Message from the President: Kentucky Derby Doings
With Kentucky Derby week fast approaching, this note serves as a reminder that our upcoming spring NTWAB meeting will take place on
Wednesday, April 30, at 11 a.m. ET.
My fellow NTWAB members,
With Kentucky Derby week fast approaching, this note serves as a reminder that our upcoming spring NTWAB meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 30, at 11 a.m. ET in the press conference area located next to the Churchill Downs press box.
All on-site members are encouraged to attend. For those off-site, we encourage you to join us via Zoom. A Zoom link and agenda will be distributed one to two days before the meeting.
Among the items on the agenda are the applications of four individuals seeking to join our ranks and the election of officers. Three two-year director terms are expiring – those for Steve Byk, Scott Hazelton, and Tom Law. Steve and Scott have said they would be honored to continue serving the board. Tom is vacating his seat after his long and distinguished service to the NTWAB.
If you are interested in running for any of the three positions, please alert us before or during the meeting. Additionally, if you have a topic you would like added to the agenda, please submit it to NTWAB Secretary Jennifer Kelly at thesirbarton@gmail.com.
Listed below are some Kentucky Derby resources that I hope are of benefit:
The 2025 media guide with direct links: https://www.kentuckyderby.com/media-guide-info/
The full 2025 media guide in flipbook style: https://www.kentuckyderby.com/media/
NTRA teleconferences (April 24 teleconference forthcoming): https://www.ntra.com/category/teleconferences/
Kentucky HBPA YouTube publicity available for media use: https://www.youtube.com/@kentuckyhbpa7026/videos
Future Wager 6 Past Performances of Derby Prospects generated in early April: https://www.brisnet.com/document/Derby25Future6.pdf
See you beneath the Twin Spires,
Byron King
NTWAB President
April 25, 2025
Cutting to the chase, and to the surprise of almost no one, the HORSE OF THE YEAR is SOVEREIGNTY. Other finalists were Forever Young and Journalism. Congratulations!
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters today announced the winners of the 2025 Media Eclipse Awards in six categories. Every entry must have been primarily published or aired for the first time between November 16, 2024, and November 14, 2025.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) today announced the finalists for the 2025 Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards, recognizing excellence through the past year in Thoroughbred racing.
The National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), with matching financial support from The Jockey Club, has agreed to support a record nine internship applications at horse racing media outlets in 2026, by far the largest group funded since the program began in 2023.
It was great seeing so many of you at Del Mar for the 2025 Breeders’ Cup and during our annual NTWAB Awards Dinner and our general membership meeting during Breeders’ Cup week.
The National Turf Writers and Broadcasters with matching financial support from The Jockey Club, today announced a substantial expansion of its internship funding program for equine media outlets in 2026. Both organizations have authorized contributions of up to $12,000 each, co-funding potentially eight paid internships designed to bolster staffing in horse racing media and foster the next generation of equine journalists.
A sold-out crowd attended the 65th edition of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Annual Awards Dinner at The Brigantine Del Mar on Oct. 29 where four traditional NTWAB Awards and four Breeders'.Cup Media Awards were presented. Photo array by Skip Dickstein. Narration by Dick Downey with contributions by Byron King.
I’m excited to see many of you at our 65th annual NTWAB Annual Awards Dinner on Oct. 29, the next day during our bi-annual general membership meeting Oct. 30 at Del Mar in the auxiliary press box, and during the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
Lexington, Ky. (Oct. 7, 2025) ─ The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), in conjunction with Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers And Broadcasters today released the guidelines for the 2025 Media Eclipse Awards. The media awards are presented by the NTRA, Daily Racing Form, and the NTWAB in recognition of outstanding achievement in media coverage of Thoroughbred racing.
Bill Christine, a multiple award-winning sports and turf writer and former president of NTWAB, died at age 87.
