The Racing Post's Bill Barber, Chris Cook and Peter Thomas up for top HWPA awards

Racing Post industry editor Bill Barber, who has been front and centre in coverage of the campaign against potentially damaging affordability checks, has been nominated for two major prizes.

He is on the shortlist for racing writer of the year and racing reporter of the year at the Horserace Writers & Photographers Association's Derby Awards.

The judges said his work "takes a heavy subject and leavens it superbly over the course of three articles, the craft in the writing bringing clarity for the general reader."

Post colleague Peter Thomas, the chief features writer, is nominated again for an award he won in 2022, with his submitted articles described as: "Well researched profiles that do their subjects justice, finely crafted writing which manages to bring variety to what otherwise might be similar pieces."

Chris Cook, a four-time reporter of the year, is also on the shortlist for "an entry which displays great range, including an original Lambourn profile and a superbly marshalled verbatim account of Grand National day protests."

Chris Cook: Four-time winner of reporter of the year

The only non-Post journalist nominated is the Guardian's Greg Wood, who won in 2009 and was praised for "outstanding journalism, all articles developed from an interesting angle, employing a lot of research and imagination."

Barber was reporter of the year in 2018 and his rivals this time are the Post's Jonathan Harding, who has won previously in two other categories, last year's winner Nick Luck, plus Callum Jamieson of The Sun.

Edward Whitaker could be voted photographer of the year for the tenth time, up against Post colleague Patrick McCann (who won in 2021), Tracy Roberts (2020) and Steve Cargill. McCann and Roberts are also in the running for picture of the year.

The Post provides four of the candidates for the emerging talent award for the under-30s, in Liam Headd, Maddy Playle, James Stevens and Kitty Trice, while three-time writer of the year Lee Mottershead is among four up for specialist writer.

Voting closes next Sunday and the winners will be revealed at the 57th annual Derby Awards lunch, supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, World Pool, Coral and BioWaveGo, at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on December 4. A limited number of tickets are available by emailing carrdeus@yahoo.com

HWPA Derby Awards nominations:

Writer of the year (for the Clive Graham Trophy): Bill Barber, Chris Cook, Peter Thomas, Greg Wood

Reporter of the year (for the Oaksey Trophy): Bill Barber, Jonathan Harding, Callum Jamieson, Nick Luck

Photographer of the year: Steve Cargill, Patrick McCann, Tracy Roberts, Edward Whitaker

Picture of the year: Tim Goode, Patrick McCann, Tracy Roberts, Dave Shopland

Emerging talent (for the Alan Lee trophy): Alex Fussey, Liam Headd, Megan Nicholls, Maddy Playle, James Stevens, Kitty Trice

Specialist writer: Ian Carnaby, Lydia Hislop, Simon Milham, Lee Mottershead

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