Esteemed writers Tim Layden, Ed Schuyler Jr., and the late Edwin Pope have been bestowed with a significant honor by the National Museum of Racing. Their contributions to the world of racing journalism have left an indelible mark.

Celebrating the Legacy of Racing Journalists

Tim Layden: A Turf Writing Maestro

Layden, a native of Whitehall, N.Y., is a four-time Eclipse Award winner and the 2015 recipient of the Walter Haight Award for career excellence in turf writing. His journey began in 1976 when he interned at the Schenectady Gazette at Saratoga. His first full year covering racing was in 1978 during the Travers when Alydar and Affirmed met. This was his real introduction to major league sports in the capital region.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 along with Thoroughbred racing, he joined NBC Sports Group in 2019. At NBC, he produces long-form articles, major-event features and columns, and video work for the network’s television and digital platforms.The transition to working for NBC Sports Group has been seamless for Layden. He said, “It’s a fresh challenge to write for television, but it’s been fun and I’m grateful to the NBC team for the opportunity. And I’m still doing some print work, which I still love. So I guess I’ll go a little longer.”

Ed Schuyler Jr.: A Racing and Boxing Chronicler

Schuyler, a native of Bloomsburg, Pa., 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, he 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 and became the lead national racing writer for the Associated Press in 1974, a position he held until his retirement. During this time, he covered every Triple Crown race and the Breeders’ Cup from its inception in 1984 until he retired. His work was read nationally through the wire service.Schuyler wrote about many of the 20th century’s biggest stars in both racing and boxing. He said, “I covered 23 Ali fights, saw Mike Tyson get beat in Japan, watched Forego come from behind to win the Metropolitan Handicap, amazing Breeders’ Cup races … so many great memories. To be a writer and cover what I did for more than 40 years was a dream come true.”

Edwin Pope: A Versatile Sports Journalist

Pope, a native of Athens, Ga., was born in 1928 and died in 2018. He won three Eclipse Awards for newspaper writing during his decorated journalism career while covering racing for the Miami Herald. He began writing for his hometown Athens Banner-Herald at the age of 11 and was promoted to sports editor by 15.After college, he worked briefly for United Press International, Atlanta Journal and Atlanta Constitution. After writing his 1955 book Football’s Greatest Coaches, he joined the Herald as a columnist and assistant editor and 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 covered every Super Bowl from 1967 through 2013 and won numerous awards in addition to his three Eclipses. 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. The late Jimmy Cannon of the New York Daily News called Pope “the best writer of sports in America.”The National Museum of Racing’s Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor was established in 2010 to recognize individuals dedicated to nonfiction writing about Thoroughbred racing. These three writers have truly earned their place in this esteemed roll of honor.