Been selected to the National Museum of Racing’s Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor, which recognizes individuals whose careers have been dedicated to, or substantially involved in, covering thoroughbred racing.
Tim Layden
Layden, a native of Whitehall, New York, worked at the Schenectady Gazette (1978 to 1986), Albany Times Union (1986 to 1988), and Newsday (1988 to 1994). He is a four-time Eclipse Award winner and the 2015 recipient of the Walter Haight Award for career excellence in turf writing from the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. He won his first Eclipse in 1987 in the newspaper writing category and has since won Eclipses for feature/commentary in 2018, 2022, and 2023.
After spending 25 years as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated — where he covered 14 Olympic Games, eight college football championship games, six NCAA Final Fours, and three Super Bowls, in addition to Thoroughbred racing — Layden joined the NBC Sports Group in 2019. For NBC, Layden produces longform articles, major-event features and columns, and video work for the network’s television and digital platforms.
“The first time I went to a racetrack was in the summer of 1976 when I was interning for the Gazette at Saratoga,” Layden said in a statement. “I sat next to Red Smith that day in the press box, which was pretty intimidating and scary. My first full year covering racing was 1978 when Alydar and Affirmed met in the Travers. That was my first real introduction to major league sports in the Capital Region. It was basically trial by fire for a 22-year-old.”
Ed Schuyler, Jr.
Schuyler, a native of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, covered primarily horse racing and boxing for The Associated Press from 1960 until his retirement in 2002. Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010, Schuyler was the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters’ selection for the 1996 Walter Haight Award. He began covering the Triple Crown series with a sidebar for the 1967 Kentucky Derby. In 1974, Schuyler became the lead national racing writer for The Associated Press, a position he held until his retirement. During that time, Schuyler covered every Triple Crown race. Additionally, he covered the Breeders’ Cup from its inception in 1984 until he retired. Through the wire service, Schuyler’s work was read nationally in papers and media outlets throughout the United States.
“My father was a great newspaperman and I wanted to be just like him,” said Schuyler, who lives in Southold, New York. “I had the best job in the world. I got to see all the great horses, cover so many wonderful people…D. Wayne Lukas, Woody Stephens, Shug McGaughey…it was long hours and a lot of work, but it was also really a lot of fun. There was nothing like Kentucky Derby week, and how could you not love being at places like Saratoga and Keeneland? I was pretty lucky to do what I did.”
Schuyler wrote about many of the 20th century’s biggest stars in both racing and boxing, including Triple Crown winners Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed, as well as heavyweight champions Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and Mike Tyson, among others. He covered boxing at the Olympics from 1976 through 2000 and reported on fights in 19 countries.
Edwin Pope
Pope (1928-2017), a native of Athens, Georgia, won three Eclipse Awards for newspaper writing (1976, 1982, 1986) during his decorated journalism career — each of those awards was earned while covering racing for the Miami Herald, where he began working in 1956.
A graduate of the University of Georgia, Pope was only 11 years old when he began writing for his hometown Athens Banner-Herald. By age 15, he had been promoted to the sports editor of the paper. After college, Pope worked briefly for United Press International, Atlanta Journal, and Atlanta Constitution.
After writing his 1955 book Football’s Greatest Coaches, Pope left the Atlanta area for Miami to join the Herald. Hired as a columnist and assistant editor, he was promoted to sports editor within a year. He officially retired from the paper in 2003 but continued to contribute columns until 2016, when he wrote his last piece eulogizing Muhammad Ali.
Pope, who covered every Super Bowl from 1967 through 2013, won numerous awards in addition to his three Eclipses for horse racing coverage. He was inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame, as well as the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. Additionally, Pope was selected for the Red Smith Award in 1989 by The Associated Press Sports Editors.
