Dominguez will receive Preakness media Special Award of Merit
Ramon Dominguez, a three-time Eclipse Award winner as outstanding jockey, will receive the Special Award of Merit during a Preakness media awards ceremony next month at Pimlico.
Dominguez, who retired last June following a severe head injury sustained in a fall at Aqueduct, will be honored along with writer Sean Clancy, photographer Patrick Smith, WJZ-TV sports director Mark Viviano, and HRTV executive producer and senior vice president Amy Zimmerman at the May 15 Alibi Breakfast in Pimlico’s Terrace dining room.
The Special Award of Merit goes to a person who has made a positive impact on the racing industry. Dominguez was a regular rider at Pimlico and Laurel Park early in his career, winning 1,012 races during five seasons, including 297 races in 2001. He finished his career with 4,985 victories.
Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred reporter Sean Clancy won the David F. Woods Award for the fourth time for his feature focusing on jockey Gary Stevens’s return to glory in the 2013 Preakness.
Getty Images photographer Patrick Smith is the winner of the Jerry Frutkoff Preakness Photo Award, sponsored by Nikon. Smith captured a fist-pumping Stevens after Oxbow crossed the finish line first in the 138th Preakness last May.
The Old Hilltop Award will be bestowed upon Viviano and HRTV executive producer and Zimmerman for covering Thoroughbred racing with excellence and distinction. Viviano will be working his 17th Preakness next month. Under Zimmerman’s guidance, HRTV has either won or received honorable mention for the Eclipse Award for National Television Feature eight consecutive years.