The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) today released the guidelines for the 2005 Media Eclipse Awards. The awards are presented by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association for outstanding achievement in the coverage of Thoroughbred racing.  Eclipse trophies will be presented to the award winners at the 35^th annual Eclipse Awards Dinner on January 23, 2006 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

All submissions must be received by 5:00 p.m. (ET), Friday, Nov. 11, 2005.

Categories for the 2005 Media Eclipse Awards are:

• Writing - News/Commentary
• Writing - Features/Enterprise
• Photography
• National Television - Live Racing Programming
• National Television - Features
• Local Television
• Audio/Multi-Media Internet

Beginning with the 1998 awards, the Eclipse Awards have been presented by the NTRA, Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association. Previously, the Eclipse Awards were sponsored by Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America (TRA) in conjunction with Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association. Prior to the start of the Eclipse Awards in 1971, the TRA and Daily Racing Form separately honored racing's annual champions. The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.

The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of horseracing interests, including the American Quarter Horse Association, charged with increasing popularity of horseracing and improving economic conditions for industry participants. The NTRA and Breeders' Cup Limited also administer the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, Thoroughbred racing's year-end Championships consisting of eight races and $14 million in purses and awards and the Breeders' Cup Stakes Program. The NTRA has offices in Lexington, Ky., and New York City. NTRA press releases appear on the NTRA Web site, ntra.com, and at the Web site for the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, breederscup.com.

2005 ECLIPSE AWARDS FOR MEDIA

The Eclipse Awards for Media are presented by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association. Rules governing the Media Eclipse Awards are established by representatives of the three presenting organizations. Prior to 1998, the Eclipse Awards were sponsored by Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America (TRA) in conjunction with Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association.

MEDIA ECLIPSE AWARD CATEGORIES

• Writing - News/Commentary
• Writing - Feature/Enterprise
• Photography
• National Television - Live Racing Programming
• National Television - Features
• Local Television
• Audio/Multi-Media Internet

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS

Entries must be RECEIVED by 5:00 p.m. (ET), Friday, Nov. 11, 2005. Entries can be submitted prior to the deadline and early submission of materials is encouraged. Entries received after 5:00 p.m. ET on Nov. 11, 2005 will not be accepted.

ENTRY FEE

None

RULES

Entries should display outstanding achievement in the coverage of Thoroughbred racing and must have been published or aired for the first time between Nov. 11, 2004 and Nov. 9, 2005.

Print submissions (news/commentary writing, feature/enterprise writing and photography) must have been published in a paid-circulation publication OR on the Internet at a web site that is a same-name affiliate of a paid-circulation publication or recognized broadcast news organization (e.g., The Blood-Horse Interactive, The Boston Globe Online, MSNBC).

Television entries must have aired on a commercial or public television station.

Audio/Multi-Media Internet entries must have aired on a commercial or public radio station or been broadcast on the Internet at a site that is a same-name affiliate of a paid-circulation publication or recognized broadcast news organization.

Fiction or entries that constitute a commercial application (e.g., advertisements, publicity or promotions) are not eligible in any category.

Entries must originate with the author (print submissions) or producer (audio/multi-media Internet and television submissions). All entries must include a cover letter, signed by the author (for print submissions), photographer (for photography submissions) or producer (for audio/multi-media Internet and television), stating his/her wish to enter his/her materials; publication/broadcast information (outlined below); and contact information (name, address, telephone, fax, cell phone and e-mail, as applicable).

Editors may submit print materials on behalf of authors, provided such submissions include the cover letter described above.  All other third-party submissions will be rejected.

The presenting organizations reserve the right to determine the eligibility of all entries, and to disqualify an entry at any time, including after determination of an award, in their sole discretion. The presenting organizations reserve the right not to bestow an award in a particular category, based on the quantity or (as determined by a panel of judges) the quality of submissions. Questions concerning eligibility should be directed to the address for entries, listed below.

By submitting an entry for consideration, the entrant represents and warrants that submission is a factual and accurate depiction of the subject of which it concerns.

LIMITS ON ENTRIES

Two per entrant, per category (with an exception for a multi-part series as noted below). 

FORM OF ENTRY

ALL print entries must be in the form of hard copies. Electronic submissions will not be accepted.

News/Commentary and Feature/Enterprise Writing
Authors must submit four (4) copies of each submission. Submissions must appear as plain text, as the article was worded in the PUBLISHED form, with NO identifying provenance (i.e. the author's name, date of publication or publication name). Photos, graphs, charts or other graphic elements appearing within the article(s) should be masked or deleted.

The author should indicate which writing category the work is being submitted for (e.g., "News Commentary").

The set of four "plain text" copies of each submission must be accompanied by a single tearsheet of the article, showing the author, title and date of the publication.

"Tearsheets" for Internet-based submissions will consist of a "screen print" of the document. Internet-based submissions must be accompanied by a letter from the editor or equivalent senior official of the Web site, attesting that the document is the work of the author who submitted it and that it appeared on the Web site on the date(s) in question.

Within each category of writing, authors may submit a multi-part series of no more than seven (7) related articles that:

A)    Were published simultaneously on the same date (i.e. stories that together cover different aspects of an issue) OR

B)    Covered a single theme over the course of several issues of an individual publication.

Authors submitting a multi-part series cannot submit an additional piece in the same category. They may, however, enter in another category, subject to the rules outlined above. The multi-part submission replaces the entry form that was previously known as "body of work."

Submission in either the News Commentary or Feature/Enterprise category excludes the candidate from submitting the same written piece in the Audio and Multi-Media Internet Category.

Television
Local television and all national television entries (features or live racing programming) should be submitted in their entirety, in VHS format. Tapes must be accompanied by a letter detailing the name of the entrant, the date each program aired and the name of the station or network on which it aired. Commercial breaks must be deleted or the entry will be disqualified.

Entries for the National Television -- Live Racing Programming category must be from a live racing show, not a documentary, and not a retrospective of racing history.

Entries for National Television - Features category may be submitted as either single, stand-alone pieces, a documentary, or as part of a live-racing program.  Features may be submitted for separate consideration in this category even if the live racing programming also has been submitted for consideration. In such instances, separate tapes of the feature programming and the live racing programming (in its entirety, except for commercials) must be submitted. "Medley" tapes containing more than two features, of any duration, will not be accepted.

Audio/Multi-Media Internet
The Audio category, redefined in 2002 to include Audio/Multi-Media Internet, recognizes the growth in Internet-based media, and how news organizations are seeking ways to enhance and expand traditional news coverage.

For 2005, entries in the Audio/Multi-Media Internet category may consist of audio only (e.g., a radio or Internet-based broadcast) OR a multi-media, Internet-based submission, whose components include audio. No more than two (2) individual radio or Internet-based audio broadcasts may be submitted. "Medley" tapes containing more than two radio shows or Webcasts, of any duration, will not be accepted.

The Multi-Media Internet entries must have one integrated theme and be presented in a Webcast centering on a news event, subject or feature. To be eligible, the Webcast must include at least two forms of media, one of which must be audio. The complementary form(s) of media may be video, photographs, graphics and/or print (e.g., a story or stories). The entry, in its entirety, must be retrievable from one Internet frame, with links to components of the package being considered part of the frame, provided they link back to pages within the originating Web site and not to other, external Web sites.

Submission in the Multi-Media Internet category excludes the candidate from submitting the same written piece in the News Commentary or Feature/Enterprise categories.

Multi-Media Internet submissions must be accompanied by a letter from the editor or equivalent senior official of the Web site, attesting that the package is the work of the author(s) or organization who submitted it and that it appeared on the Web site on the date(s) in question.

Audio/Multi-Media Internet entries can be submitted as a single URL (Web address) or on a CD-ROM.

Audio/Multi-Media Internet entries must have aired on a commercial or public radio station or been on the Internet at a site that is a same-name affiliate of a paid-circulation publication or recognized broadcast news organization.

Radio tapes must be accompanied by a letter detailing the name of the entrant, the date the program aired and the name of the station or network on which it aired. Commercial breaks must be deleted or the entry will be disqualified.

Audio tapes of Webcasts must be accompanied by a letter from the Web producer or equivalent senior official of the Web site attesting that the work is that of the author who submitted it and including the date the program was Webcast and the name of Web site on which it aired.

NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS
Winners will be notified by the NTRA no later than Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006. Winners will be honored at the Eclipse Awards dinner to be held Monday evening, January 23, 2006 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif.

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