by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Freehold, NJ — The deadline for entries for the 2009 John Hervey Awards, which honor the best of harness racing journalism, is December 4.

Entries will be accepted in six categories — news and commentary writing, feature writing, television, audio and the George Smallsreed Awards for race and feature photography.

Winners will be saluted at the U.S. Harness Writers Association’s annual Night of Champions banquet on February 28 at Empire City at Yonkers Raceway.

Judges in each category will select a winner and, where appropriate, up to two honorable mentions.

The deadline for receipt of submissions by the committee is December 4 for materials that were published or aired between December 1, 2008 and November 28, 2009. There are no entry fees or cash prizes.

The rules for the competition are available by request from Ken Weingartner, chair of the Hervey Committee, at hrcnews1@ustrotting.com or Debbie Little at dlittle@nypost.com.