Dr. Ryan Book Award Finalists Announced

Six finalists were announced Friday for the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, a competition which attracted a near-record number of entries in 2016.

Since its founding in 2006 by Dr. Ryan, the award has annually recognized the best in book-length race writing published during the previous year. Past honorees have included globally known writers and journalists, including a National Book Award recipient, multiple Eclipse Award winners, and a Pulitzer Prize nominee. The $10,000 winner's check remains one of the most lucrative literary awards offered anywhere, equal to that of the Pulitzer for Literature and National Book Award. The two runner-up finalists for the Dr. Ryan Award each receive $1,000, while all three top authors take home Tipperary Crystal replicas of the farm's iconic tower.

The six finalists are: “Finding Daylight”, by Mara Dabrishus; “The Great Sweepstakes of 1877; A True Story of Southern Grit, Gilded Age Tycoons, and a Race That Galvanized the Nation”, by Mark Shrager; “Here Comes Exterminator! The Longshot Horse, the Great War, and the Making of an American Hero”, by Eliza McGraw; “The Kentucky Derby”, by Bill Doolittle; “Mr. Darley's Arabian: High Life, Low Life, Sporting Life”, by Christopher McGrath; and “Old and New Friends” by Barbara Livingston.

A by-invitation reception will be held the evening of Apr. 20 in the loft above the historic stallion barn at Castleton Lyons, near Lexington, Kentucky. For more information, contact Betsy Hager at: (859) 455-9222, or at [email protected].

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