Gural to fund Herveys

Jeff Gural, operator of New York State tracks Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs and a noted Empire State horseman, has agreed to fund the 2006 U.S. Harness Writers Association’s (USHWA) year-end journalism awards.

The John Hervey Writing Awards, which began in 1963 and include both newspaper and magazine journalism, join with the Communicator’s Awards (electronic media) and George Smallsreed Awards (photography) to annually honor outstanding efforts by the media in covering harness racing. The four categories will again carry prizes of $500 for first, $250 for second, and $100 for third, thanks to the beneficence of Gural.

"Over the years, these journalistic awards have been won by some of the most distinguished writers, communicators, and photographers in the entire world of sports," said USHWA chairman of the board Gordon Waterstone. "We are pleased that Mr. Gural could step up and take a sponsorship role for these prestigious year-end prizes, and we thank him for his generosity."

The awards annually cover a Dec. 1 to Nov. 30 segment, and are judged and announced early in the following year. The winners will be publicly recognized at USHWA’s annual awards banquet, scheduled for Feb. 25 at the Borgata in Atlantic City.

Gural's Tioga Downs, currently hosting its inaugural season, has been widely praised for its innovative design marrying racing with slot gaming, and for the quality of racing the sport is hosting. Vernon Downs is scheduled to be "back in harness" Aug. 31 after not racing for the past couple of seasons.

Gural is also noted for his tireless work in helping bringing the "racino" concept to fruition in New York, with dramatically-improved bottom lines at the state's participating racetracks. (USHWA)

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