North County Times staff writer Brian Hiro's three-part series titled "Death and Durability of the Racehorse" has won the 2007 Media Eclipse Award for writing in the feature/enterprise category.

Hiro's series, published Aug. 12-14, focused on the increasing number of injuries to racehorses, their rising fatality rates and the horse racing industry's response to the problems it is facing.

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced its Eclipse Award winners Thursday.

The Eclipse Awards are presented by the racing association, National Turf Writers Association and Daily Racing Form and are given to horses and individuals whose achievements have earned them the title of champion in their respective categories. Awards also are given to recognize members of the media for their coverage of thoroughbred racing.

Hiro, 32, spent weeks working on the project, which initially was going to be an in-depth look at synthetic racing surfaces but was expanded to look at the many and complex issues facing the horse racing industry.

Hiro devoted the first part of his series to examining the increasing number of injuries to racehorses at North American racetracks, most famously the death of Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro.

The second part focused on the trend toward earlier and more lucrative breeding and other economic changes in the sport. The final part looked at synthetic surfaces, such as the Polytrack installed at the Del Mar racetrack before its 2007 meet.

In gathering information, Hiro was aided by results from the 2006 Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, hosted by Keeneland Association. He talked to numerous industry insiders who attended the summit.

Honorable mention in the features/enterprise writing category went to Bill Handleman for " 'Hollywood' Gets a Second Go Round at Age 50" about former jockey Herb McCauley, which appeared in the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press on Sept. 9, 2007; and to Shannon Russell for "A Remarkable Tale of Determination" on the recovery of jockey Perry Ouzts, which was published in the Cincinnati Inquirer on Feb. 18, 2007.

The Eclipse Awards will be presented Jan. 21 in Beverly Hills at the Beverly Wilshire.

View the series here:

Part I: Horse racing's black eye

Part II: A lesser breed? Booming breeding business could lead to more brittle horses

Part III: Synthetic surfaces have helped decrease horse deaths across country