By Tim Bojarski, for UNY USHWA
In an era where mainstream media habitually overlooks harness racing in their day to day publications, two news outlets in New York State routinely include harness racing news in their sports pages and continue to promote the sport despite their counterparts' failure to do so.
And the coverage given to the action at the track by the Batavia Daily News and The Batavian is why the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) will be presenting them with the 2019 President’s Award.
The Batavia Daily News is a print newspaper that was founded in 1878 and has been in operation ever since.Their circulation goes well beyond the confines of the City of Batavia and Genesee County, into several surrounding counties and also includes Buffalo and Rochester.
Additionally the paper has a strong online presence (thedailynewsonline.com) to go along with its daily print publication and both cover Batavia and Genesee County in depth.
The Batavian (thebatavian.com) is an online-only news outlet that was launched in 2008. It is the first local, online-only news source for the City of Batavia and Genesee County and has become one of Genesee County's most popular internet news sites and it provides local residents with news and information based mainly around Genesee County.
This outlet has a reputation of showing up at every major event in the city and posting timely firsthand reports and videos.
"Both of these outlets have provided outstanding coverage to harness racing at Batavia Downs over the years but in 2019, gave unprecedented weeklong coverage to the $1.8 million New York Sire Stakes Night of Champions that were held at Batavia Downs and produced record numbers for the track as well as noticeably increased revenue for the city itself that weekend by visiting participants," said Tim Bojarski, president of UNY USHWA.
"They both do an outstanding job for the community in general and the sport in particular. The coverage provided to harness racing by these fine news sources sets a standard that outlets in other cities should well take note of."
The Batavia Daily News and The Batavian will be presented their awards in the Purple Haze Winner’s Circle at Batavia Downs on Saturday night (Dec. 14). Post time for the first race is 6 p.m.
The Batavian -- Video: The Night of Champions at Batavia Downs
