Team Valor International will present the second annual Stan Bergstein Writing Award at the 2013 Global Symposium on Racing & Gaming this December in Tucson under an agreement with the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program.
Barry Irwin and Team Valor launched the award last year in honor of Bergstein, the late Daily Racing Form columnist and harness track executive who lived in Tucson and was a mentor to many young racing professionals through a close association with the Race Track Industry Program, which hosts the annual Symposium. The goal for the award is to foster the type of writing Bergstein embodied with his influential voice on important issues in horse racing. The first-place prize is $25,000.
Team Valor is grateful for the opportunity to present the 2013 award at the Symposium, which runs from December 9-12.
“We were pleased with the reception to the award last year that helped shine light on important issues in our sport,” said Irwin, the founder and CEO of Team Valor. “In being part of the Symposium, we hope to be able to get these stories out there even more and continue to establish the award with an important place on the yearly calendar.”
“We are pleased that Team Valor will bring the Stan Bergstein Writing Award presentation to the University’s Symposium,” said Doug Reed, director of the Race Track Industry Program. “Stan made his home here in Tucson and for years Stan and Harness Tracks of America collaborated with students and the RTIP on endless projects.”
A team of writers from The New York Times won the inaugural Bergstein award last year for a story on the role of veterinarians in drug use in American horse racing but were unable to accept the honor because of a Times editorial policy. Team Valor instead donated $25,000 to the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium during a December award luncheon at the Thoroughbred Club of America in Lexington, Kentucky, that featured speeches from Bergstein’s son, Al, and esteemed Turf writer Bill Nack, who was one of the judges for the award.
(Team Valor / University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program)