NEWS
Freshman Sire Contest returns with cash prizes
Posted: Thursday, March 04, 2010 6:22 PM
Racing fans will be given the opportunity to test their skills at predicting the performance of this year’s crop of freshman sires—with the chance to win prize money at the same time—by entering the 2010 Freshman Sire Contest, presented by Markel and THOROUGHBRED TIMES.
In addition to an overall winner of the year, the contest will award $50 to each of the monthly leaders. A total of $1,400 will be awarded in the contest, with $600 going to the winner. Registration is underway and runs through 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 23.
This popular year-long contest returns for the 2010 racing season combined with the efforts of John Egan of Markel, who ran a similar competition for Markel in previous years.
“The 2009 Markel Freshman Sire competition was a great success and a lot of fun to organize,” Egan said. “However, by teaming up with THOROUGHBRED TIMES in 2010, this will reach a wider audience and I am excited to see the response from horse racing fans from all over the country.”
The free and interactive contest will allow entrants to create their own freshman “Stallion Barn” by choosing one freshman sire from each of six categories. Monthly and year-end prizes will be determined by the leading “Stallion Barn” in combined progeny earnings (as published by THOROUGHBRED TIMES, appearing regularly in the weekly magazine, THOROUGHBRED TIMES TODAY, and at www.thoroughbredtimes.com) on the freshman sire list.
A complete set of rules for the contest are available on the THOROUGHBRED TIMES website.
Egan and THOROUGHBRED TIMES Managing Editor Tom Law will discuss the contest, prizes, and rules during the Horse Racing Radio Network’s Equine Forum program live from Markel’s Lexington office on Saturday morning from 8 to 10 a.m. EDT. A live audio stream of the program is available at www.horseracingradio.net or locally in Lexington on WLXO 96.1 FM. A podcast of Saturday’s broadcast will also be available on the Horse Racing Radio Network website.
The contest will feature daily updates at www.thoroughbredtimes.com so players can monitor the progress of their “Stallion Barn” and track their standings against other competitors. A bimonthly update also will be provided in the daily newsletter THOROUGHBRED TIMES TODAY. This will keep track of leading contestants, update standings, identify stallions moving up and down the sire list, and profile monthly and seasonal sire leaders.
Each month from May through December, there will be a $50 cash prize awarded to the contestant whose “Stallion Barn” has earned the greatest progeny earnings for that month. In January 2011, Markel and THOROUGHBRED TIMES will announce the grand prize winners of the competition.
In addition to the $600 first-place prize, $300 will be awarded for second place, and $100 will be awarded for third place. Additionally, at the end of the contest, Markel and THOROUGHBRED TIMES will make a donation of $1,000 to charity.
For more information, contact THOROUGHBRED TIMES Managing Editor Tom Law, (859) 260-9800 or John Egan at Markel, (866) 681-6679 or jegan@markelcorp.com.
