The 2025 Media Eclipse Award winners are as follows:

Live Television Programming – FOX Sports, “The Belmont Stakes,” Michael Mulvihill, President – Insight & Analytics, June 7, 2025

Feature Television – FOX Sports, “The Healing Ride,” Michael Mulvihill President – Insight & Analytics, June 7, 2025

Writing – News/Enterprise – Natalie Voss, Paulick Report - “Doom Scroll: Thoroughbreds, Bail Pens, And Horse Traders,” December 2024

Writing – Feature/Commentary – Jay Privman, DRF.com and Daily Racing Form, “Lukas Morphed from Caustic to Avuncular,” June 29, 2025

Photography  – Skip Dickstein, “Unseated,” The Albany Times-Union and BloodHorse, Aug. 31, 2025

Multimedia  – Augusta Chapman and Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics Radio “The Horse is Us: Inside the Horse-Industrial Complex,” Oct. 31, 2025

Media Eclipse Award winners will be presented their trophies at the 55th Annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards Ceremony and Dinner at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on Thursday, Jan. 22.

Live Television Programming – FOX Sports

FOX Sports won its first Live Television Programming Eclipse Award for the live broadcast of the 157^th running of the Belmont Stakes, which aired on June 7, 2025, from Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 

The 2025 Belmont Stakes featured the much-awaited rematch between Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty and Preakness Stakes winner Journalism. Sovereignty defeated Journalism in the Derby but his connections bypassed the Preakness, setting up the highly anticipated confrontation between the two colts in the Belmont, with Sovereignty prevailing. FOX devoted five hours of live coverage on its main network for the Belmont Stakes.

FOX deployed 40 camera for its coverage, of which 12 were SSMo, 8 RF and 4 cameras running on a private 5G network provided by CP Communications. FOX employed a drone and helicopter as well and two jitacam point-to-point camera systems.

Bill Richards and Pete Macheska produced the broadcast, with Bryan Lilley as the director. Curt Menefee was the host and was joined by analysts Tom Amoss and Richard Migliore; Jonathon Kinchen and Chris Fallica were wagering analysts; Charissa Thompson, paddock host; Tom Rinaldi, special features reporter; Maggie Wolfendale, reporter; Terry Bradshaw, commentator, and Frank Mirahmadi, racecaller.

“All of us at Fox Sports are grateful for this honor,” said Michael Mulvihill, FOX Sports President of Insights & Analytics. “We were fortunate to have a very special Belmont Stakes winner in Sovereignty and the best setting in the world in Saratoga, and our crew led by producer Bill Richards and director Bryan Lilley delivered a broadcast worthy of the event. A great day at the races is a poem, a puzzle and a party and hopefully that’s what we delivered to millions of fans on Belmont Day.”

Honorable mention in the Live Television Programming category went to NBC Sports for the 2025 Kentucky Derby; Lindsay Schanzer, Sr. Coordinating Producer.

Judges in the Live Television Programming category were Kristine Kugler, Horse Racing Producer, ESPN; Dick Jerardi, former columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, and Jack Renaud, a 30-year producer with CBS News, recurring coverage of Thoroughbred issues and features.

Television Feature – FOX Sports

FOX Sports has won the Television Feature Media Eclipse Award for “The Healing Ride,” which aired on June 7, 2025. This is the second Television Feature Eclipse Award for FOX, which had previously won it in 2019 for a story on the champion filly Rachel Alexandra.

Narrated by Tom Rinaldi, “The Healing Ride” profiled the Mott racing family and the devastating loss of Margot Mott, daughter of trainer Riley Mott and his wife, Megan, and granddaughter to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Margot lost her battle to a form of brain cancer at age two in 2024.

The feature began with the unfolding of a special bond between father and son when Riley started coming to Bill’s barn at about five years old and developed into a passion for the sport. The bond grew as Riley joined in Bill’s remarkable success on his way to becoming a Hall of Fame trainer.

By 2023, Riley and Megan were blessed with their first child, daughter Margot. That fall, Margot was diagnosed with a large tumor in the back of her head and she had to be in surgery within 12 hours. Her life was never the same. Three months after the diagnosis, she passed away in her mother’s arms.

In dealing with anguish of the loss Riley Mott said, “My family and our two sons saved my life, but I think the horses were the most therapeutic thing I could have at that time.” And as Renaldi intoned, “Training and racing held the Mott family together.”

And they were together when Sovereignty won the Kentucky Derby last May. “That was the single most special moment I had with my dad,” said Riley.

The feature captured a warm embrace of Bill and Riley near the infield winner’s circle at Churchill Downs following the Derby victory, and concludes with pictures of Margot on top of a horse and her standing in front a horse’s stall.

“Storytelling is the backbone of what we do at Fox Sports,” said Michael Mulvihill of FOX Sports. “We are deeply grateful to the Mott family for placing their trust and confidence in Tom Rinaldi and our producer Etienne Materre to tell their story. We wish to humbly share this honor with the entire Mott family.”

The winning entry can be viewed here.

Honorable mention in the Television Feature category went to NBC Sports for its feature of NTWAB member Steve Kornacki spending time with Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, which aired on May 3, 2025, and was produced by Elinore Wright. Honorable mention also went to Netflix “Race for the Crown,” Kentucky Derby episode; Ian Sambor, Producer. 

Judges in the Television Feature category were Bob Curran, industry communications consultant; Dave Johnson, track announcer, television analyst, and race caller for ABC Sports, and now co-host of Down The Stretch on SiriusXM; and Patty Wolfe, Multimedia Eclipse Award winner and three-time Emmy winner at ABC Sports.

Writing – News/Enterprise – Natalie Voss   

In her four-part series, “Doom Scroll: Thoroughbreds, Bail Pens, And Horse Traders,” which was published in the Paulick Report in December 2024, Natalie Voss, who at the time was a member of NTWAB, provided an in depth analysis on the methods, reactions and ramifications of bail pens, a new and growing economy in which horses, including many Thoroughbreds, are offered for sale to the public under the threat that they will be exported and rendered for meat if a steep “bail price” isn’t paid.

This is the fourth Media Eclipse Award for Voss, of Georgetown, Kentucky.

The first article in the series lays the groundwork for bail pen operations and a new breed of horse traders who prey on people’s good intentions, mostly on social media. It is followed by the second article examining the effects bail pens have on rescue organizations. The third article discussed procedures of what to do if you’re contacted about a horse in a pen, and concludes with an examination of large and small scale solutions actionable by individuals and the industry.

"I'm so honored to win the Eclipse for this series because this subject is incredibly important to me,” said Voss. “I did a lot of reporting that intersected with the bail pen economy in my career and was always a little surprised when I'd encounter racing stakeholders who didn't know much about it. I also recognized there wasn't a lot of independent reference material out there about it, so I endeavored to create a series that could break down its complexities, and also offer micro- and macro-level solutions and perspective for someone trying to navigate the space.” 

Voss identified psychological manipulation as one of the methods that has made the pens so successful. The pens’ social media posts urge their audience to act now, and to acquiesce to their terms, pushing people to pay escalated prices for horses, sight unseen, who often have significant medical problems. The cost of acquiring, transporting, quarantining, and rehabbing horses out of a pen can be significant for individuals or rescues. Although all types of horses may be found in a bail pen, ex-racehorses are often sought out by pen operators.

“Thoroughbreds, in large part because of their traceability, are social media gold mines for bail pens. They often carry higher bail prices than other breeds in similar condition, because it makes the public furious to see one there; that drives bail money.”

The series points out that although the pens often stretch the truth in their marketing, the bail pen cycle is not a good place for a horse to end up – for the horse, or for the industry.

“More people are becoming aware of the bail pen than four or five years ago, but the bail pen economy is so strong that the best way to confront it is not to let the horses get into that situation in the first place,” Voss added. “It’s important to have a good aftercare plan in place before hand. Prevention is the best cure.”

Voss, who is now Director of Communications for United States Equestrian Federation, won the Media Eclipse Award for News/Enterprise in 2016, and in 2020 in News/ Enterprise and in Feature/Commentary. All were written for the Paulick Report. She was with the Paulick Report for 12 years, and was editor-in-chief at time of her departure in 2025.

The winning entry can be viewed here.

Honorable mention in the News/Enterprise category went to Joe Clancy for “Journalism Writes a Masterpiece in Preakness Thriller,” which appeared in the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred in the July 1 edition, and his brother, Sean Clancy, a three-time Media Eclipse Award winner for “Summer Reading” a news article on the 2025 Travers Stakes, which appeared on Aug. 27 in The Saratoga Special.

Judges in the News/Enterprise category were Dan Liebman, former editor of BloodHorse and The State-Journal in Frankfort, Ky.; Jim Mulvihill, Director of marketing communications for Denver-based Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, former editor and NTRA Communications Director; and David Papadopoulos, Managing Editor, Bloomberg News.

Writing – Feature/Commentary – Jay Privman

NTWAB member Jay Privman has won the Feature/Commentary Media Eclipse Award for “Lukas Morphed from Caustic to Avuncular,” recalling the dynamic career of the late Hall of Fame trainer  D. Wayne Lukas and his personal evolution during more than four decades as a vital force in Thoroughbred racing. The article first appeared on the Daily Racing Form’s website DRF.com on June 29, the day following Lukas’s passing.

It is the first Media Eclipse Award for Privman, of Carlsbad, California. Retired in 2022 after covering the sport since 1980, Privman was honored with a Special Eclipse Award for Career Excellence in 2023.

"Wayne Lukas was a significantly impactful figure in the sport, yet his story arc was largely unknown by those who weren't around when he first came on the scene,” said Privman. “Having covered him for more than 40 years, I was fortunate to have the perspective of that arc, and the good fortune that my old employer, Daily Racing Form, was desirous of running a piece that showcased the totality of Wayne's saga.

"I am indebted to Daily Racing Form editor Jody Swavy, and managing editor Irwin Cohen, for providing the space for the essay, and especially to Frank Mirahmadi, the track announcer at Santa Anita and Saratoga, who first suggested the piece and was insistent I do it. Most of all, thanks goes to Wayne, for his unique story and for showing that people are complicated and can evolve, that they are not caricatures of their best nor worst moments."

Privman first covered Lukas for the Los Angeles Daily News at the 1980 Santa Anita Derby and wrote about him for the last time in an interview prior to the 2022 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Racecourse when he was national correspondent for Daily Racing Form.

In ‘Caustic to Avuncular,’ Privman describes Lukas moving from the Quarter Horse scene of the late 1970s to hitting Thoroughbred racing like a hurricane: bold, brash, and off-putting to fellow trainers as he quickly climbed the ladder of success sporting finely tailored suits and immaculate stable areas dotting the entire country; grabbing the media spotlight while piling up wins in the Triple Crown races and the Breeders’ Cup.  Over time Lukas endured his own changes of fortune, adapted to the times, continued winning, and established a thriving legacy among colleagues and fans as the popular and beloved “Coach.” 

His coaching tree already has produced outstanding disciples, and will live on for decades, Privman wrote. “His exacting standards for the way a barn looks, and the way people who work there act, has been carried on by those trainers, and many who have long admired Lukas, even if they didn’t work for him, like Kenny McPeek. Lukas’s imprint on the sales ring, in terms of what a horseman looks for, and the prices paid for those horses, has been substantial.

Along the way, Lukas changed. He evolved with the times, in terms of how to train the modern-day racehorse, and the societal demands therein, and how to deal with people, too. He seemed satisfied, appreciative, and, most of all, content.”

The winning article can be viewed: here.

Honorable mention in the Feature/Commentary category went to NTWAB member Lenny Shulman for “Racing Royalty,” a profile of the late Patrice Wolfson, which was published in BloodHorse on July 1, 2025.

Judges in the Feature/Commentary category were Amanda Duckworth, communications consultant for the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities; Amy Gregory, former Director of Communications, Keeneland Association; and Bob Kieckhefer, Racing Writer, United Press International.   

Photography – Skip Dickstein

Skip Dickstein, veteran photographer from the Albany Times-Union and BloodHorse has won his second Eclipse Award for Outstanding Photography for his image of an unseated Irad Ortiz Jr. taken after the start of the Aug. 31, 2025, Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Dickstein, of Malta, N.Y., won his first Eclipse Award in 1996 for the finish of the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Woodbine Racetrack.

Looking through his Nikon Z9 180mm-600mm Nikon zoom about 125 feet down past the wire to shoot the start of the Gold Cup, Dickstein noticed something wrong shortly after the horses broke from the gate. The 4-year-old Phileas Fogg, breaking from the seventh post position in an eight-horse field moved sharply to his left and caused a chain reaction, forcing Contrary Thinking to shy in bumping White Abarrio, who in turn bumped solidly into Mindframe.

“I stayed with the shot in anticipation that something unusual was likely to happen and the jockeys started to react to it,” Dickstein recalled. He stayed on the shutter release and concentrated on the action as it evolved, never taking his eye from the viewfinder, making images at a rate of 15 frames per second. 

When Dickstein returned to the press box to examine his images, he was transfixed on a shot of Ortiz holding onto the mane of his mount with his left hand, while desperately holding onto White Abarrio with his right hand as the rider dangled about a foot above the ground.

(Ortiz fell to the ground, was taken to a local hospital, but avoided serious injury. He returned to riding on Sept. 4 at Kentucky Downs.) 

“It was one of the best action images I’ve ever made,” said Dickstein, who has been photographing for the Times-Union the past 45 years, and for BloodHorse since 1978. “I have won it (the Eclipse Award) before from a remote, but never a handheld image. This brings a greater sense of satisfaction as the hand held image is far more personal.”

Born and raised in Albany, N.Y., Dickstein attended Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and credits Bill Clough, as his primary photo journalism mentor at the Beaumont Enterprise and Journal Newspaper. Dickstein has covered every Kentucky Derby since 1986 and all 42 Breeders’ Cup Championships as well as many other national sporting events including the National Track and Field Championships, the Olympic Trials for Track and Field and Bobsled and Luge as well as the 1980 and 1996 Olympic Games.

The winning image can be viewed: here.

Honorable mention in the Photography category went to Alex Evers, the 2020 Photography Eclipse winner for his finish of the 2025 Kentucky Derby, “Sovereignty Reigns Supreme,” Derby, which appeared in Agentes 305 on May 3, 2025, and to two-time Eclipse Award winner Scott Serio for “Floating in the Fog,” which appeared in Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred on Sept. 1, 2025.

Judges in the Photography category were John McCutcheon, former Director of Photography and Video at the San Diego Union-Tribune and supervisor of Photography and Video at The Los Angeles Times; Mike Kane, veteran Thoroughbred writer and photographer; and Rob Carr, Chief Photographer, Getty Images/Chief Photographer, Sport.

Multimedia – Freakonomics Radio

The Freakonomics Radio Podcast “Inside the Horse-Industrial Complex,” examined the wide-ranging world of horse racing, and discussed the various facets of the industry through from the life of the jockey, to breeding, auction sales, and issues from artificial insemination to recent changes in U.S. immigration policy. The program, the second of the three-part series “The Horse is Us,” was produced by Augusta Chapman and hosted by Stephen Dubner. The program first aired last year on Oct. 31. 

Freakonomics, based in New York, interviewed a range of individuals for their perspective on horse racing: Emily Plant, Thoroughbred researcher and statistician, associate professor of marketing at the University of Montana, Jill Stowe; professor of economics at the University of Kentucky; Mark Taylor, president of Taylor Made Farm; Oscar Gonzales, vice chair of the California Horse Racing Board, and Richard Migliore, head racing analyst for Fox Sports and New York Racing Association, and retired jockey.

“I’m thrilled, this series is a passion project for me,” said Chapman. “It’s been my favorite project and to win this award is a payoff. Our goal in each series is to introduce the audience into a topic and find out the biggest questions in the industry. It’s been all- consuming and it’s all I could talk about for a year. For me it feels great that I can share it with everyone.”

Dubner was able to unearth educational and revealing interviews with his subjects, especially with Migliore and Taylor. Migliore told his life story starting as a rider at 16 and in the saddle for 30 years, growing up in the business from mucking stalls to working horses, and the interaction between equines and humans, to making weight, recovering from injuries and the payment structure a jockey receives.

“As a jockey, you have a dance partner. You’re only as good as your dance partner in a lot of respects,” said Migliore. “I’ve never seen a jockey get off and carry the horse. For me, it was very important to understand a horse’s personality, their psyche, their strengths, their weaknesses. Some riders maybe rely more on their physicality, because being a jockey — even though it’s hard for people to relate to a smaller-than-average person as a premier athlete — you are a premier athlete.”

Taylor, president of Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., was glad to be a guest because “the thoroughbred horse world is Freakonomics. It’s very volatile. There’s not many industries or economies that it’s a living, breathing creature.” Taylor emphasized the importance of Lexington, Kentucky as the nerve center of the industry, touching on Keeneland sales, the marketplace and the vital premise that the best stallions are in Kentucky. And that Kentucky soil and weather made it the best place to breed and raise Thoroughbreds.

The winning entry can be found here.

Honorable mention in the Multimedia category went to Katie Petrunyak of Thoroughbred Daily News for Breeders' Cup Breakthrough: For Kevin Attard, “Moira's Win More Than a Milestone,” on Aug. 8, 2025, and to Christina Bossinakis, also for Thoroughbred Daily News, for “Tenacious Emma-Jayne Wilson Poised for Next Comeback” on Aug. 27, 2025.

Judges in the Multimedia category were John Engelhardt, 35 years as a producer in TV/radio/podcasts, and current host of The Regular Guy on winningponies.com; Julie Sarno, freelance writer, a former editorial staff member of BloodHorse, staff member at The Meadowlands, staff member and Department Head at Del Mar; and Joe Withee, Director of Broadcast Publicity, Emerald Downs.

Edited NTRA release

Posted Jan,. 8, 2026

About the Eclipse Awards

Produced by the NTRA, The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies. Eclipse Awards voting is conducted by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), Daily Racing Form, National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) member racing officials and Equibase field personnel. Each Eclipse Awards Finalist will be provided two complimentary tickets to the Awards show courtesy of The Jockey Club. 

About Resolute Racing

Resolute Racing is committed to the highest standards of excellence and transparency in the horse racing industry. Driven by a passion for the sport and the welfare of every horse, we prioritize ethical practices and accountability across our operations. Founded by John Stewart, Resolute Racing is dedicated to ensuring that every racehorse has a secure future, fostering a culture of responsibility among owners, trainers, and all participants. With a focus on integrity and respect for the animals, we aim to set a new standard in the racing world, where success is measured not only by wins but by the long-term care and well-being of our thoroughbreds.

About The Breakers Palm Beach

Originally built in 1896, The Breakers remains one of America’s legendary resort destinations. Renowned for its seaside glamour and world-class service, the 538-room, Italian Renaissance-style hotel resides on 140 acres of oceanfront property in the heart of Palm Beach. With unapologetic luxury, Resort amenities feature a private beach, four oceanfront pools, five whirlpool spas, 25 luxury beach bungalows and a variety of watersports; a new luxury spa; indoor-outdoor Ocean Fitness center; 36 holes of championship golf, including the Ocean Course and The Breakers Rees Jones® Course; 10 Har-Tru tennis courts; a Family Entertainment Center; an array of on-site boutiques; and nine acclaimed restaurants, with settings ranging from casual beachfront to stylishly sophisticated.