The Irish Field will be well represented at this year’s Horserace Writers & Photographers Association Derby Awards.

Racing journalist Ronan Groome has been nominated for the new Emerging Talent Award while long-time contributor Simon Rowlands, who writes the popular Time Will Tell column, has been nominated for the Specialist Writer Award, also a new addition.

The awards, in their 53rd year, take place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on December 2nd. In all, there are four categories, the above mentioned and the two traditional awards - Racing Writer of the Year and Reporter of the Year, which HWPA members will be allowed to vote on.

The winner of the Emerging Talent Award will receive the Alan Lee Trophy. Mark Boylan (from the Racing Post), Jonathan Harding (Racing Post), Paddy von Behr (The Times), Alayna Cullen (Thoroughbred Daily News) and Harry Allwood (Racing TV website) are the other nominations.

Rowlands faces three in the Specialist Writer category - Matt Bisogno (geegeez.co.uk), Kevin Blake (AtTheRaces website) and Paul Kealy (Racing Post).

Blake, a former contributor and columnist for The Irish Field, is also in the Racing Writer category alongside Lee Mottershead and Peter Scargill of The Racing Post and Chris McGrath (Thoroughbred Daily News).

Mottershead and another Racing Post colleague Bill Barber are alongside Chris Cook (The Guardian) and Marcus Townend (Daily Mail) for the Reporter of the Year Award.