L.A. Times, Hollywood Park Unveil Sports Journalism Workshop Honoring Jim Murray
The Workshop, honoring Jim Murray, the late Pulitzer prize-winning columnist of The Times, will run from May 7 to May 10 at Hollywood Park under the direction of The Times sports staff.
"Jim Murray's columns graced The Times for nearly four decades," said John Puerner, publisher, Los Angeles Times. "He was one of only four sportswriters ever to win a Pulitzer Prize, honoring a talent exceeded only by his generosity of spirit. Noting that his final column was on horseracing, a workshop for aspiring sports journalists honoring Jim Murray is a very fitting tribute to his remarkable legacy."
The Jim Murray Memorial Handicap, inaugurated in 1990, is for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/2 miles on turf. The purse increase makes it the richest turf marathon on the West Coast along with the San Juan Capistrano Handicap.
Hollywood Park's May 10 program will also include the $200,000 Los Angeles Times Handicap, a Grade III event formerly known as the Los Angeles Handicap. The $150,000 Mervyn LeRoy Handicap, a Grade II race which serves as the first major prep for the Hollywood Gold Cup, will also be carded along with several other Times races to be named.
Ted Murray, a longtime Times employee and son of Jim Murray, has been named Honorary Chairman of the Event. The Times and Hollywood Park will award ten $1,000 scholarships at a banquet during a Friday night racing program on May 9.
College students selected for the workshop will be given the opportunity to work with Times editors on stories, with the best printed in a supplement to the official race program on May 10.
"Jim Murray was a great friend to horse racing," said Rick Baedeker, president, Hollywood Park. "We are very pleased to join with the Los Angeles Times in introducing young journalists to a sport Jim loved."
The L.A. Times Sports Workshop is a tuition-free event. Students must be enrolled in college and nominated by teachers to be eligible. Applications are being distributed to schools nation-wide with a March 1 deadline for return. For more information on the application process, contact the Hollywood Park publicity department at (310) 419-1535 or via e-mail at mikem@hollywoodpark.com.
Hollywood Park, located in Inglewood, Calif., just a few miles from Los Angeles International Airport, is a wholly owned property of Churchill Downs Incorporated (Nasdaq: CHDN). Hollywood Park conducts Thoroughbred racing approximately 90 days a year. Its Spring/Summer Meet runs from late April through late July, and its Autumn Meet runs from early November through mid-December.
