The Awards Dinner was a tremendous success with a strong turnout and fundraising. Photos from the evening are posted here.

Our membership meeting was productive, highlighted by the addition of new members—Lillian Davis, Steve Dennis, Jim Gazzale, Dave Hill, and Nick Hines. Welcome aboard!

Minutes from our Breeders’ Cup meeting are at the foot of this newsletter.

Important reminder: In the coming weeks, you’ll receive your Eclipse Award ballots and past performance information, and/or online access. Eclipse Award voting closes at 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 1, 2026. This is a day or so earlier than in past years.

Please submit on time—some members missed the deadline last year. The final graded stakes of 2025, races that could potentially influence voting, take place from Dec. 26-28.

Voters must abstain from any categories in which they have a conflict of interest or the possible appearance of one.

The Eclipse Award ceremony will take place at The Breakers Palm Beach in South Florida on Jan. 22, 2026.

Lastly, a reminder that media-outlet applications for NTWAB funding are due Dec. 19. A release with full details on that program is available here.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Byron King

President

National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association

Posted Dec. 4, 2025

_____________________

NTWAB General Membership Meeting
Breeders’ Cup Week 2023
Thursday, November 2, 2023
Conducted at Santa Anita Park & by Zoom

Call to Order – meeting called to order by Tom Law at 11.04 am Pacific.

Roll Call – (in person) Tom Law, Jennifer Kelly, Frank Angst, Byron King, Bob Kieckhefer, Ed DeRosa, Mike Farrell, Sara Gordon, Rudi Groothedde, Lisa Groothedde, Beth Harris, Alex Orr, Julie Sarno, Jay Hovdey.

(Via Zoom – attendance fluctuated throughout meeting) Steve Byk, J.N. Campbell, Megan Connolly, Steve Crist, Liane Crossley, Gregory Hall, Vance Hanson, Dave Johnson, Gene Kershner, Steve Kornacki, Seth Merrow, Natalie Voss Nevills, Jay Privman, Jennie Rees, Paul Rolfes, John Scheinman, Lenny Shulman, Julie June Stewart, Alicia Hughes. 

Also in attendance were representatives from HISA and HIWU, including Lisa Lazarus, Ben Mosier, Alexa Ravit, and Mandy Minger. 

Treasurer’s Report was presented remotely by treasurer Dick Downey.

HISA Communications – Lisa Lazarus and Ben Mosier took questions from membership off the record. Both address relationship with the media and coming changes to websites, databases, data reporting (like voided claims, etc.), and communications between HISA/HIWU and media.

2023 NTWAB Annual Awards Banquet Report – Tom Law shared that over 120 were in attendance at the annual awards banquet on Wednesday, November 1. All five award winners were present as well. Julie Sarno gave a report about Loren Hebel-Osborne’s efforts behind the scenes when issues necessitated a change in venue. Tom Law also shared ad sales, thanked Byron King, Loren and Julie for their efforts and offered that programs were available for those who wanted one. Dick Downey will share photos of the event on both the website and social media. 

Membership Review Committee Update – J.N. Campbell shared an update from the Membership Review Committee. After reviewing the membership roster, the committee reached out to 24 members whose current affiliations were uncertain and clarified their roles. The committee also recommended status changes for those whose roles had changed, recommending moving those members to either Associate or Tenured status based on their time with the organization. Eight were recommended to move to Tenured while 14 were dropped from Regular to Associate. Three chose to drop their membership altogether. The full board met to consider the issue and elected to go forward with the recommendations. Members in question have 30 days to respond to the change. This process will begin again in January and will be conducted annually per bylaws. 

Scholarship Committee – Natalie Voss shared update about the internship and scholarship programs from the NTWAB. The committee got positive feedback from both The BloodHorse and The Saratoga Special on the program's impact on their ability to host internships; the Special was able to add an additional internship spot because of it. The NTWAB funded the only two requests that came in but hope next year to have an application from a broadcast outlet, since ideally the committee would like to do one broadcast and one print/web. 

Megan Connolly suggested reaching out to the Godolphin Flying Start program to see if they would be willing to add journalism to their curriculum. 

Richard Gross suggested researching what previous NTWAB interns have done and sharing that on the website for more visibility for the program. 

Voss invites those interested in participating in our committee to reach out to her.

New Member Applications – Jennifer Kelly shared the ten new member applications, with seven recommended for Regular membership while three were recommended for Associate membership with the option to apply for Regular membership at a later date. Mike Farrell moved to accept the entire slate. Byron King seconded. All new members were approved. 

Media Eclipse Awards – Tom Law shared an update about the upcoming media Eclipse Awards, including changes to qualifications to open up eligibility to more outlets. 

Meeting adjourned at 12.23 pm Pacific.

Applications for Membership – November 2023
Name  Status  Sponsors  Board Decision  Membership Vote
Andrew Anderson  A  Britney Eurton & Christina Blacker  Recommended  Approved
Remi Bellocq  RW  Tom Law & Frank Angst  Recommended  Approved
Mike Bernier  RB  Scott Hazelton & Larry Collmus  Recommended  Approved
Karen Johnson  RW  Frank Angst & Byron King  Recommended  Approved
Michael Joyce  RB  Scott Hazelton & Christina Blacker  Recommended  Approved
Carlos Morales  A  Tim Wilkin & Juan-Carlos Feijóo Gonzalez  Recommended  Approved
Anthony Mormino  A  Seth Merrow & Brian Nadeau  Recommended  Approved
Jim Mulvihill  RW  Frank Angst & Byron King  Recommended  Approved
Todd Schrupp  RB  Scott Hazelton & Simon Bray  Recommended  Approved
Ken Snyder  RW  Jennie Rees & Tom Pedulla   Recommended  Approved