Ron Rippey Award to honor excellence in handicapping media
Brisnet.com will
present the first-ever award for handicapping media at the National Turf Writers
and Broadcasters dinner on October 29 at The Derby in Arcadia, California.
The inaugural Ron Rippey Handicapping Media Award is open to any article,
blog post, or video pertaining to a handicapping topic published (in print or
online) this year. Eligible topics include how to handicap/bet a race, post-race
trip notes, or general essays on money management or use of speed ratings. The
award is open to anyone with published content related to handicapping and
offers a $1,000 cash prize plus reasonable accommodation to attend the NTWAB
dinner to receive the award.
“Handicapping horse races is both an art and a science, and the ability to
produce compelling content about the topic is a specialty that deserves
recognition,” said Brisnet.com Director of Marketing Ed DeRosa. “We not only
want to acknowledge the good work done in this regard but also encourage people
to continue to produce this type of content, and who better to honor than
successful handicapper and newspaper columnist Ron Rippey.”
Rippey won the 2006 National Handicapping Championship, was a 10-time
qualifier for the prestigious annual event, and a beloved regular on the contest
circuit. He also wrote about racing and made picks for the Newark Star-Ledger
and contributed Spotlight Selections to Brisnet.com for major race days. Rippey
died August 26.
“Ron’s enthusiasm for both playing the game and writing about it was
infectious,” DeRosa said. “He wanted to beat you, but he wanted you to have fun
while he did it, which is the essence of good handicapping content.”
Steve Byk, Jessica Chapel, and Paul Rolfes will serve as judges for the
inaugural award, and the trio brings together a mix of media experiences:
DerbyTrail.com, &
managing partner of Dee Tee Stables
JessicaChapel.com
— one of the longest-running blogs in racing — in 2004, helped launch
Daily Racing Form blogs in 2007, and currently works on
BreedersCup.com
digital media initiatives
writes about horse racing and previously covered and handicapped both breeds
for the Columbus Dispatch
For more information or to submit an entry, e-mail
RippeyAward@Brisnet.com by
September 30.
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