NEWS
Hiro wins Media Eclipse Award for feature/enterprise writing
Posted: Thursday, December 27, 2007 2:53 PM
Brian Hiro of the North County Times in Escondido, California, has won the 2007 Media Eclipse Award for Writing in the feature/enterprise category for “Death and Durability of the Racehorse,” a three-part series published from August 12-14.
Hiro, 32, of San Marcos, has been a general assignment reporter in the sports department of the North County Times since 2001.
“It’s a gigantic surprise,” said Hiro. “It is an honor to be recognized for an award as competitive or as significant as this one.”
Part one of Hiro’s story examined the increasing number of injuries to racehorses at North American racetracks and the industry’s response to research and management of the problem. Part two explored the changes and economics in the North American breeding industry over the past three decades, including the focus on speed over stamina and increased use of medication in racehorses. Part three focused on the industry’s reaction to racehorse injuries through the introduction of synthetic surfaces at North American tracks.
Hiro said his story originally was focused on synthetic racing surfaces but was expanded when he gathered information and results from the 2006 Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, hosted by the Keeneland Association.
“The Summit was a big breakthrough in expanding the story to a series,” Hiro said. “The industry gathered a wealth of information on horse safety, and I found people such as Ed Bowen [president of the Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation] and Dr. Rick Arthur [equine medical director of the California Horse Racing Board], to be especially knowledgeable and passionate about improving conditions for racehorses. The Summit tied it all together. I found people in the industry who saw a problem right in front of them and were trying to make changes that will bear fruit.”
Honorable mention in the feature/enterprise writing category went to Bill Handleman for “ ‘Hollywood’ Gets a Second Go Round at Age 50” about former jockey Herb McCauley, which appeared in the Asbury Park (New Jersey) Press on September 9, 2007; and to Shannon Russell for “A Remarkable Tale of Determination” on the recovery of jockey Perry Ouzts, which was published in the Cincinnati Enquirer on February 18, 2007.
Judges for the feature/enterprise writing category were Paul Moran, former racing writer and columnist for Newsday; Fred Klein, former columnist for The Wall Street Journal, and George Solomon, former sports editor of the Washington Post.
The 37th Annual Eclipse Awards will be held on January 21 at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
