Kimberly Rinker and Derick Giwner were named winners of the 2023 John Hervey Awards for excellence in harness racing journalism while Clive Cohen and Jessica Hallett were named recipients of the George Smallsreed Awards for photography and Fox Sports/NYRA was selected as the winner of the Sam McKee Award for broadcasting, the U.S. Harness Writers Association (USHWA) announced on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

The winners will be recognized at the Dan Patch Awards banquet, presented by Caesars Entertainment, on Feb. 25 at Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida. Meadowlands Racetrack Chairman Jeffrey Gural is continuing his longstanding sponsorship of the awards by providing banquet tickets for the winners.

Rinker won in the feature writing category for her story, “Up from the Rubble,” which appeared in the October 2023 issue of Hoof Beats magazine. To read the story, which focuses on tornado survivor Rock It Out and trainer Donna Holt, click here. This is Rinker’s second consecutive Hervey for feature writing and third overall.

Giwner won in the news/commentary division for his story, “The Rebirth of Walter Case Jr.,” which appeared in the March 16 edition of DRF Harness Digest. To read the story, click here. This is Giwner’s second Hervey. His previous award was also in the news/commentary division.

Honourable mentions in the feature writing categories went to Chris Lomon for “Hope” in the November issue of TROT magazine and Giwner for “Resurrection of a Driving Career” in the Feb. 16 edition of DRF Harness Digest. In news/commentary, honourable mentions went to Dave Briggs for “Only a Dope Would Think Harness Racing Doesn’t Need Serious Change” in the Nov. 26 edition of Harness Racing Update and Hallett for “In Tribute to Tioga Downs” on Nov. 11 on Harnesslink.

The writing categories were judged by a panel consisting of journalist, author and adjunct professor Larry Edsall, award-winning racing writer Alicia Hughes and former Philadelphia Inquirer sports editor John Quinn.

In the Smallsreed competitions, Hallett won in the race/action category for her photograph “Winter Wonderland: 32 in Flight,” which appeared in the January edition of Down The Stretch Newspaper. This is Hallett’s first Smallsreed Award.

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Cohen won in the feature category for his photograph “The Rainbow,” which appeared July 20 on Woodbine Mohawk Park social media platforms. Cohen is a four-time Smallsreed Award winner.

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Honourable mention in the race/action category went to Mark Hall for his photograph “It’s Post Time,” which appeared on the cover of the March issue of Hoof Beats magazine. In the feature category, honourable mention went to Michael Burns for his photograph “Under the Lights,” which appeared on Sept. 13 on the Woodbine Mohawk Park website.

The Smallsreed categories were judged by Eclipse Award-winning photographer Barbara Livingston.

In the McKee competition, Fox Sports/NYRA was honoured for its coverage of the Breeders Crown on FS2 on Oct. 28. The America’s Day at the Races segment featured the Three-Year-Old Colt Pace and was produced by Terrence Theetge.

The show was hosted from Aqueduct Racetrack by Acacia Clement with analysis from Paul Verderosa. Jessica Otten and Gabe Prewitt served as on-site reporters/analysts. The segment contained a feature on Confederate, which was produced by Kim French and edited by Eldon Phillips. The entry can be viewed below.

Entries for the Sam McKee Award were judged by Tom Speicher, an award-winning writer and video producer at Pennsylvania College of Technology, in addition to being a longtime CBS Radio News correspondent for the Little League Baseball World Series.

Room reservations at Rosen Centre for the star-studded Dan Patch Awards weekend can be made at the USHWA website at usharnesswriters.com. Sponsorship opportunities for the event can be procured from sponsorship chairman Shawn Wiles at [email protected]. Advertisements in the souvenir journal can be arranged with journal chairman Kim Rinker at [email protected]. The advertising deadline is Jan. 31. Tickets for the banquet can be procured from ticket chairman Judy Davis-Wilson at [email protected] or Liz Cheesman at [email protected].

(USHWA)