Dominguez to get Mr. Fitz Award from National Turf Writers and Broadcasters

Recently retired jockey Ramon Dominguez will be presented with the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters’ Mr. Fitz Award during the organization’s annual awards ceremony on Oct. 30 in Arcadia, Calif., the NTWB announced on Tuesday.

Dominguez, who announced his retirement earlier this year because of the effects of an injury he suffered in January, will receive the Mr. Fitz Award for “typifying the spirit of racing,” the NTWB said. Dominguez was the leading rider in the country for the three previous years, and at the announcement of his retirement many praised him for his professionalism and personal qualities.

The NTWB also said it will present the Joe Palmer Award for “meritorious service” to racing to Marylou Whitney and her husband, John Hendrickson. Whitney is an owner and breeder who is frequent contributor to racing charities, and her husband is a special advisor to the board of the New York Racing Association.

Jack Whitaker, the retired CBS broadcaster who frequently covered racing, will receive the NTWB’s inaugural Jim McKay Award to recognize “excellence in broadcasting.” Whitaker was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 2001.

Bob Fortus, who covered racing for the New Orleans Times-Picayune for three decades, will receive the NTWB’s Walter Haight Award for “career excellence in turf writing.” Fortus has won a number of racing-writing honors, including the Red Smith Award, the Joe Hirsch Award, and the Old Hilltop Award.