Contact: Jim Gluckson (646) 335-6835
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) today released the guidelines for the 2009 Media Eclipse Awards. The awards are presented by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association for outstanding achievement in the coverage of Thoroughbred racing. Eclipse trophies will be presented to the award winners at the 39th annual Eclipse Awards Dinner on January 18, 2010 at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
All submissions must be received by 5:00 p.m. (ET), Friday, November 20, 2009.
Categories for the 2009 Media Eclipse Awards are:
Writing - News/CommentaryWriting - Features/EnterprisePhotographyNational Television - Live Racing ProgrammingNational Television - FeaturesLocal TelevisionAudio/Multi-Media Internet
Beginning with the 1998 awards, the Eclipse Awards have been presented by the NTRA, Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association. Previously, the Eclipse Awards were sponsored by Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America (TRA) in conjunction with Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association. Prior to the start of the Eclipse Awards in 1971, the TRA and Daily Racing Form separately honored racing’s annual champions. The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and 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.
The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic conditions for industry participants. The NTRA has offices in Lexington, Ky., and in New York. NTRA press releases appear on the NTRA web site, NTRA.com.
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2009 ECLIPSE AWARDS FOR MEDIA
The Eclipse Awards for Media are presented by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association. Rules governing the Media Eclipse Awards are established by representatives of the three presenting organizations.
MEDIA ECLIPSE AWARD CATEGORIES
Writing - News/Commentary
Writing - Feature/Enterprise
Photography
National Television - Live Racing Programming
National Television - Features
Local Television
Audio/Multi-Media Internet
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS
Entries must be RECEIVED by 5:00 p.m. (ET), Friday, November 20, 2009. Entries received after that time will not be accepted.
Entries for the Writing and the Photography awards will be accepted via email.
Entries for the television Awards and the Multi-Media Internet Award will be accepted via regular mail or overnight courier service.
Entries for the Television and Multi-Media Internet Awards are to be mailed to the address listed under those categories below.
ENTRY FEE
None
RULES
Entries should display outstanding achievement in the coverage of North American Thoroughbred racing and must have been published or aired for the first time between November 16, 2008 and November 16, 2009.
Print submissions (news/commentary writing, feature/enterprise writing and photography) must have been published in a paid-circulation publication OR on the Internet at a web site that is a same-name affiliate of a paid-circulation publication or recognized broadcast news organization (e.g., The Blood-Horse Interactive, the Boston Globe Online, MSNBC).
Television entries must have aired on a commercial, subscription or public television station.
Audio/Multi-Media Internet entries must have aired on a commercial or public radio station or been broadcast on the Internet at a site that is a same-name affiliate of a paid-circulation publication or recognized broadcast news organization.
Fiction or entries that constitute a commercial application (e.g., advertisements, publicity or promotions) are not eligible in any category.
LETTERS OF ENTRY
Entries must originate with the author (print submissions) or producer (audio/multi-media Internet and television submissions). All entries must include a cover letter, from the author (for print submissions), photographer (for photography submissions) or producer (for audio/multi-media Internet and television), stating his/her wish to enter his/her materials; publication/broadcast information (outlined below); and contact information (name, address, telephone, fax, cell phone and e-mail, as applicable).
Please indicate the category of each submission in your cover letter.
The cover letter must include the date that the media organization published the article, in case of the writing and photography awards, or the air date of a television or multi-media/internet submission.
Please DO NOT include information in your cover letter extolling virtues of your story and the "impact" on the public at large, or the time and effort devoted to producing the entry. The judges will not see your letter, and it will have no bearing on the outcome of the competition.
Editors may submit print materials on behalf of authors, provided such submissions include the cover letter described above. All other third-party submissions will be rejected. In the writing categories, submissions by editors on behalf of multiple writers from a publication on a feature subject, special section or a compendium of stories on breaking news will be rejected.
The presenting organizations reserve the right to determine the eligibility of all entries, and to disqualify an entry at any time, including after determination of an award, in their sole discretion. The presenting organizations reserve the right not to bestow an award in a particular category, based on the quantity or (as determined by a panel of judges) the quality of submissions. Questions concerning eligibility should be directed to the address for entries, listed below.
By submitting an entry for consideration, the entrant represents and warrants that submission is a factual and accurate depiction of the subject of which it concerns.
LIMITS ON ENTRIES
Two per entrant, per category (with an exception for a multi-part series as noted below).
FORM OF ENTRY
1) News/Commentary and Feature/Enterprise Writing
News/Commentary – Submission guidelines for works in this category are the following: Timely, hard- news articles; columns and opinion pieces; essays and viewpoints.
Feature/Enterprise – Submission guidelines for works in this category are: Articles not written on overnight deadline; articles involving concentrated background research; biographical profiles and expository pieces.
Please note that competition in the writing categories is single author vs. single author. Multiple authors submitting articles under one byline will not be permitted for entry.
-Entries submitted in the wrong category are subject to disqualification.
-No Q&A submissions will be accepted in either category.
Multi-Part Series Rules
Within each category of writing, authors may submit a multi-part series of no more than five (5) related articles that:
A) Were published simultaneously on the same date (i.e. stories that together cover different aspects of an issue) OR
B) Covered a single theme over the course of several issues of an individual publication. A theme is not "the year in horse racing" nor is it a collection of columns from a race meet.
Authors submitting a multi-part series may not submit an additional piece in the same category. They may, however, enter in another category, subject to the rules outlined above.
Submission in either the News Commentary or Feature/Enterprise category excludes the candidate from submitting the same written piece in the Audio and Multi-Media Internet category.
Entry Submissions Rules – EMAIL – eclipsewriting@ntra.com
1) Authors must submit ONE copy of each submission in plain text. MS Word is the preferred format.
2) DO NOT send PDF’s of published works or web links to the submission. They will not be accepted.
3) Submissions must appear as the article was worded in the PUBLISHED form.
4) All Titles, Bylines and Sub-Headlines must be removed from the submission
5) No publication dates or publication names are permitted on the submission
6) Photos, graphs, charts or other graphic elements appearing within the article(s) should be masked or deleted.
7) Each submission must be accompanied by a single "screen print" of the article, showing the author, title and date of the publication.
The author must indicate which writing category the work is being submitted for (e.g., "News Commentary").
Internet-based submissions must be accompanied by a letter from the editor or equivalent senior official of the Web site, attesting that the document is the work of the author who submitted it and that it appeared on the Web site on the date(s) in question.
All submissions in the two writing categories are to be sent via email to eclipsewriting@ntra.com
2) Photography – eclipsephoto@ntra.com
Photography entries are limited to images for events which took place in North America.
Photographers must submit via email in jpeg format one image of each photo, with NO identifying marks (e.g., photographer’s name). Photos must be accompanied by a letter from the entrant. The letter must include the name of the publication and date that the photograph appeared. The submission must be accompanied by a single "screen print" of the published photo showing date, publication title and photographer’s name. "Tearsheets" for Internet-based submissions will consist of a "screen print" of the document, which must be accompanied by a letter from the editor or equivalent senior official of the Web site, attesting that the photograph is the work of the author who submitted it and that it appeared on the Web site on the date(s) in question, in connection with a news-related story.
Please note that only the original photo will be accepted. Photographs which include color enhancement, "photo shopping" or alteration of the image, will not be allowed in the competition.
All submissions in the Photography category are to be sent via email to eclipsephoto@ntra.com
3) Television
Local television and all National Television entries (features or live racing programming) are to be submitted in DVD format. The DVD’s must be accompanied by a letter detailing the name of the entrant, the date each program aired and the name of the station or network on which it aired. Commercial breaks must be deleted or the entry will be disqualified.
Entries for the National Television – Live Racing Programming category must be from a live racing show, not a documentary, and not a retrospective of racing history.
Entries for National Television - Features category may be submitted as either single, stand-alone pieces, a documentary, or as part of a live-racing program. Entries in the Features category are limited to 120 minutes. Features may NOT be submitted for separate consideration in this category if the same program has been submitted for entry in the Live Racing category. "Medley" tapes containing more than two features, of any duration, will not be accepted.
Entries in the Television categories devoted exclusively to one-on-one "sit down" interviews will be rejected.
All submissions in the Television categories are to be mailed to:
Joan Lawrence
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
800 Westchester Avenue
Suite 641-N
Rye Brook, NY 10573
914-481-8391
4) Audio/Multi-Media Internet
The Audio/Multi Media Internet category recognizes the growth in Internet-based media, and how news organizations are seeking ways to enhance and expand traditional news coverage. All entries in this category must be limited to 60 minutes. Entries for live radio broadcasts may submit a compilation of the best work during over the course of one program.
The Audio/Multi-Media Internet category may consist of audio only (e.g., a radio or Internet-based broadcast) OR a multi-media, Internet-based submission, whose components include audio. No more than two (2) individual radio or Internet-based audio broadcasts may be submitted. "Medley" tapes containing more than two radio shows or Webcasts, of any duration, will not be accepted.
The Multi-Media Internet entries must have one integrated theme and be presented in a Webcast centering on a news event, subject or feature. To be eligible, the Webcast must include at least two forms of media, one of which must be audio. The complementary form(s) of media may be video, photographs, graphics and/or print (e.g., a story or stories). The entry, in its entirety, must be retrievable from one Internet frame, with links to components of the package being considered part of the frame, provided they link back to pages within the originating Web site and not to other, external Web sites.
Entries limited completely to one on one interviews with a single individual will be rejected.
Submission in the Multi-Media Internet category excludes the candidate from submitting the same written piece in the News Commentary or Feature/Enterprise categories.
Multi-Media Internet submissions must be accompanied by a letter from the editor or equivalent senior official of the Web site, attesting that the package is the work of the author(s) or organization who submitted it and that it appeared on the Web site on the date(s) in question.
Audio/Multi-Media Internet entries may be submitted as a single URL (Web address) or on a CD-ROM.
Audio/Multi-Media Internet entries must have aired on a commercial or public radio station or been on the Internet at a site that is a same-name affiliate of a paid-circulation publication or recognized broadcast news organization.
Submissions from radio entries must be accompanied by a letter detailing the name of the entrant, the date the program aired and the name of the station or network on which it aired. Commercial breaks for radio entries must be deleted or the entry will be disqualified.
Submissions of Webcasts must be accompanied by a letter from the Web producer or equivalent senior official of the Web site attesting that the work is that of the author who submitted it and including the date the program was Webcast and the name of Web site on which it aired.
All submissions in the Multi-Media Internet category are to mailed to
Joan Lawrence
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
800 Westchester Avenue
Suite 641 N
Rye Brook, NY 10573
(914) 481-8391
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NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS
Winners will be notified by the NTRA no later than Monday, January 4, 2010. Winners will be honored at the Eclipse Awards dinner to be held Monday evening, January 18, 2010 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
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