Two Blood-Horse Staffers Among Preakness Honorees

Blood-Horse staffers Steve Haskin and Skip Dickstein are among the persons who will be honored at this year's Alibi Breakfast, the Maryland Jockey Club announced today.

The award winners will be recognized and awards presented at the May 15 Alibi Breakfast in the Terrace Dining Room at Pimlico. The presentation ceremony is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. two days prior to the Preakness. Chris Lincoln will act as the master of ceremonies.

The prestigious Old Hilltop Award will be bestowed upon two persons. Joining Haskin, senior correspondent for The Blood-Horse, will be WBAL's John Patti, a three-time Eclipse Award winner. The pair are being recognized for their many years of distinguished coverage of racing.

Blood-Horse photographer Skip Dickstein is the winner of the Nikon Preakness Photo Award. Dickstein captured War Emblem and jockey Victor Espinoza's focus on the finish line en route to their victory in the 2002 Preakness.

For the second time Bill Finley is the recipient of the David F. Woods Award for his New York Times feature on Nancy Alberts and Magic Weisner. The Woods Award honors the best Preakness story for the previous year.

The Special Award of Merit is given to someone who has made a positive impact on the racing industry. This year's honoree is Visa Triple Crown partner NBC Sports, which earned the 2002 Eclipse Award for outstanding television broadcast with its production of last year's Preakness Stakes.

Nancy Alberts, who conditioned Magic Weisner to a thrilling second place finish in the 2002 version of the middle jewel of the Visa Triple Crown, will be the Honorary Postmaster.