USHWA media awards winners announced

Andrew Cohen and Keith McCalmont were named winners of the 2024 John Hervey Awards for excellence in harness racing journalism while Clive Cohen and Walter Wlodarczyk were named recipients of the George Smallsreed Awards for photography and Horse Racing Alberta and Shine Light Entertainment was selected winner of the Sam McKee Award for broadcasting, the U.S. Harness Writers Association announced Tuesday.

The winners will be recognized at the Dan Patch Awards banquet, presented by Caesars Entertainment, on Feb. 23 at Rosen Centre in Orlando, Fla. Meadowlands Racetrack Chairman Jeffrey Gural is continuing his longstanding sponsorship of the awards by providing banquet tickets for the winners.

Andrew Cohen won in the news/commentary category for his column, “Keeping Pace: The Life and Death of Alan Leavitt,” which was first published May 13 on the Paulick Report website. To read the story, click here. This is Cohen’s third Hervey Award, all in the news/commentary category.

McCalmont won in the feature division for his story, “Love is Blind,” which appeared in the September issue of Trot magazine. To read the feature, which highlights the story behind filly pacer Its A Love Thing, click here. This is McCalmont’s second Hervey Award. His previous award was also in the feature category.

Honorable mentions in the news/commentary category went to Dave Briggs for “Sport’s lack of reciprocity and unity truly shows in the tragic death of Finish Line,” which appeared Feb. 18 in Harness Racing Update and Bob Heyden for “Happy 100th Birthday Stan Bergstein,” which appeared June 21 in Harness Racing Update.

In feature writing, honorable mentions went to Evan Pattak for “The Jewel of the Isle” in the November issue of Hoof Beats magazine, Natalie Voss for “Former Indiana Commission Employee Blows the Whistle on What He Says Was Lax Enforcement” on the Paulick Report on April 18, and James Witherite for “Grand Ambassador” in the July issue of Hoof Beats.

The writing categories were judged by a panel consisting of retired longtime sportswriter and two-time Hervey Award winner Brad Schmaltz, former Philadelphia Inquirer Sports Editor John Quinn, and Delaware State News Editor-in-Chief and former harness writer Andrew West.

In the Smallsreed competitions, Clive Cohen won in the feature category for his photograph “Fiery Sunset,” which was taken June 29 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and appeared that day on the Woodbine Mohawk Park Facebook, Instagram and X feeds. Cohen is a five-time Smallsreed winner.

Wlodarczyk won in the action category for his photograph of driver Yannick Gingras celebrating Karl’s win in the Hambletonian Stakes as they reached the finish line in a torrential downpour at The Meadowlands on Aug. 3. The photograph appeared on the Hambletonian Society website the week of Aug. 4 and remains in the website’s gallery of champions. This is Wlodarczyk’s second Smallsreed honor.

Honorable mention in the feature category went to Jenny Leslie for “Purple, With a Splash of Mud,” which appeared Nov. 21 on the Kentucky Harness Horsemen’s Association Facebook page. Honorable mention in the action category went to Mark Hall for his photograph “Shadow Racing,” which appeared in the November issue of Hoof Beats.

The Smallsreed categories were judged by racetrack and newspaper photographer Bill Denver.

In the McKee competition, Horse Racing Alberta and Shine Light Entertainment, was honored for their video, “Women in Standardbred Racing,” which appeared Oct. 25 on the HRA website and social media channels. The feature, which can be watched here, was produced by Jeff Robillard of Horse Racing Alberta and Mike Little of Shine Light Entertainment. This is Horse Racing Alberta’s third award in the broadcast division and Shine Light Entertainment’s first.

Honorable mention went to Cujo Entertainment’s CBS Hambletonian Show, which aired on CBS Sports Network on Aug. 4. The production team included Producer Curtis MacDonald, Technical Producer Cameron Chick, and Director Luke Van Belkom. The show was hosted by Greg Blanchard, Emily Gaskin, and Michael Carter.

Entries for the Sam McKee Award were judged by former horseracing producer Liane Davis, a past winner in this category.

Sponsorship information for the Dan Patch Awards banquet can be obtained from Shawn Wiles at swiles@rwcatskills.com. Dinner tickets can be ordered until Feb. 17 by contacting Judy Davis-Wilson at zoe8874@aol.com or 302.359.3630 or Liz Cheesman at Elizabeth.Cheesman@winbakfarm.com. For a dinner ticket form, please click here.

Advertising in the souvenir Journal can be arranged through Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com. The deadline is Jan. 31. An ad form can be found here.

For room reservations at Rosen Centre, click on this hotel link.

The United States Harness Writers Association is the leading group of communicators about the Standardbred horse. USHWA conducts the official annual balloting for the sport’s most prestigious honors: induction to the Hall of Fame and Communicators Hall of Fame, along with the selection of the Horse of the Year, Trotter and Pacer of the Year, and the leading divisional horses of each season. Each year USHWA hosts the Dan Patch Awards banquet, honoring the best and brightest performers in North American harness racing. This banquet is the association’s principal source of funding, and with generous financial support from the harness racing and breeding industry, USHWA is able to host the banquet at a world-class facility in a world-class manner.

From the U.S. Harness Writers Association