It was great to see many of you at the Kentucky Derby and during our Derby Week membership meeting – either in person or via Zoom. The officers and directors appreciate all those who attended. The minutes from the meeting are attached.

During the meeting we said thanks to longtime director, Walter Haight winner and DRF mainstay Marty McGee, who hung up his Turf writing gear to become Joe Talamo’s agent. The organization made a $100 donation in Marty’s name to Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, along with a $100 gift card to the Capital Grille in Louisville.

Marty’s two-year director term also expired at the Derby Week meeting, along with those of Scott Hazelton and Natalie Voss. Marty and Natalie were not re-nominated (by their choices) and we thanked them for their service to the organization. Scott was re-elected to the board, along with Byron King of BloodHorse and Steve Byk from At The Races. Welcome to Byron and Steve and a welcome back to Scott.

Other important items related to the meeting are in the minutes, including the date and location of our Annual Awards Dinner – Wednesday, Nov. 1 at The Woolf Den by The Derby in Arcadia, California. The Woolf Den is The Derby’s new event space and Julie Sarno has been working with Loren Hebel-Osborne on the planning for the 63rd annual Awards Dinner. We’ll have more details on the dinner and nominations for our award winners soon.

A few committees were formed and re-formed during the Derby Week meeting. The membership review committee of Nathan Campbell, Jennifer Kelly and I met this week to start the annual process of checking the NTWAB’s roster. With that comes my annual call to members who might need to make a status change, depending on their job situation. Regular members (writers and broadcasters) are those actively and professionally engaged in coverage of racing. Please be aware that a member of the committee might contact you regarding your status. We’ve had several members the last few years reach out to say they need to be changed from Regular to Associate, or vice versa. If your status needs to be changed, please contact NTWAB Secretary Jennifer Kelly.

Another group was formed to look into the bylaws to make sure they’re up to date by current journalism and modern-day media standards. They’ll be meeting soon and we’ll report any information as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the Preakness is this weekend and I’m sure I’ll see more of you there. Safe travels to Baltimore.

Take care,

Tom Law

NTWAB President

May 16, 2023