Winning Ponies

One of the busiest men in racing, Steve Byk, will be taking time out of his always busy day to talk about his love of racing. He hosts a daily radio show “At the Races With Steve Byk,” which airs Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to noon Eastern time on Sirius/XM radio. Steve will join John to talk about the state of thoroughbred racing and the personalities that make it the great sport it is. Brian Zipse will be the guest handicapper and will analyze the $900,000 Grade 2 Rebel Stakes (a Derby prep race), the $350,000 Grade 2 Azeri Stakes and the $250,000 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn as well as the $400,000 Grade 1 Santa Margarita at Santa Anita.

Eric Mitchell, 47, joined Blood-Horse Publications in October 1999 as a senior staff writer for The Blood-Horse. He now covers the stallion and farm news as Bloodstock Editor and manages BloodHorse MarketWatch, Stallion Register, and the Auction Edge sales guide. Eric will join John to discuss current headlines and trends in the sales and the breeding industry. They will also shine light on the rising stars among the stallion ranks, and the impact they may have on this year’s Kentucky Derby and Oaks. Jeremy Balan covers the west coast racing for the Blood-Horse. Santa Anita will feature an outstanding card on Saturday with 3 Grade 1 Stakes and the $400,00 San Felipe (G2) for 3-year-olds where the winner will be guaranteed a post in the Ky Derby. Also on the card the $750,000 Santa Anita H. (G1), the $400,000 Triple Bend S. (G1), and the $400,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1) which will feature Dortmund’s debut on the turf for new trainer Art Sherman.

Mike Battaglia Turfway associate vice president and Kentucky Derby oddsmaker, who last year retired from the Turfway announcer’s booth after 43 years, tells us what has kept him busy. He may make a cameo Call of the race dedicated to the memory of his father - The $100,000 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway on Saturday. Mike will be joined by award-winning turf writer Jennie Rees in an educational handicapping seminar. Mike and John look at that field in a race that serves as a springboard to the Kentucky Derby Points race - the $500,000 Jack Spiral Stakes (G3) on March 25. Matt Bernier of the DRF will give his impressions of the early Derby Prep races up to this point and join John in looking at the four races in the Championship Series with points towards the Derby and Oaks: - the $400,000 Fountain of Youth S. (G2) and the $200,000 Davona Dale S. (G2) from Gulfstream; the $300,000 Gotham S. (G3) from Aqueduct and the $100,000 Santa Ysabel S. (G3) from Santa Anita.

Wayne The Cat Catalano started out on the backstretch of the Fair Grounds working for Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg. He went on to a successful career as a jockey and transferred his skills as a horseman to that of one of the country's most successful trainers. Catalano has two horses in the top 10 points standings for both the Ky Derby (Uncontested) and Ky Oaks (Farrell). On Saturday he will send Farrell to the post in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra at the Fair Grounds. Gary Johnson has been on a 10-year run competing successfully in national handicapping contests, but the lure of the backstretch has drawn him out of the clubhouse and back to the morning grind of training. Dealing mostly with claimers, he was the leading trainer at Thistledown for 7 years in a row. Gary and John will 'cap the $400,000 Risen Star S. (G2 - Derby points) and the $200,000 Rachel Alexandra S. (G2 - Oaks points) both at Fair Grounds and the $150,000 Busher S. (Oaks points) at Aqueduct.

John Galbreath's grandson John Phillips has been given a lofty task, the continuation of a historic legacy. At the beginning of the 20th century, the legendary Colonel E. R. Bradley developed a top-rate equine facility assembling breeding stock mostly from Europe at his farm named Idle Hour. After Colonel Bradley’s death, John W. Galbreath purchased the core property of Idle Hour in the mid 50’s. Renaming the farm Darby Dan, John Galbreath’s impact on the sport was quick and profound. In 1961, Galbreath imported the undefeated European superstar RIBOT from Europe with huge success followed. Today Darby Dan is a commercial facility offering a full array of services. Bob Railbird Roberts will weigh in on the recent Kentucky Derby Points races and will analyze with John the $200,000 El Camino Real S. (G3) from Golden Gate; the $300,000 Barbara Fritchie S. (G2) from Laurel; the $200,000 Buena Vista S. (G2) from Santa Anita and the $200,000 Royal Delta S. (G2) from Gulfstream.

Ron Paolucci, who grew up going to the races since the time he could walk, started in the business with a $3,000 claiming trotter at Northfield Park near Cleveland. His Ria Antonia earned more than $1.5 million while winning the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and sold in 2014 for $1.8 million. 2 of his Looch Stables' charges Conquest Enforcer and War Story won graded stakes and his latest acquisition, Imperative, captured the $400,000 Poseidon Handicap. Ron will discuss his methods of finding promising prospects. Eric Wing is Communications Director for HorseTourneys.com. A 17-year industry veteran, Eric has previously worked at the NTRA, the NYRA and the DRF. Eric will discuss the recent NHC Championship he helped host in Las Vegas and handicap some of Saturday's top races with John: the $350,000 Gulfstream Park H. (G1) at Gulf, the $250,000 Sam F. Davis S. (G3) at Tampa, the $200,000 Arcadia S. (G2) at Santa Anita and the $125,000 Martha Washington S. from Oaklawn.

Tom Law penned a moving tribute to 2-time Eclipse Award winning Turf Writer Bill Mooney who passed away this week after a 2 year battle with cancer. Tom will reflect on his last visit with Mooney and as Bill would prefer - discuss the racing landscape. Bill's final words to the members of the NTWAB. I want to say thank you from the deepest depths of my heart to everybody. But the late autumn of my years have passed and winter's knocking hard on the door. So, here goes. So long my friends So long and Hail! I'm off to seek the Holy Grail! Tiddly, Widdly. Toodleloo, My dearest wish is to stay with you! But I can't Goodbye! Award winning journalist, author and writer for the DRF Jay Privman will join us to reflect on the Pegasus Cup and California Chrome's legacy, and give us his insight into this year's Kentucky Derby. 3 Ky Derby Points races on Saturday: Aqueduct's $250,000 Withers S. (G3); Gulfstream's $200,000 Swale S. (G2) and Santa Anita's $150,000 Robert B. Lewis S. (G3).

Ryan Brady is currently a major force in exhuming the body of two-time Ohio Champion Glacial Princess who was reportedly buried at Beulah Park. The track is scheduled to be demolished and he wanted her memory rightfully preserved with her burial monument placed at Old Friends Farm, next to another “almost lost legend” Noor. Ryan was born into this industry through his father who was an owner, trainer and equestrian dentist. He will tell us about his involvement into horse racing. Dan Illman will be the Quarterback for DRF Live on Saturday leading up to the richest race of all-time the $12 million Pegasus Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome will try to make amends for his defeat in the Breeders’ Cup Classic against the younger brilliant Arrogate, recently crowned Champion 3-year-old. Dan and John will analyze the race and will also look at the strong under card featuring the $400,000 Poseidon S. and the $200,000 W.L. McKnight S. (G3).

Jan. 4th, 2017 -The NTRA, DRF and the National Turf Writers And Broadcasters (NTWAB) today announced that Natalie Voss has won the 2016 Media Eclipse Award for Writing in the News/Enterprise category for “‘Something’s Wrong With My Brain’ – The Lurking Danger of Concussions for Jockeys,” an examination of head trauma and the racing industry’s response to preventive measures. Natalie Voss is the features editor for the Paulick Report, where she focuses on issues related to horse health and investigative journalism. A freelancer before joining the Paulick Report full-time in 2013, her work has appeared in many horse publications such as The Blood-Horse and others. Handicapper Rich Eng will weigh in on his Eclipse Award picks for 2016. There are 2 stakes at the Fair Grounds and a solid Grade 2 from one of Rich's specialty tracks - Santa Anita. The $200,000 Lecomte S. (G3) and the $150,000 Silver Bullet Lady S. from Fair Grounds and the $200,000 Santa Monica S. (G2) from Santa Anita.

Ray Paulick is proud that two of The Paulick Report's staff writers have won Eclipse Awards for articles that appeared on the website: Natalie Voss won the 2016 Media Eclipse Award for Writing in the News/Enterprise category for “‘Something’s Wrong With My Brain’ – The Lurking Danger of Concussions for Jockeys,” and John Scheinman won the 2016 Media Eclipse Award for Writing in the Feature/Commentary category for “Andrew Beyer: Rebel with a Cause.” Ray Paulick is currently in Florida awaiting the $12 million Pegasus Stakes. He will weigh in on that event and discuss potential divisional champions that will be decided at the 46th Annual Eclipse Awards dinner and ceremony on Saturday, January 21, at Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino in Hallandale Beach, Fla. Racing Handicapper and Gulfstream track’s announcer Pete Aiello will join John to analyze the competition in the $200,000 Fort Lauderdale S. (G 2), the $150,000 Hal's Hope S. (G 3) and the $150,000 Marshua's River S. (G 3).

With HRN and RCN at an impasse over contract for availability of live and replays of video feed, trainer Kenny McPeek who was involved in creating the racing app through Horse Races Now will be explaining the issue at hand. McPeek has said I firmly believe that until the horse racing industry figures out how to deliver races broadly to the fans, the sport will never grow. I believe Horse Races Now is the solution. We are fighting to make horse racing accessible for all fans.” Joe Appelbaum, a 48-year-old horse owner, breeder and seller based in New York City, cashed a $13,000 cold exacta (Arrogate-California Chrome) on the Breeders’ Cup Classic to win this year’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. The wager net of $64,000 earned Appleton a first-place prize of $300,000. He will tell us about his journey in horse racing and will 'cap with John the 3 graded stakes at Santa Anita - the Gr. 2 $200,000 San Gabriel Stakes; the Gr. 3 $100,000 Sham Stakes and the Gr. 3 $100,000 Las Cienegas.

Jennie Rees will be our 1st guest for our Winningponies Year in Review Edition. Since leaving the Louisville Courier-Journal, Jennie never missed a beat as the Multi-Eclipse Award winning writer she is. She attended the Breeders's Cup, is helping to promote the efforts of Jockey Talk 360 benefiting the PDJF and was a one-woman press corps for Ellis Park and Kentucky. She is currently on the scene in New Orleans and when not munching on a Muffaletta or attending a Crawfish Boil, she assists her husband, trainer Pat Dupuy with chores around the barn. Since the Breeders' Cup took place in his back yard, we thought the Blood-Horse's West Coast correspondent Jeremy Balan would have excellent insights on the 2016 racing highlights. Santa Anita opened this week and they will host three graded stakes races on Saturday. Jeremy will join John in handicapping the Gr. 1 $300,000 American Oaks; the Gr. 3 $100,000 Robert J. Frankel Stakes and the Gr. 3 $100,000 Midnight Lute Stakes.

'Half a Chance,' about a down-on-his luck jockey agent who finds himself entangled in a web of deceit and larceny, follows John Perrotta’s racing memoir 'Racetracker: Life with Grifters and Gamblers' and his novel 'If Wishes Were Horses.' John Perrotta will share his racetrack experience and delve into his latest novel. In the spirit of the Holiday Season, former Kentucky Derby winning jockey and current racing official Mike Manganello has set up a Go Fund Me page to help trainer Eric Reed and his wife Kay after the devastating fire at their Mercury Training Center this week. Eric will discuss his plans for re-grouping his training. Penelope Miller is the Senior Manager of Digital Media for America's Best Racing. Miller has been involved with the racing industry for most of her life, having grown up on a farm near Ocala, FL. After graduating from Georgetown University in 2003, Miller worked in several areas of the racing industry at Tampa Bay Downs prior to her latest position.

Jason Neff will be discussing his father's book that he had published after his father's death. It is an excellent book on race riding from past to present. He will tell us a little bit about his father's love for racing and his motivation in publishing his father's book Stylin': Reviving The Lost Art of Race Riding. Over the past 20 years Ron Nicoletti has been one of the most recognized and respected public handicappers, particularly when it comes to the racing at Gulfstream Park. He provides his analysis on their daily website and on-air live racing days with Acacia Courtney and Pete Aiello. The best graded stakes action on Saturday takes place at Gulfsteam Park and Ron will join John to break down this graded series of races from 6 furlongs to 1 1/16 mile: the $100,000 Sugar Swirl S. (G3) for 3 year olds and up at 6 Furlongs; the $100,000 Rampart S. (G3) for 3 year olds and up at 1 Mile and the $100,000 Harlan's Holiday S. (G3) for 3 year olds and up at 1 1/16 Mile.

Bill Doolittle will be our first guest - Kentucky Derby Book author Bill Doolittle knows the racetrack. Bill is a noted horse racing expert, with a specific interest in the Kentucky Derby. In fact, he is the only sportswriter to pick the last four Kentucky Derby winners in a row! Bill’s Kentucky Derby experience doesn’t end at the turf. Over the years, he has learned quite a bit about other aspects – historical, cultural, culinary and social – of the two-minute horse race that has become a two to three week party across the entire Bluegrass State. Our second guest will be Brian Zipse. We'll be looking at the year in review and he will be our guest handicapper. Huge day at the Fair Grounds on Saturday dubbed Louisiana Champions Day. Brian and John will be comparing the state-bred challenges in the $150,000 Classic; the $100,000 Ladies Stakes; $100,000 Turf Stakes and the talent laden $100,000 Juvenile Stakes.

After winning four stakes races at Churchill Downs over the holiday weekend, Brian Hernandez, Jr. was named Shuffle Bean Coffee Jockey of the Week for the week of November 21-27, 2016. The award is voted on by members of the Jockeys’ Guild, which represents more than 950 riders in North America. He will tell us how that holiday weekend must felt like and also give us a glimpse into his life. Gulfstream Park will be hosting one of the most challenging days of Handicapping of the year - The Claiming Crown! Bringing together horses of all divisions from all parts of the country who changed barns when their original connections decided to drop them for a tag and saw them go to a new barn. The connections of these horses have steadily improved on their performances and now it is time to meet their new peers on the big stage in a series of stakes races. Track announcer and respected handicapper Pete Aiello will give us his insights into the day's races.

We've been tracking the recent thoroughbred sales at Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland. What exactly are the next steps to get them to a successful future at the races? We will be joined by Mary Mannis who heads Break To Race Breeze Racing, a training facility in Paris, Kentucky where according to Mannis, Our goal is to start your yearlings in a manner that they experience as positive, thorough, and sane. Our aim is to graduate a healthy, sound, fit, and mentally prepared young race horse that is able to withstand the rigors of training and racing at the highest level. The popular handicapper and Winningponies writer Ed Meyer will give us his thoughts on the recent Breeders' Cup and then focus on some of Saturday's all stakes day at Delta Downs. John and Ed will concentrate on the Grade 3 events - the $1million Delta Downs Jackpot and the $400,000 Delta Downs Princess. A Dash for Cash in the $250,000 Frank J. DeFrancis Dash at Laurel and the Gr. 2 $200,00 Bessarabian at Woodbine.

Alicia Wincze-Hughes recently coordinated the Annual NTWAB Awards Banquet and subsequently covered the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita. Upon returning to Lexington, Kentucky, Alicia joined her Blood-Horse team in full coverage of this week's Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland Mixed Sales. She will be sharing her story of her entrance to the racing world and her last 2 weeks. Alicia is an award-winning writer who recently joined the Blood-Horse as their Racing Editor. Jay Privman is uniquely qualified to write about the Breeders' Cup since he has seen every one, beginning with the inaugural at Hollywood Park in 1984. At that time, Privman had already won the Red Smith Kentucky Derby Writing Contest an amazing 5 times. A former President of the NTWAB Jay did another outstanding job hosting the Breeders' Cup for NBC. We will tap into his long standing experience and discuss this year's Distaff and Classic and where they stand with BC races he has witnessed since 1984.

This will be an all Breeders' Cup show with guest handicappers from both coasts! Dan Illman will be manning the DRF Desk to host DRF Live both days. Out at Santa Anita we have multiple Eclipse Award winning writer Jennie Rees, who has been working the backstretch all week. Also joining us from California will be handicapper extraordinaire Ed DeRosa. They will all help us with any late-breaking news or changes and give us their insights on their favorite races in these World Championships.

We are closing in on the Breeders' Cup and have been lucky enough to land Eclipse Award winning writer Marty McGee as a guest. His plane landed earlier this week and he has 'Boots on the Ground' on the backstretch and Press Box at Santa Anita covering all aspects of the World Championships of Racing for the Daily Racing Form. Marty will share his insights, observations and best bets for this two-day handicapping challenge. Ed DeRosa is Director of Marketing for Bloodstock Research Information Services -BRIS- and a lifelong Thoroughbred racing enthusiast and astute handicapper. Ed joined Churchill Downs Inc. following 9 years as a writer and editor with Thoroughbred Times. He is currently Brisnet.com marketing and publicity director at Twinspires.com. Ed will join John in discussing the upcoming Breeders' Cup match ups and will analyze the G 2 200,000 Hagyard Fayette S. at Keeneland: the G 3 200,000 Bold Ruler S. at Belmont and the G 3 100,000 Autumn Miss S. at Santa Anita.