@ The Emerald Hotel, 415 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne

Dress | Smart Casual

Includes|  two course meal + beverages

RSVP |  Tim Habel | twoblues87@gmail.com

The Victorian Racing Media Association is proud to announce Lewis Willoughby and Georgie Dennis as joint winners  of the 2018 Black Caviar Scholarship proudly sponsored by TABCORP. Willoughby, 20, is in his third year of a Bachelor Of Communications course at Sydney University while Dennis, also 20, is in the final year of a course at Latrobe University.

In its third year, the Black Caviar Scholarship has already proven to be a successful pathway to employment for 2016 scholarship winners Conor Walsh and Jessica Moodie who are both working in sports media and management. 2017 winner Daniel Nuttall is completing his studies at La Trobe University but is contributing to racing publications Best Bets and Winning Post and is soon to join the staff full-time.

THE VRMA will introduce a Jockey Of The Season award for 2017-18 sponsored by Wylie Dalziel Roy Higgins Racing starting in the new racing season with the winner to be awarded the Roy Higgins Medal.

Apart from being an 11 times premier jockey in Victoria, Higgins was a VRMA member and as a jockey pioneered relations between the media and the public. Every media person from Higgins’ era can testify to his unstinting co-operation to publicise his sport. The Higgins family has been notified by Wylie and say they are thrilled the award as been named on his honour. The leading apprentice jockey will receive the Darren Gauci Medal in honour of the recently retired champion rider who now works at Racing Victoria. Votes will be cast at each city Saturday and public holiday meeting by two of a panel of VRMA members on a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis with the votes published regularly in Winning Post and on the VRMA website. The leading jockey each month will receive $100 and the season winner a dining package to the value of $500.

A very popular choice.  70-year-old Clarke trained “Rich Charm” to beat his rivals in the Group II TAB Multiplier Stakes (1200m) at Flemington.Other Award Winners

• VRC/Bert Wolfe Award for outstanding overall contribution: Jack Styring
• Best news story- Patrick Bartley (Age) on his coverage of the Azkadellia ownership case
• Best feature- A Racetrack Somewhere documentary by Jo McKinnon
• Inglis Best Breeding Award-  Michael Lynch (Age) on the first $1m yearlign sold in Victoria Michael Lynch (Age).

The VRMA is delighted to see Jessica progress her career in the racing media industry field and note co-winner Conor Walsh is now working for Racing Victoria publications.

The VRMA committee and members are delighted to welcome the Lewis family management of the Emerald and officially confirm a long standing partnership.

The Emerald Hotel in South Melbourne was the venue of choice for the connections of 2015 Melbourne Cup winner Prince Of Penzance and last year’s Caulfield Cup winner Jameka and you regularly see leading owners and trainers enjoying a convivial drink.

It is also the venue for the VRMA’s traditional Personality Of The Year luncheon held on the third Monday in November each year.

Daniel impressed the sub committee judges with his passion for racing and an excellent article after interviewing former leading apprentice and now senior jockey Patrick Moloney.

The scholarship recipient will undertake work experience across the racing media industry with VRMA members during 2017 including the Melbourne Spring racing carnival.

Daniel will also receive funding, courtesy of Sportsbet’s sponsorship, to be paid against is HECS-HELP fee.

Greg has been the ‘voice’ of racing for most racing fans of the present day and has upheld a great tradition with his own distinctive style.

The Melbourne Racing Club will honour Greg with a presentation in the mounting yard after race three at about 12.55 pm on Saturday April 15 and all media are invited to attend.

Greg’s final call will be at the Easter Cup meeting where the great Bill Collins also lowered the curtain on his career in 1988.

We look forward to our esteemed president continuing to be active in the VRMA and after a short holiday remaining working in the racing industry, albeit with a lower profile.

It’s little surprise that we both had fantastic experiences at the races as part of our scholarship commitments. We had the opportunity to spend a few days in both the Flemington and Sandown press rooms, shadowing a handful of talented journalists.

Our time at Flemington was spent rotating between observing and writing in the press room, interviewing jockeys post-race, witnessing the Australian Guineas protest in the stewards’ room first-hand, picking the brain of Deane Lester in the mounting yard and watching Greg Miles do his best work in the broadcast box.

We had the chance to visit RSN on separate occasions for different shows, and we also followed Nick Quinn from the station to TAB/Sky to see and experience even more fascinating parts of the industry. Tagging along with Mick Sharkie and the team at G1X for a shoot with Katelyn Mallyon, Michael Walker and Kayla Nisbet was a great highlight that proved thoroughly entertaining for all involved.

When Peter Moody held a press conference on his final day of training we were lucky enough to be able to tag along with Danny Russell from the Herald Sun. I doubt we will ever forget being present at such an historic moment.

It’s clear that the scholarship experience was incredibly practical, particularly in the sense that we were able to apply the skills and theories learnt during our studies: we took a huge leap from interviewing friends for assessments to interviewing some of our idols for the biggest racing publications in Australia! Gai Waterhouse, Mick Price, Damien Oliver, Craig Williams, Greg Carpenter and Terry Bailey were just a few of our highly esteemed interviewees.

We are immensely grateful for the opportunities presented to us throughout our time as scholarship recipients. We weren’t just given a chance to get our foot in the door, we were given the chance to knock it off its hinges, which we definitely made the most of. We are both now working part-time in the racing media industry while continuing our studies, and we could not have wished for a better head start on our careers.

Our entire experience was such a rush that it seemed to be over so quickly, which is a testament to Tim Habel’s ability to organise such a brilliant and exciting schedule. We could not be more grateful for all of the advice, opportunities and experiences we have received in our short association with the VRMA, and we will never forget how privileged we are.

While it’s difficult to name just three highlights, our personal favourites include:

CONOR’S THREE HIGHLIGHTS:

·         Being present at the tense protest between the connections of Palentino and Tarzino

·         Watching Greg Miles call a race at headquarters

·         Publishing tips and overviews for the Winning Post, even though the meeting was subsequently abandoned due to the state of the track!

JESS’ THREE HIGHLIGHTS:

·         Having our first piece published together in The Age (with a by-line!)

·         Witnessing Greg Miles’ extraordinary talents in the caller’s box at Flemington

·         When my Herald Sun pick of the day won at Sandown – I’m usually a useless tipster because of my bias