Entries are now being accepted by The New York Racing Association, Inc., (NYRA) for the third annual Joe Hirsch Memorial Writing Award to recognize outstanding print and internet coverage of the Belmont Stakes.

Open to any member of the print/internet media who covered the 143rd Belmont Stakes, won by Ruler On Ice on June 11, 2011, the Joe Hirsch Memorial Writing Award is accepting entries in two categories: Belmont Stakes feature/advance, and Belmont Stakes wrap-up/follow.

The second annual Joe Hirsch Memorial Writing Awards were won by Jay Privman of the Daily Racing Form and Ed Fountaine of the New York Post for their coverage of the 142nd Belmont Stakes, won by Drosselmeyer.

Entries (hard copy only) must be accompanied by a cover letter, signed by the author, stating the wish to enter the contest. The cover letter is to also include contact information, publication information, and the entry category. No entry fee is required.

Submissions should be mailed to Dan Silver, Director of Communications, The New York Racing Association, Inc., P.O. Box 90, Jamaica, N.Y. 11417, postmarked no later than Friday, October 7, 2011. No electronic submissions will be accepted.
The award is named in honor of Joe Hirsch, the longtime executive sports columnist for the Daily Racing Form who died on January 9, 2009. A native New Yorker, Hirsch was known as the dean of American turf writers and retired in 2003 after a 50-year career covering racing.
The winners will be announced prior to the 144th running of the Belmont Stakes, and will be presented with an engraved crystal bowl at the traditional post position draw for the “Test of the Champion.”