Maryjean Wall, a three-time Eclipse Award winner who covers horse racing for the Lexington Herald-Leader, is retiring, the newspaper reported May 31. Wall, who is particpating in the Herald-Leader's recently announced voluntary buyout program, plans to focus on completing her dissertation for a PhD in history at the University of Kentucky.

Wall, who grew up in Canada, moved to Kentucky in 1966 and joined the staff of the Herald-Leader as a reporter a year later. In 1973, she got a job writing about horse racing for the newspaper, and she was one of the first women to cover the sport full-time. She won Eclipse Awards for her writing in 1980, 1997, and 1999.

Wall told the Herald-Leader, "It's time to move on and do something else." She said she would like to eventually teach history part-time at the college level.

Wall's last day at the Herald-Leader will be June 8, the day after the  Belmont Stakes (gr. I).