The nominations for the written section of the 2019 Horserace Writers and Photographers Association's Derby Awards were released Tuesday and among this year's finalists are Thoroughbred Daily News' Chris McGrath, a three-time winner who is nominated for Racing Writer of the Year, in addition to Alayna Cullen, who is among nominees for the Alan Lee Trophy, recognising emerging talent. The 2019 HWPA Derby Awards will be held Monday, Dec. 2 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London's West End.
The Racing Post's Lee Mottershead and freelance Kevin Blake, who also appears as an Op/Ed columnist for TDN, have both been nominated for two awards, the former for the Clive Graham Trophy for the Racing Writer of the Year, an award he won in 2011, as well Reporter of the Year. Blake has been nominated for the new Specialist Writer Award in addition to the Racing Writer of the Year.
Also in the division of Racing Writer of the Year, Racing Post's Peter Scargill receives his first nomination, while in the Reporter of the Year category, Bill Barber (Racing Post), Chris Cook (The Guardian) and Marcus Townsend (Daily Mail) round out this year's nominees. Voting for both the Racing Writer of the Year and Racing Reporter categories will open to HWPA members later this week when nominations for the Photographer and Picture of the Year will also be released.
Remaining nominees in other divisions include:
Specialist Writer Award: Matt Bisogno (geegeez.co.uk),
Paul Kealy (Racing Post) and Simon Rowlands, Kevin Blake
Alan Lee Trophy: Harry Allwood (Racing TV), Mark Boylan
(Racing Post), Alayna Cullen (Thoroughbred Daily News),
Paddy Von Behr (The Times), Ronan Groome (The Irish
Field), Jonanthan Harding (Racing Post)
This year's awards are supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Ladbrokes Coral and Vertem Asset Management.
For more information, visit https://www.hwpa.org/derby-awards/
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