News

2022 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Finalists announced

on 07/31/2023 3:32 PM
Finalists announced  for Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award   Three finalists for the 17th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award have been decided by a panel of racing and literary judges. They included an extraordinary time-hopping, historical novel; a compelling biography of potential greatness and a life cut short; and a powerful, category-bending work of fiction told as the oral history of a hard-...
Read More

2022 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Semifinalists announced

on 06/21/2023 9:15 AM
Semifinalists announced for Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award   Five semifinalists have been selected for the 17th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, including two novels, three biographical works based on the lives of late 20th century American champions, and a fictional oral history, all published in 2022.  A 2006 brainchild of the late philanthropist and global businessman Dr. Tony Ryan, the c...
Read More

DEATH BY EQUINE SCORES WIN IN THE 2021 DR. TONY RYAN BOOK AWARD

on 11/04/2022 8:50 AM
From a near-record number of submissions, Annette Dashofy’s Death by Equine has been named winner of the 16th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. The announcement was made during a Nov. 3 cocktail reception at the Ryan family’s Castleton Lyons, near Lexington, Kentucky—the first live ceremony since 2019, due to Covid. As in previous years, the event was held in a loft above the farm...
Read More

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2021 DR. TONY RYAN BOOK AWARD

on 06/30/2022 2:18 PM
2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Finalists   The Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award competition has been held for the 16th time to honor the best of long-format race writing. Three finalists were selected by a panel of judges from nearly two-dozen submissions published during 2021. It was a year in which top-tier entries were dominated by fiction, with two finalists falling into that category—...
Read More

2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Semifinalists Announced

on 05/23/2022 2:46 PM
2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Semifinalists Six semifinalists for the 16th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award have been selected by a panel of judges and were split evenly this year between fiction and non-fiction. These semifinalists were chosen from nearly two dozen submissions, a healthy indicator that interest in horse racing remains very much alive despite the crippling effects of a two-year ...
Read More

Crump Bio wins the 15th Annual Dr. Tony RYan Book Award

on 05/13/2021 9:15 AM
Veteran turf writer Mark Shrager has won the 15th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, presented by Castleton Lyons, for Diane Crump, A Horse-Racing Pioneer’s Life in the Saddle. The winner was announced on May 10 via Zoom conference for the second straight year due to pandemic concerns. Previously, the by-invitation winner’s reception had been held on-site at the Ryan family’s Lexington-ba...
Read More

2020 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Finalists Announced

on 04/22/2021 11:28 AM
Three finalists have been selected for the 15th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award from more than a dozen quality submissions published in 2020. These include two comprehensive biographies about barrier-breaking women and an engaging novel of hope and heartbreak. “This was the year of debut authors, including the fiction finalist," said judge Kay Coyte, a former Washington Post and rac...
Read More

2020 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Semi-Finalists Announced

on 04/08/2021 12:28 PM
2020 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Semi-Finalists Announced   Even as a deadly pandemic stopped the world in its tracks, the business of horse racing continued—and thankfully, so too did the art of writing about it. The year 2021 brings with it the 15th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, once again recognizing the best long-form writing the world of racing has to offer. Despite the draco...
Read More

GROUP EFFORT WINS 2019 BOOK AWARD

on 11/21/2020 6:57 AM
For the first time in its fourteen-year history, the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award has gone to a multi-collaborative effort, as opposed to one written by a single author, or two working in tandem. The 2019 winner is “Better Lucky Than Good: Tall Tales and Straight Talk from the Backside of the Track,” published through the Louisville Story Program and edited by Joe Manning. In this work, a ...
Read More

2019 DR. TONY RYAN BOOK AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

on 09/09/2020 9:59 AM
  Three wonderful but very different books have been selected by a panel of industry judges as finalists for the 14th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, honoring titles published in 2019. These include a unique collaboration of stories told by members of the racing community; an insider’s look at the career of America’s most recent Triple Crown winner; and the roller-coaster life...
Read More

2019 DR. TONY RYAN BOOK AWARD SEMI-FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

on 06/04/2020 8:54 AM
Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Semi-finalists Announced   From among 15 submissions representing multiple genres, six semi-finalists for the 2020 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award have been selected by a panel of racing industry and literary judges. This year’s semi-finalists include a pair of equine biographies; the story of a legendary trainer; a history of one of America’s most importan...
Read More

2019 DR. TONY RYAN BOOK AWARD ENTRIES

on 05/04/2020 12:14 PM
  As with just about every sport, horse racing has all but disappeared in this year of the Great Pandemic. Meetings have been canceled, the Kentucky Derby re-scheduled for next fall, and we have little notion as to when racing may return in front of live, on-site audiences. But life goes on, and so too will the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, now in its 14th year of honoring the best long-form w...
Read More

Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Postponed

on 03/30/2020 3:30 PM
Due to COVID19, this year's Book Award presentation will be postponed until the Fall with dates to be announced later.
Read More

OUT OF THE CLOUDS SWOOPS TO WIN 2018 DR. TONY RYAN BOOK AWARD

on 04/12/2019 9:00 AM
Out of the Clouds wins 2018 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award   Veteran journalists Linda Carroll and David Rosner have been named joint recipients of the 13th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, presented by Castleton Lyons. The winners were announced at an evening reception on April 10th in the Ryan family’s historic Castleton Lyons stallion barn, near Lexington, Kentucky. Carroll and...
Read More

AND THEN THERE WERE 3, FOR DR. TONY RYAN BOOK AWARD

on 03/29/2019 12:39 PM
Finalists announced for 2018 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award   A trio of finalists have been selected from a strong and diverse slate of entries for the 13th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. These include a collection of fictional stories; a journal chronicling a year-in-the-life of a young jockey; and an historical biography of a great American racehorse. Though very different in subst...
Read More

2018 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award finalists announced

on 03/14/2019 9:25 AM
Semifinalists announced for Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Six semifinalists for the 13th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award have been selected by a panel of industry judges. A brainchild of the late Dr. Tony Ryan, the competition is open to any literary genre of book length, ranging from fictional story-telling to reality-based journalism. The only stipulations since the award’s 2006 inception ...
Read More

SASSCER HILL SCOOPS 2017 DR. TONY RYAN BOOK AWARD

on 04/19/2018 10:22 PM
Sasscer Hill wins Book Award     Lynda Sasscer Hill has been named winner of the 12th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for her mystery novel Flamingo Road. The announcement was made during an April 19 evening reception at the Ryan family’s Castleton Lyons, near Lexington, Kentucky.   The author, a former amateur steeplechase jockey who writes under the name Sasscer Hi...
Read More

THREE MYSTERY FINALISTS FOR 2017 DR. TONY RYAN BOOK AWARD

on 03/27/2018 8:55 AM
    Book Award Finalists     Fiction ruled the day in 2017, with all three finalists for the 12th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award falling into that category. This is the first time since the award’s inception in 2006 where works of imagination swept all of the top spots—among semi-finalists as well as finalists. In the five previous years combined, on...
Read More

2017 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award semi-finalists announced

on 03/09/2018 11:02 AM
Book Award Semi-finalists     Castleton Lyons has announced the names of five semi-finalist titles competing for the 2017 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. For the first time in the $10,000 award’s 12-year history, every honoree is a work of fiction. Since its inception, only two novels have won—Jaimy Gordon’s Lord of Misrule in 2010, which also took home the prestig...
Read More

2016 DR. TONY RYAN BOOK AWARD WINNER - ELIZA McGRAW - HERE COMES THE EXTERMINATOR!

on 04/20/2017 9:59 PM
2016 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Winner Announced                                                          &n...
Read More