(Edited press release)
The Maryland Jockey Club April 23 announced the winners of this year’s Preakness media awards. Honorees will be recognized and awards will be presented at the May 14 Alibi Breakfast in the Terrace Dining Room at Pimlico Race Course. The ceremony is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., two days prior to the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, the $1 million Preakness Stakes (gr. I).
USA Today’s Tom Pedulla is the recipient of the David F. Woods Award for his emotional feature on the family of Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux. The Woods Award honors the best Preakness story for the previous year. Judging was done by Preakness notes team members Ed Gray, Mike Kane and Matt Graves, all award winning turf writers.
Associated Press photographer Rob Carr is the winner of the Jerry Frutkoff Preakness Photo Award, sponsored by Nikon. Carr captured Big Brown’s dominating performance in last year’s Preakness. Judging was completed by Nikon’s Mark Suban and Mark Kettenhofen and Maryland Jockey Club photographer Jim McCue.
The prestigious Old Hilltop Award will be bestowed upon veteran New Orleans Times-Picayune turf writer Bob Fortus and ESPN reporter Jeannine Edwards for covering Thoroughbred racing with excellence and distinction.
Since 1996, the United States Postal Service has opened a temporary Preakness station the week of the Preakness. The honorary postmaster for Preakness 134 Station is Harold Snyder, owner of International Sound Corporation.
Baltimore radio personalities Scott Garceau and Keith Mills, former broadcast partners at WMAR-TV from 1987-2006, will act as the master of ceremonies. Rev. Msgr. Robert J. Jaskot will give the invocation.
