Castleton Lyons / Thoroughbred Times Book Award

Thoroughbred Times and Castleton Lyons announce 2007 Book Award

Click here to download a Book Award nomination form!

Castleton Lyons, a leading Thoroughbred breeding farm, and Thoroughbred Times, a leading Thoroughbred industry publishing company, announced that they will be conducting the second annual Castleton Lyons-Thoroughbred Times Book Award to honor the best books published about Thoroughbred racing in 2007.

Last year, the inaugural Castleton Lyons-Thoroughbred Times Book Award and its $10,000 first- place prize were awarded to Joe Drape for his book Black Maestro, which chronicled the life of Jimmy Winkfield, the last African-American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby.

“The first year produced an outstanding winner in Black Maestro, and Joe Drape’s book is exactly the kind of work that we want to honor,” said Mark Simon, president of Thoroughbred Times.

“This is the first award in Thoroughbred racing that honors books, which are such an important part of the fabric of racing but have been overlooked by the Thoroughbred racing industry.

“This award was the idea of the late Dr. Tony Ryan, the founder of Ryanair and owner of Castleton Lyons. In continuing this award, we are paying tribute to his legacy and to his commitment to the arts. Dr. Ryan loved Thoroughbred racing and this award would not be possible without his vision.”

The deadline for submissions for the 2007 Castleton Lyons-Thoroughbred Times Book Award is December 31, with the semi-finalists being announced in March 2008. The winners will be announced at a reception at Castleton Lyons in Lexington, Kentucky, in April 2008.

Nominees for the Castleton Lyons-Thoroughbred Times Book Award can be in any category: fiction, non-fiction, handicapping, training, children’s, health care, photography, etc., as long as it pertains to an aspect dealing with Thoroughbreds. Judges selected by Thoroughbred Times will critique books on content, plus design, layout, and artwork, when relevant, to select the 2007 winner.

In the 2006 inaugural Castleton Lyons-Thoroughbred Times Book Award, second-place honors went to Dorothy Our for her historical book Man o’ War, A Legend Like Lightning. Third place went to Patrick Smithwick, author of Racing My Father, about growing up the son of Racing Hall of Fame steeplechase jockey A. P. “Paddy” Smithwick.

To submit nominees to the Castleton Lyons-Thoroughbred Times Book Award, authors or publishing companies should send four copies of the book, along with the nomination form (available on the Thoroughbred Times website at: www.thoroughbredtimes.com) to: Book Award, Thoroughbred Times, 2008 Mercer Rd, Lexington, KY  40511. Nominations must be submitted by December 31, 2007. 

Click here to download a Book Award nomination form!

About Castleton Lyons:

Founded by Dr. Tony Ryan, founder of Ireland-based Ryanair, and now run by Shane Ryan, Castleton Lyons is a full-service Thoroughbred farm based in Lexington that is situated on land with a distinguished history with horses dating back more than 200 years. The 1,200-acre farm stands the stallions Bernstein, Sir Shackleton, Toccet, and Wiseman’s Ferry.

About Thoroughbred Times:

Thoroughbred Times Company publishes the Thoroughbred Times, a weekly newsmagazine for owners, breeders, trainers, and racing enthusiasts worldwide. Thoroughbred Times also publishes an annual Stallion Directory, the Buyer’s Guides for auctions, an annual Auction Review, the daily electronic newsletter Thoroughbred Times Today, the annual Thoroughbred Times Racing Almanac, and maintains a comprehensive website.

For additional information, contact:

Mark Simon
(859) 260-9800 ext. 110
msimon@thoroughbredtimes.com