photography

Lou Hodges, Jr., a second-generation photographer who has captured horse racing images at the Fair Grounds since 1976, has announced his retirement. Hodges, Jr., who took over the family business in 1978, will now hand the reins over to his daughter, Amanda Hodges Weir. "Fair Grounds has been lucky to have Lou Hodges," Senior Director of Racing Jason Boulet said. "Our racetrack, our horses, and our horsemen have come to life through the fantastic photos he has taken. We are very grateful for everything he and his family has given...

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's fourth annual Photo Finish exhibition will open in the von Stade Gallery Wednesday, Nov. 2. The exhibit's images will also be available on the Museum's website. Photo Finish features selected amateur and professional photographs that document the entire racing experience, from the farm and the backstretch to the winner's circle. Photographers from 17 states and Ireland are represented in the exhibit. Remi Bellocq, Alicia Hughes, Sally Jeffords, and Tod Marks, served as the judges for Photo Finish, providing representation from the...

It could be a little daunting for a modern-day artist to follow Sir Alfred Munnings in the exhibition space of Newmarket's National Horseracing Museum. Munnings is an iconic name in the sporting art world, and many of his best known images of racehorses at the start were created from his makeshift studio in an old rubbing house on Newmarket Heath which exists to this day. He lived and breathed his subject, but so too does the photographer Jayne Odell FRPS, whose striking black and white images are exhibited in the...

This is the fourth installment in a series highlighting racetrack photographers. Around 1960, a funeral director decided he'd had enough of the cold Chicago winters, so he uprooted his family to Phoenix to ply his trade in a warmer clime. Upon arrival, Jack Coady, Sr. learned his Illinois mortician's certification didn't match Arizona's requirements, so he set out to look for another line of work. He liked photography and caught on with the Arizona Republic newspaper. On one of his very first assignments, he was sent to shoot the races...

Today TDN launches the first installment in a multi-part series highlighting racetrack photographers. We'll be profiling the unique relationships between cameras and Thoroughbreds, asking about the most memorable horses, races and people they've viewed through the lens, and talking about how the craft of equine imagery has evolved. Each time that we profile a photographer, TDN will also be featuring their hand-selected favorite shots in multiple editions throughout the week. First up is Harold Roth. A 1973 racetrack photojournalism assignment for his Queens College student newspaper led to Roth's eventual...