Keyser gets Eclipse for photo of Brooklyn 'Cap start

"I'm sort of dumbfounded," Keyser said about becoming the first person to win

a Media Eclipse for both writing and photography. "I certainly never aspired to

be a photographer, and if I wasn't helping Barbara, I wouldn't be doing

this. All I can say is: It's funny how the world turns."

For his winning photo, Keyser stood on the infield platform with his

hand-held camera and captured the six-year-old Birdrun nearly unseating his

rider Rajiv Maragh at the start of the Brooklyn. Maragh's body is draped over

Birdrun's head, with the rider's right leg in the air. In a terrific feat of

athleticism, Maragh recovers and gets back in the saddle to continue the race.

Keyser acknowledged that several other photographers on the stand with him

likely captured a similar image.

"I was there for the finish of the race, but because the Brooklyn was a 1

1/2-mile race, the start happened right in front of us," Keyser said. "So you

photograph it. Most of those pictures you never use, but you never know when

a jockey might fly off his horse or something."

The winning photo was taken with a Canon Mark III with a 70-200 lens f2.8.

Keyser commented about working as a photographer after more than 40 years as

a writer, including 10 years covering racing for the Baltimore Sun.

"I never had any idea how hard photographers work, and I don't think most

reporters do," Keyser said. "It's physically demanding -- carrying all that

equipment, ducking under rails with cameras draped on your shoulders, kneeling

down countless times to check your remote cameras (placed under the rail aimed

at the finish), and doing it in all kinds of weather. Also, when I was a

reporter, we all got along pretty well. I wouldn't have suspected how

competitive, horse-racing photography is."

Honorable mention in the Photography category went to Livingston for her

photograph of a Dan Perlsweig caressing his former champion Lord Avie, which

appeared in "DRF Weekend" and to Chris Alpin, for her portrait of 2011 Eclipse

Award-winning sprinter Amazombie, which appeared in the November edition of Horseplayermagazine.

Judges in the Photography category were Michael Lasky of Lasko Photography;

former Eclipse Award-winning photographer Kim Pratt of Parx Racing and Dan Dry

of Power Creative Photography and official Breeders' Cup photographer.

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