Finley, Thompson win Eclipse Awards for writing

Articles by Bill Finley, a longtime racing writer based on the East Coast, and Wright Thompson, a sportswriter for ESPN.com, have been selected for the 2010 Eclipse Awards for writing, the administrators of the Eclipse Awards announced Wednesday.

Finley, who writes for a variety of racing publications and the New York Times, received the Eclipse Award for News/Enterprise Writing for an article that appeared in the November issue of the Thoroughbred Daily News magazine entitled “Building a Sturdier Racehorse.” The article examined the myriad possible causes for the protracted decline in starts-per-year by racehorses over the past 40 years.

Thompson, a former sports reporter for the Kansas City Star and the New Orleans Times-Picayune, received the Eclipse Award for Feature/Commentary Writing for an article that appeared on Oct. 10 on ESPN.com entitled “The Legend of Zenyatta.” The piece was an in-depth examination of the impact the two-time Horse of the Year candidate has had on the people who surround her and the larger racing world.

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 and Broadcasters.