Klein Awarded 2015 Russell-Rice TRA Scholarship

ELKTON, MD � Cutler Klein will enter the freshman class at Vanderbilt University as the 2015 recipient of the 57th Fred Russell-Grantland Rice TRA Scholarship for sports journalism, it was announced Tuesday by the Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA).

Klein, who graduated Magna Cum Laude from Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, NY, was selected from a record 422 applicants for this year�s scholarship in the amount of $25,000 per year for four years at Vanderbilt.

Named in honor of two legendary sports writing alumni of Vanderbilt, the scholarship has an extraordinary record of producing prominent and successful writers and television personalities, including Roy Blount, Jr., Bill Livingston, Skip Bayless, John (Joe Bob Briggs) Bloom, David Sheinin, Tyler Kepner, Lee Jenkins, and Daniel Wolken.

Klein received numerous academic awards while in high school, including the Williams College Book Award, the Class Advisors� Award, the Senior History Award and the James P. Wrinn award for Spanish. He also played on the JV tennis team and ski team along with serving as public address announcer for the school hockey team.

As a senior, he was the managing editor for the Greeley Tribune, having previously served as columnist and sports editor. He also attended an intensive journalism program at the Medill-Northwestern Journalism Institute in the summer of 2014. He has written, blogged, and tweeted extensively for a number of websites, hosted podcasts, and is Executive Consultant/founding member of Insidersportsnetwork.com, an online start-up sports blog. He also hosted an online streaming radio show focusing primarily on NHL hockey, along with covering local high school sports in northern Westchester County for The Examiner.

He plans to major in Communication Studies at Vanderbilt and hopes to pursue a career in sports media.

The scholarship winners, selected by a panel chaired by Oaklawn Park President Charles J. Cella, have distinguished themselves not just in sports writing and broadcasting, but in other fields as well.

The scholarship honors Vanderbilt alumni Grantland Rice and Fred Russell, two of the greatest sports writers of all time. Initially, the scholarship was created in 1956 to honor Grantland Rice, the dean of American sports writing, who died in 1954. The scholarship received a funding endowment from Mr. Cella on behalf of the TRA in 1986, and its name was amended to include the late Fred Russell, the famed Nashville Banner sports columnist for 69 years and a mentor to many of the scholarship winners.

The four-year scholarship is co-sponsored by Vanderbilt University and the TRA and is awarded to an outstanding high school senior with special interest and potential in the field of sports writing. The TRA represents 44 member racing associations conducting Thoroughbred racing at 40 racetracks in North America.

Prior winners of the scholarship were: