ESPN, HRTV win Eclipse Awards for television broadcasts

ESPN two-day coverage of the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs in Louisville on Nov. 6-7 has been selected for the Eclipse Award for Live Racing Programming, the administrators of the Eclipse Awards announced Tuesday. In addition, a documentary about the horse Swale produced by HRTV has been selected for the Eclipse Award for Television Feature.

ESPN and its sister network, ABC, broadcast more than seven hours of live racing over the two-day Breeders’ Cup event, including a 45-minute commercial-free stretch leading into the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Zenyatta was attempting to run her winning streak to 20 straight in the Classic, but she fell short by a head to the winner, Blame.

“She was the star of the show, not us,” said the coordinating producer of the broadcast, Mark McQuade.

ESPN also won the Eclipse Award for Live Racing Programming in 2009, for its coverage of the Belmont Stakes that year.

The award-winning HRTV documentary, entitled “Swale,” was written and produced by Amy Zimmerman, executive producer of HRTV. The program aired Feb. 28.

HRTV has won two previous Eclipse Awards, for feature programming in 2006 and in 2008.

The awards will be presented Jan. 17 in Miami, at the 40th Annual Eclipse Awards ceremony. The awards are administered by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers Association.