2025 Media Eclipse Awards Rules
The Eclipse Awards for Media are presented by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. Rules governing the Media Eclipse Awards are established by representatives of the three presenting organizations.
MEDIA ECLIPSE AWARD CATEGORIES
Writing – News/Enterprise
Writing – Feature/Commentary
Photography
Television – Live Racing Programming
Television – Features
Audio/Multimedia Internet
ENTRY TIMELINE, DEADLINE and PORTAL IN ALL CATEGORIES
Every entry must have been primarily published or aired for the first time between November 16, 2024, and November 14, 2025. Entries in all categories must be RECEIVED by 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, November 14, 2025. Entries received after that time will not be accepted. Each entry must be submitted through the Eclipse Awards Submissions Entry Portal
At the entry portal, submit your entry into the desired category, and provide the person’s name, address, cell phone, work phone (if different from cell phone), and e-mail. Your entry will include the publication, broadcast outlet, radio station or website where the entry appeared; and state the date of publication, broadcast or air date.
You shall include any information the submissions that have been previously published or aired in their current form i.e., tracts of copy or clips taken verbatim from articles or videos containing the exact same language or narration, which is being repurposed for the current entry. This information will be relayed to the judges.
PLEASE NOTE FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD: A single “Web print” of the photo must be included in the entry portal.
PLEASE NOTE FOR THE AUDIO/MULTIMEDIA INTERNET AWARD: A Web producer or editor or equivalent senior official of the Website must attest that the work is that of the author or authors.
Except when allowed as set out above, all third-party submissions will be rejected. For example, in the writing categories submissions by editors on behalf of multiple writers from a publication on a feature subject, special section, or a compendium of stories on breaking news will be rejected.
ENTRY FEE IN ALL CATEGORIES
There is no entry fee.
GENERAL RULES IN ALL CATEGORIES
Entries should display outstanding achievement in the coverage of North American Thoroughbred racing. All entries must concern only the Thoroughbred breed. Entries on subjects, topics, and individuals taking place exclusively outside of North America will not be accepted. Entries in any language, provided the entry complies with all other requirements herein, will be accepted. In order to create a fair evaluation of non-English entries, any entry for writing awards shall be accompanied by an English translation, and any entry in either multi-media or television awards shall contain English subtitles.
Fiction or entries that constitute a commercial application (e.g., advertisements, publicity or promotions) will not be accepted.
Submissions from recognized Thoroughbred industry outlets will be accepted as long as those submissions appear in a recognized paid circulation publication, website, television or multimedia outlet. Submissions that appear solely on the industry outlet’s website or video platform will not be accepted. Submissions by industry outlets are subject to review by the Eclipse Award Steering Committee prior to official entry into the competition in any category.
The presenting organizations reserve the right to determine the eligibility of all entries and to disqualify an entry at any time, including after the determination of an award, in their sole discretion. The presenting organizations reserve the right not to bestow an award in a particular category, based on the quantity or (as determined by a panel of judges) the quality of submissions. Questions concerning eligibility should be directed to the contact listed below.
By submitting an entry for consideration, the entrant represents and warrants that the submission is a factual and accurate depiction of the subject it concerns and that the submission was not generated in whole or in part by any means of artificial intelligence.
Please be sure your submission is not password protected and that the link you provide will open directly to your submission.
Print and Internet entries (news/enterprise writing, feature/commentary writing, and photography) must have been published in a paid-circulation, independent publication OR on the Internet at a website that is a same-name affiliate of a paid-circulation, independent publication, recognized broadcast news organization (e.g., The BloodHorse Interactive, the Boston Globe Online, MSNBC) or on an independent, non-industry owned website. Internet submissions that originate from blogs or social media platforms are not eligible for the competition, unless previously authorized.
Television entries must have aired on a commercial, subscription or public television station.
Audio/Multimedia entries must have aired on a commercial or public radio OR on the Internet at a website that is a same-name affiliate of a paid-circulation, independent publication, recognized broadcast news organization (e.g., The BloodHorse Interactive, the Boston Globe Online, MSNBC) or on an independent, non-industry owned website. Internet submissions that originate from blogs or social media platforms are not eligible for the competition, unless previously authorized. Entries airing exclusively on YouTube will not be accepted.
LIMIT ON NUMBER OF ENTRIES IN ALL CATEGORIES
There is a limit of two entries per person per category, with an exception for a multi-part series in the writing categories (see Section A below, Multi-Part Series Rules). An entry by an author in a writing category and a different entry by an editor of the same author in the same writing category will be considered two entries in that writing category.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF ENTRIES BY NTRA
Upon submission of an entry, you will receive an automatic reply from NTRA to confirm your entry has been received. The NTRA will contact you directly if there are any rules issues with your submission. It is the obligation of the person submitting the entry to promptly follow up if the person does not receive an automatic reply in the writing, multi-media, television and photography categories.
NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS BY NTRA
Winners will be notified by the NTRA no later than January 2, 2026.
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SPECIFIC RULES
SECTION A: NEWS/ENTERPRISE WRITING AWARD AND FEATURE/COMMENTARY WRITING AWARD
News/Enterprise – Submission guidelines in this category are the following: timely, hard news articles, race recaps, and expository pieces involving concentrated background research, investigative reporting, or news analysis.
Feature/Commentary – Submission guidelines in this category are columns, opinion pieces, essays, viewpoints, and biographical profiles.
Standard or edited press releases will not be accepted. No Q&A submissions will be accepted.
Excerpts from published books, whether complete narratives or in anthology form, will not be accepted.
Submission in either category excludes the candidate from submitting the same written piece in the Audio/Multi-Media Internet category.
Competition in the Writing categories is limited to three (3) authors in the byline for single articles or for articles submitted as a multi-part series.
Submissions must appear exactly as the article was worded in the PUBLISHED form.
At the top of the submission you must include the date and time that the article was first published.
All headlines, sub-headlines, bylines, hyperlinks publication names, photos, graphs, charts or other graphic elements MUST BE REMOVED from the submission.
If the name of your publication is included in the body of the submission, insert the words “name of publication removed.” E.g., “According to a recent study by the Anywhere USA Times…” must be changed to “According to a recent study by (Name of Publication Removed)…”
Multi-Part Series Rules
Authors may submit a multi-part series of related articles that: (1) Have been pre-arranged by the editors and stated in the published work that the articles constitute a specified series; and (2) with the same subject matter (e.g., racing surfaces, medication) examined or profiled in each article of the series.
Articles submitted under the title “occasional series” will not be accepted. Collections of articles under the title “The Year in Horse Racing” will not be accepted.
Authors submitting a multi-part series may not submit an additional piece in the same category. They may, however, enter another category subject to the rules outlined above.
SECTION B: PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD
Submissions will be judged based on the following criteria: originality, creativity, composition, and magnitude of the moment.
Photography entries are limited to images for events taking place in North America.
Photographers must submit photo images in jpeg format, with NO identifying marks (e.g., photographer’s name, publication’s name, etc.). Your entry must contain a single “Web print” of the image in the entry portal.
Captions
Entrants may submit a caption with your photograph as long as the picture provides an accurate and fair representation of the scene they witnessed so the audience is not misled. Photo credits or other identifying information must be removed. Captions should be embedded into the “file info” window in Photoshop so they populate into any viewing software. An example is below:
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – MAY 18: Trainer Bob Baffert, left, congratulates Size the Grey trainer D. Wayne Lukas after his horse won the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday May 18, 2024, in Baltimore, Maryland. (NO Photo credit or name)
Cropping
Cropping of the original photo by the editor in the picture’s final published form will be accepted. However, publication of photographs that include color enhancement, “Photoshopping” or any other deliberate alteration of the image will not be allowed in the competition.
SECTION C: TELEVISION — LIVE RACING PROGRAMMING AWARD AND FEATURES AWARD
Television entries in either category must originate from a recognized over-the-air, cable, or satellite outlet.
Live Racing Programming entries must be from a live racing program of Thoroughbred horse racing. Programs with the subject matter primarily devoted to morning workouts will not be accepted.
Entries in the Features category are limited to 120 minutes. Feature entries may be submitted as either single, stand-alone pieces; a documentary; a historical piece; a news report; or as part of a live-racing program. “Medley” videos containing more than two features of any duration will not be accepted.
Commercials must be deleted or the entry will be disqualified. However, opening billboards returning from a commercial break will be accepted. Submissions related to industry promotional projects or from breeding farms will not be accepted.
SECTION D: AUDIO/MULTIMEDIA INTERNET
Audio/Multimedia Internet is not two separate categories. It is a single category, which includes both audio (radio, podcasts) and multimedia.
The Audio/Multimedia Internet category may consist of audio only (e.g., a radio or Internet-based broadcast) OR a multi-media, Internet-based submission, whose components include audio. “Medley” audio files containing more than three radio shows or Webcasts of any duration, will not be accepted.
The Multimedia Internet entries must have one integrated theme and be presented in a Webcast centering on a news event, subject, or feature. To be eligible, the Webcast must include at least two forms of media, one of which must be original audio. The complementary form(s) of media may be video, photographs, graphics, and/or print (e.g., a story or stories). Please note that if the entry includes video, the video must be produced as original content.
The entry, in its entirety, must be retrievable from one Internet frame, with links to components of the package being considered part of the frame, provided they link back to pages within the originating Web site and not to other, external Websites.
Entries that first appeared over the air or on cable television prior to appearing on the internet will not be accepted.
Submission in the Multimedia Internet category excludes the candidate from submitting the same written piece in the News/Enterprise or Feature/Commentary categories.
Each submission guarantees that the package is the work of the author(s) or organization and that it appeared on the website on the date(s) in question.
Editors/Producers or equivalent senior official must identify any sections of their submissions that have been previously published in their current form i.e., tracts of copy taken verbatim from articles or videos containing the exact same language or narration, which is being repurposed for the current entry. This information will be relayed to the judges.
Commercial breaks for radio entries must be deleted or the entry will be disqualified. However, an opening “billboard” with sponsor mentions will be permitted.
All entries in this category must be limited to 60 minutes. Entries for live radio broadcasts may submit a compilation of the best work over the course of one program.
Audio/Multimedia Internet entries must be submitted as a single URL Web address.
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Contact: Jim Gluckson, Eclipse Awards, jim.gluckson@gmail.com, (646) 335-6835
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