writing Awards were won by Daily
Racing Form’s Dave Grening and the New Orleans Times-Picayune’s Bob
Fortus for their coverage of the 141st Belmont Stakes, won by Summer
Bird.
Entries (hard copy only) must be accompanied by a cover letter, signed
by the author, stating the wish to enter the contest. The cover letter is to also
include contact information, publication information, and the entry category.
No entry fee is required.
Submissions should be mailed to Dan Silver,
Director of Communications, The New York Racing Association, Inc., PO Box 90, Jamaica,
N.Y. 11417, postmarked no later than Friday, October 1, 2010. No electronic
submissions will be accepted.
The award is named in honor of Joe Hirsch, the
longtime executive sports columnist for the Daily Racing Form who died on January
9, 2009. A native New Yorker, Hirsch was known as the dean of American turf
writers and retired in 2003 after a 50-year career covering racing.
The winners will be announced prior to the 143rd running of
the Belmont Stakes, and will be presented with an engraved crystal bowl at the
traditional post position draw for
the “Test of the Champion.”