Brisnet.com Accepting Entries for Second Annual Rippey Handicapping Award

The second-annual Ron Rippey Handicapping Media Award is now open for entries. Brisnet.com will present the honor at the National Turf Writers And Broadcasters dinner on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Griffin Gate resort in Lexington during Breeders’ Cup week.

The Rippey Award is open to any article, blog post, or multimedia presentation pertaining to a handicapping topic published (in print or online) this year. Eligible topics include how to handicap/bet a race, post-race trip notes, or general essays on topics such as money management or use of speed ratings. The award is open to anyone with published content related to handicapping between Sept. 1, 2014 and Sept. 7, 2015, and offers a $1,000 cash prize plus reasonable accommodation to attend the NTWAB dinner to receive the award.

To enter, submit your published work (and/or a link to it) to RippeyAward@Brisnet.com.

“Handicapping horse races is both an art and a science, and the ability to produce compelling content about the topic is a specialty that deserves recognition,” said Brisnet.com Director of Marketing Ed DeRosa. “We not only want to acknowledge the good work done in this regard but also encourage people to continue to produce this type of content, and who better to honor than successful handicapper and newspaper columnist Ron Rippey.”

A beloved regular on the contest circuit, Rippey won the 2006 National Handicapping Championship and was a 10-time qualifier for the prestigious annual event. He also wrote about racing and made picks for the Newark Star-Ledger and contributed Spotlight Selections to Brisnet.com for major race days. Rippey died Aug. 26, 2014.

“Ron’s enthusiasm for both playing the game and writing about it was infectious,” DeRosa said. “He wanted to beat you, but he wanted you to have fun while he did it, which is the essence of good handicapping content.”

Greg Hall and Mike Curry will judge entries for the award, and the duo brings together a mix of media experiences:

• Hall, formerly of the Louisville Courier-Journal, is an equine business writer who will cover this year’s Breeders’ Cup for Blood-Horse as well as his 6A blog.
• Curry is manager of digital initiatives with The Jockey Club’s American’s Best Racing website and former editor at Thoroughbred Times publications.

For more information or to submit an entry, e-mail RippeyAward@Brisnet.com by Tuesday, Sept. 29.