(Edited National Thoroughbred Racing Association press release)
WAVE3-TV in Louisville, Ky., is the winner of the 2008 media Eclipse Award for local television, it was announced Jan. 5 by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National Turf Writers Association, and Daily Racing Form. WAVE3-TV earned the honor for its documentary on the 30th anniversary of the Affirmed-Alydar rivalry, “A Legend Re-Affirmed – The 1978 Triple Crown.” The 30-minute telecast aired on May 1, 2008.
WAVE-TV previously had been honored with a media Eclipse Award in the local television category in 2004 and 2005 for its Kentucky Derby (gr. I) race day programming.
“Living and working in the Blue Grass State, this is an incredible honor to receive the most prestigious award in horse racing,” said Lee Eldridge, executive producer of “A Legend Re-Affirmed” and WAVE3-TV news director. “We had an extremely capable and hard working team that put this documentary together in the month leading to the Derby, and we received tremendous cooperation from the people who were at the center of horse racing’s greatest rivalry, the jockeys Steve Cauthen and Jorge Velazquez, Alydar’s trainer, John Veitch, and network racecaller Dave Johnson.”
Eldridge’s production team for the documentary included lead reporter and writer Caton Bredar; chief photographer and editor Reid Olson; post production editor Drew Cook; and art director Rhonda Harshfield.
Honorable mention in the local television category went to CTV-Alberta and Horse Racing Alberta for its live coverage of Ky Alta Stakes, which aired on July 1, 2008. Jeff Robillard and Jack Stuart were the executive producers. Horse Racing Alberta won the 2007 media Eclipse Award for local television.
Judges for the local television category were Jack Coffey of Eclipse Productions; Stuart Kirshenbaum of Oak Street Films; and Jay Posner of the San Diego Union Tribune.
The 38th Annual Eclipse Awards ceremony will be held Jan. 26 at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach in Miami Beach, Fla.