| August 8, 2006
FOURTH ANNUAL CLYDE HIRT WORKSHOP WRAPS UP
The 2006 Clyde Hirt Sports Media Workshop, which concluded on Hambletonian Day, enjoyed another successful year.
The participants in this year’s workshop were Rachel Askin of the University of Rochester, Kim French of the University of Louisville, Billy Gaffney of Fordham University, Charlene Polk of the University of Richmond, Lou Riehl of Saint Joseph's University and Gretchen Springer of Luther College.
The fourth annual Workshop started at a blistering pace as the students arrived Wednesday afternoon and were immediately whisked away to New York City for a taping of ESPN2's sports talk show "Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith" which was followed by a tour of the New York Daily News with Deputy Sports Editor Adam Berkowitz.
On Thursday, the students spent the morning writing advance stories on the Hambo assisted by New York Daily News Sunday Sports Editor Jim Rich and Racing Editor Dave Little, as well as Meadowlands’ odds maker and handicapper Dave Brower, before another trip into New York City to meet Sports Illustrated's Executive Editor Charlie Leerhsen.
Friday morning the students were surprised with a jogging session at the track courtesy of Hall of Famer Jimmy Doherty, Tom Lovely and Bob Sharkey.
The afternoon session was filled by John Quinn, Deputy Sports Editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Caton Bredar, Jay Privman and Gary Seibel of the CBS Hambletonian show and a tour of the CBS truck provided by producers Steve Nagler and Chris Svedsen and director Bob Fishman.
The evening session was highlighted by a tour of the judges stand given by presiding judge Cammie Haughton.
Mr. Haughton allowed the students to watch the second race from the booth and see how he and associate judges Glen Hoebert and Larry Julien perfom their important tasks.
Next was a tour of the paddock and a ride in the starter car with Meadowlands starter Danny Dale and assistant to the starter Joe Di Nicola.
The night ended with a trip to the announcer’s booth to watch a race with track announcer Sam McKee.
The final day was the big event, the $1.5 million Hambletonian.
The students were at the track bright and early to meet former heavyweight champion of the world and harness owner George Foreman before being paired with Hoofbeats Executive Editor Nicole Kraft, Meadowlands Media Manager Amy Silver, the aforementioned CBS truck team as well as Workshop co-chair Debbie Little of the New York Post.
Several stories were also written on race day under the watchful eye of Workshop co-chair Ken Weingartner of Harness Racing Communications and the Littles.
In all, the Workshop produced nine stories that ran in the Asbury Park Press, Des Moines Register, Los Angeles Times, Louisville Courier-Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer and San Diego Union-Tribune.
The Workshop is run by volunteers [Debbie Little, Ken Weingartner, Judy Davis-Wilson, Chris Wittstruck and Kelly Young] of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) and sponsored by the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown, Harness Horse Youth Foundation, Meadowlands Racetrack, New York City Chapter of USHWA and United States Trotting Association.
Named in honor of the late Clyde Hirt, a longtime newsman and racing writer whose work appeared in Sports Eye, the New York Daily Mirror, The Saturday Evening Post and the New York Times to name a few, the workshop is dedicated to ensuring Clyde's legacy by sharing his gift with the future.
For more information on the Workshop you can contact or Debbie Little at dlittle@nypost.com or Ken Weingartner at HRCNEWS1@ustrotting.com.
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