NTWAB NATIONAL TURF WRITERS AND BROADCASTERS

The NTWAB underwent a dramatic change in 2010 when the members voted overwhelmingly to change the organization’s bylaws to include professional broadcasters. The change to the bylaws now make the NTWAB an even stronger media organization, with membership from the world of Turf writing and from racing broadcasting.
Serving as president of the NTWAB has been one of the most worthwhile and gratifying endeavors of my professional career, which includes working for Thoroughbred Times as a staff writer, deputy news editor, news editor, and managing editor since 1998. Prior to joining Thoroughbred Times I worked as a writer and handicapper for The Saratogian and The Pink Sheet in my native city of Saratoga Springs, New York.

I would like to thank those who have trusted me to serve as president of this organization since 2006. My main goal starting out was to serve the National Turf Writers Association in a positive way and to help it gain an even more powerful influence in the racing industry. As the years have gone by, I continue to strive to meet those goals and also hope to continue to help the NTWAB establish its credibility and strength within the Thoroughbred industry.

The media world is much different today than it was when I took over as president, but thanks to some changes to the way the public consumes its information and with some changes to our bylaws, our organization continues to be strong with a healthy and active membership.

Thanks, and best of luck at the races,
Tom Law
NTWA President

Terry Wallace, the recently retired longtime announcer at Oaklawn Park and winner of the Mr. Fitz Award for typifying the spirit of racing, encouraged the guests on hand to use their positions in the industry as a “pulpit for good.”
“I encourage all of you to use it for good,” Wallace said. “Don’t be afraid to let people know that you love Thoroughbred racing. … I know it’s smart to be contentious and it’s smart to nit pick and everything else, but somewhere along the way, let them understand that you’re in love with it. I’m in love with racing and have been for 46 years.”
Wallace, who retired from the microphone earlier this year after a memorable career at Oaklawn that saw him call 20,191 consecutive races, reminisced about his experiences in racing all the way back to his early days as a college student in Cincinnati.
“I was a student at Xavier University in Cincinnati and my college roommate and I decided to go to the races [at River Downs] one day for lack of a better thing to do,” Wallace said. “The worst thing happened to me. The very first horse I bet on, named Zippity Do Da, I bet $2 to show on him and he showed. I was hooked.
“Whoever would have thought 45 or 46 years later that I’d have a chance to talk to this great audience filled with such wonderful people in the sport. Really, let’s face it, you are the people who make this sport what it is. You’re the ones who write the words that last. You’re the ones who broadcast the words that last. If our sport is to ever regain it’s stature among major sports in America it’s going to be because of what you do. You grab everybody’s attention and you get a chance to really make things happen.”
Nancy LaSala, president of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) and winner of the Joe Palmer Award for meritorious service to racing, also encouraged the attendees to make things happen. With a large group from the Jockeys’ Guild on hand, including nationally known riders Edgar Prado and Jon Court, LaSala discussed the PDJF’s goals of establishing a permanent endowment to help injured riders. She encouraged everyone to help, so the athletes who put so much on the line every day are not forgotten.
“This is a great honor because we’re a very small organization, but we’ve achieved a lot,” LaSala said. “These athletes, and if you’ve met them and I’ve met almost all of them, their lives are challenged in more ways than you can imagine. And what we do helps. It gives them the things they want to do and could have done if they weren’t [hurt]. It gives them a sense of purity and it also gives them a sense of community, and that’s what they’re lacking.
“They feel like the industry forgot about them and we try to get them back, and help them with all the programs we do. Because they are a part of the industry, regardless of what’s happened to them. They are a part of our community.”
Daily Racing Form’s David Grening was presented with the Walter Haight Award for career excellence in Turf writing, an award he said was ironic considering his lack of knowledge and experience when he first took a job out of college. He went on an interview at The Trentonian, initially to get experience on the whole interview process, but wound up with a job.
“The editor said, ‘do you want the job covering horse racing?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know a thing about horse racing,’ “ Grening said. “Some people might say I still don’t know a thing about horse racing, but here I am 20 years later and getting this great award.
“When I looked down in the program and saw who won this award, names like Red Smith, Joe Hirsch, and Bill Leggett, icons in this industry, it really took me back. Then some of my contemporaries, people sitting at [the Daily Racing Form] table, Dick Jerardi, Jay Privman, and some of my co-workers that aren’t here, Steve Crist and Jay Hovdey, Louisville’s own Jennie Rees and Steve Haskin … I feel honored and privileged to be in their company.
“To me, my job is about two things, providing information and telling stories. And I can’t do that without cooperation of horsemen, jockeys, that I go see every morning and in the afternoon. I really do appreciate all the time, as hard as they work, they’re so generous with their time, to allow me to tell their stories, even some of them that aren’t true. I can’t thank them enough.”—Tom Law