The Beemie Awards are on December 9

If awards season seems like it's happening earlier each year it's not because the earliest awards are earlier it's because they're better and people are talking about them more.

Well, at least that's the case with the Beemie Awards, which will conduct its third annual celebration of the people of the racing industry on Friday, December 9, 2016, with founder Jason Beem again handling the hosting duties. Beem is the former announcer at Portland Meadows and Louisiana Downs.

"The night is meant to be a fun night where all of racing Twitter can have a few laughs, crack a few jokes, and enjoy each other's online company," Beem says in a release. "The festivities will kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET with a red carpet ceremony with the show beginning at 9, [but] we’re on Gulfstream time so probably 9:05."

According to a video released with the Beemie Award schedule, Racing Twitter stars already signed on to "attend" the Beemie Awards include a trio racing tweeps with famous middle initials: publicist Brian W. Spencer, announcer John G. Dooley, and America's Best Racing's Penelope P. Miller. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert also joins in the fun.

The final awards category list is typically revealed in real time, but Beem teased some of this year's top awards: Best Fight, Favorite Follow, Someone Missed the Joke Badly Award, and the fan-selected Mike Joyce Award for Handicapping Excellence and Bravery which is voted on by the fans. 

The Beemie Awards were the top trending topic in both Louisville and Lexington last year and trended nationally for over an hour on twitter.  Other past winners include Julien Leparoux and Marty McGee as the only people to win both Eclipse and Beemie Awards. Brisnet.com's own Ed DeRosa, whose Twitter handle features a pair of middle initials, won a Beemie at the inaugural gala, taking home the best comeback award.

"The Beemie’s remain independent without sponsorship to avoid being overseen by the corporate overlords who run racing," Beem said. "However if any of those corporate overlords are looking for an announcer, please contact [me]."