NEWS
Day, McKay honored by Turf Writers
Posted: Thursday, November 02, 2000
Racing Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day, veteran television sportscaster Jim McKay, and THOROUGHBRED TIMES correspondent Bill Heller were among the five honorees at the 41st annual National Turf Writers Association awards dinner on Wednesday evening in Louisville.
Bill Christine, turf writer for the Los Angeles Times, and Richard Edmondson, racing writer for the English newspaper The Independent, also were honored during the dinner.
Heller, a New York-based correspondent for THOROUGHBRED TIMES and Eclipse Award-winning writer, was awarded the Bill Leggett Breeders' Cup Writing Award for magazine coverage. Heller won the award for a story published in The Backstretch on the ups and downs of trainer Jimmy Toner and 1999 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) winner Soaring Softly.
Day, the all-time winningest rider in Breeders' Cup history and currently ranked third in career wins for all jockeys, was awarded the Mr. Fitz Award, which goes to an individual who typifies the spirit of racing.
McKay, who has covered Thoroughbred racing for ABC Sports for decades, was given the Joe Palmer Award for meritorious service to racing. McKay, who entertained the crowd with several humorous stories about racing and non-racing events, said he was honored by the award and even a little surprised.
"For you guys (writers) to give a TV guy an award is like Gore calling Bush an intellectual, or Bush calling Gore charismatic," McKay said. "I've covered a lot of sports, but I've met more entertaining, fascinating, and interesting people in horse racing than any other sport I covered.
Christine, who has covered racing for the Los Angeles Times since 1982, was given the Walter Haight Award for outstanding achievement in turf writing.
Edmondson was given the Joe Hirsch Breeders' Cup Writing Award for a story on 1999 Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) winner Daylami (Ire) and winning jockey Frankie Dettori.
