BALTIMORE, 04-11-13—Pimlico Race Course today announced the winners of this year’s Preakness media awards. Honorees will be recognized and awards presented at the May 16 Alibi Breakfast in the Terrace Dining Room. The ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m., two days prior to the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, the $1 million Preakness® Stakes (G1).

The Special Award of Merit is given to someone who has made a positive impact on the racing industry. The 2013 winner is Horse Player NOW. Founded by Jeremy Plonk and Joe Kristufek, Horse Player NOW has provided handicapping tips, picks and analysis to more nearly 20 racetracks since 2009. The organization’s Night School, on Tuesday night’s since 2011, offers free online fan education. The Horse Player NOW team will be offering Wagering 101 advice in the Pimlico infield on Preakness weekend for the fourth consecutive year.

Daily Racing Form writer Jay Privman is the recipient of the David F. Woods Award for his feature on last year’s winning trainer Doug O’Neill.Privman becomes the eighth person to win the award multiple times, previously winning in 2002.The Woods Award honors the best story for the previous year. Judging was done by Preakness notes team members Ed Gray, Mike Kane and Matt Graves, all award winning turf writers.

Daily Racing Form photographer Barbara Livingston is the winner of the Jerry Frutkoff Preakness Photo Award, sponsored by Nikon. Livingstoncaptured I’ll Have Another and Bodemeister from below the rail as the duo neared the finish line in Preakness 137.Judging was completed by Nikon’s Brien Aho and Maryland Jockey Club photographers Jim McCue and Jerry Dzierwinski.

The prestigious Old Hilltop Award will be bestowed upon WBAL-TV sports director Gerry Sandusky  and Horse Racing Radio Network’s Mike Penna for covering Thoroughbred racing with excellence and distinction. Sandusky will be covering his 25^th Preakness next month and has anchored the station’s Preakness day coverage on-site since 2001. The Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN) has provided Eclipse Award-winning coverage of racing’s biggest events since 2005. HRRN has been the exclusive radio partner of the Preakness Stakes for six years.

Baltimore radio personalities Scott Garceau and Keith Mills, former broadcast partners at WMAR-TV from 1987-2006, will host the event for the fifth consecutive year.

Most Rev. William Lori, the Archbishop of Baltimore, will provide the invocation for the second straight year.

The Alibi Breakfast is a popular fixture of Preakness week festivities, starting in the late 1930s on the porch of the historical Pimlico Clubhouse when a group of trainers, owners and other dignitaries would gather in the mornings to expound upon the merits of their horses. Today’s event is a descendant of the original gathering to celebrate the event and solicit interesting race predictions. 

About Pimlico Race Course

Historic Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness® Stakes, the middle jewel in horse racing's famed Triple Crown, first opened its doors on October 25, 1870, and is the second oldest racetrack in the United States. Pimlico has played host to racing icons and Baltimoreans have seen the likes of legendary horses such as Man o’ War, Seabiscuit, Secretariat, Affirmed and Cigar thunder down the stretch in thrilling and memorable competition. For more information on Pimlico, visit www.pimlico.com.

Pimlico Race Course is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida and is one of North America's top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world's largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is also a major producer of televised horse racing programming through its HRTV cable and satellite network and is North America's premier supplier of virtual online horse racing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.