Louisville television station garners Media Eclipse Award

By: SPORTS NETWORK

New York, NY (Sports Network) - The Media Eclipse Award for best local television program has been given to WLKY in Louisville, KY. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced on Thursday that WLKY won the honor for the one hour program "The Final Foal."

Produced and photographed by Scott Eckhardt, "The Final Foal" is about Maggie Slew, the last horse sired by 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. The program was written and narrated by John Boel.

"This is a tremendous honor to be recognized by the Thoroughbred industry," said Eckhardt. "I have always wanted to make a film about the life of a racehorse from the beginning, and when I saw a small item in the newspaper about the impending birth of Seattle’s Slew’s last foal, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity do this story coupled with the magnitude of what Seattle Slew brought to racing. We greatly enjoyed making this film, and we received tremendous cooperation throughout the filming of the project from Swiftly Farms, Jerry Selby at David Vance Stables, and from Churchill Downs."

The three judge panel also bestowed honorable mention for "Brother Derek's Run for the Roses" to CTV-Calgary and Horse Racing Alberta. The program appeared on July 1. Its executive producer was Jeff Robillard.

The 2006 Eclipse Awards ceremony will be held on Monday, January 22, 2007 at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA.