Standardbred Canada is seeking submissions for its 2016 Media Excellence Awards, to be presented at the O'Brien Awards ceremony on January 28, 2017.

There are three awards: Outstanding Written Work, Outstanding Video, Film or Broadcast, and Outstanding Photograph.

Submissions for award consideration must pertain to some aspect of the Canadian Standardbred racing industry. Submissions for 2016 must have been published or broadcasted for the first time, between November 1, 2015 and October 31, 2016.

The program is aimed at honouring those who have, through one piece of exceptional work, covered Canadian harness racing in a manner that is extraordinary and of broad national appeal.

The deadline for all submissions is Thursday, December 1, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. (EST) All submissions and inquiries should be directed to:

Kathy Wade Vlaar
Industry Marketing
Standardbred Canada
2150 Meadowvale Blvd.
Mississauga, ON
L5N 6R6
[email protected]
905-858-3077 (Ext. 207)

For more details on the criteria for the awards, click here.

To see a list of past winners of the Media Excellence Awards, click here.

You can check out last year’s winners here:

Outstanding Written Work

Been There, Bought the T-Shirt: The Relevance of Trademark Race Calls was published in Trot Magazine’s February 2015 issue, and written by Melissa Keith, of Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. The story is about race announcers, their trademark race calls and memorable race calls.

Outstanding Video, Film or Broadcast
ErinoakKids and video production partner Fresh Sox produced Sydney’s Story, a feature about harness racing fan and owner Sydney Weaver, an ErinoakKids’ client, who was honoured at their annual Pride & Joy Awards in October. The Pride & Joy Awards celebrate the achievement, determination and legacy of the extraordinary children and youth that they serve. Sydney was selected as the Centre’s "Branching Out" recipient because of her advancement in extra-curricular activities -- namely harness racing and writing, and this video was created to tell Sydney’s story at the awards.

Outstanding Photography
Frances Lund’s photo of a horse in the driving rain in the Gold Cup and Saucer Post Parade at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino at Charlottetown Driving Park was taken on August 22, 2015. The rain and lightening threatened all night and Frankie, a resident of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, captured this shot of Brad Forward and Crombie A as they were introduced under the spotlight in the record downpour (the race had to be rescheduled for the following afternoon). This image was later published in Atlantic Post Calls on September 11, 2015.