Winning Ponies

Eclipse-Award winning writer Joe Nevills can be found observing the action at all of the sales and the action filled observatory of future stars from the pavilion’s “Back Ring.” We will be talking this week with Joe about trends in the breeding game and the landscape of the current state of horse sales in general. The latest issue of the Back Ring is now online, ahead of the Keeneland January Sale. The Back Ring is the Paulick Report's bloodstock newsletter, released ahead of, and during, every major North American Thoroughbred auction. Seeking to expand beyond the usual pdf presentation, the Back Ring offers a dynamic experience for bloodstock content, heavy on visual elements and statistics to appeal to readers on all platforms, especially mobile devices. Here is what's inside this issue… * Lead Feature, presented by Gainesway: Bloodstock editor Joe Nevills makes five fearless predictions for the bloodstock market in 2022 in his “Making Claims” column. * Stallion Spotlight, presented by New York Thoroughbr

Bob Roberts is a native Clevelander who grew up in Willowick, an eastern suburb. He knew he wanted to be a sportswriter when his father took him to an Indians game and he asked who those guys were typing on a counter top behind home plate in the upper deck of old Municipal Stadium. “They’re sportswriters”, said his dad. “That’s their job.” Roberts began his career at the Mentor Morning Monitor before heading over to The News Herald where he was named sports editor in 1970 at the age of22. Roberts was hired by The Cleveland Press in 1973 and returned to The News Herald when The Press folded in 1982. The Cleveland Plain Dealer hired Bob in 1985 and he remained there for over 20 years before accepting a buyout in 2006. Roberts is a multiple award-winning writer who has covered racing for the Cleveland Press and Plain Dealer for over 40 years. His duties included his daily selections. Roberts covered every Kentucky Derby from Secretariat to Barbaro and is an avid handicapping contest participant. Bob will join Jo

Rich Eng, noted thoroughbred author, columnist, on-air talent and a contributing writer for Las Vegas Review Journal and the Daily Racing Form. Rich will join John for a “Year in Review” segment that should provide plenty of lively conversation. Richard Eng covers the Horse Racing industry. Handicapping for Dummies is one of the many handicapping books he wrote. Rich and John won’t be looking in the rear view mirror for the entire show as there are no less than three races over the weekend that have points toward the Kentucky Derby on a 10-4-2-1 scale. The newly-turned 3-year-olds will stretch their legs going a mile in all three – The Jerome at Aqueduct; Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park and Santa Anita’s Sham Stakes. John Ball will be our final guest of2021. A horse lover through and through his career has taken many paths. He was a Naval Officer and is lifelong fan of racing who created Horserace Handicapping class @ University of Washington in Seattle back when Secretariat was sweeping the Triple Crown in19

Jay Privman will walk us through his experiences in the racing game fresh off of another national recognition of his talents. Daily Racing Form national correspondent Jay Privman and the late turf writers Walter Haight and Jack Mann have been selected to the National Museum of Racing’s Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor. Privman, 62, a resident of Carlsbad, Calif., covered his first race in 1980 — Spectacular Bid’s victory inthe Malibu Stakes — while in college at California State University ,Northridge, and working part-time for The Los Angeles Daily News. Privman served as a television reporter or handicapper for CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBCSN from 1998 through 2018 and host of “Thoroughbred Los Angeles,” a Saturday morning show on AM830 KLAA, from 2003 to present. He covered every Kentucky Derby from 1982 through 2019 (missing 2020 and 2021 because of covid and a health issue, respectively) and every Breeders’ Cup from the inaugural in 1984 through 2021 because of the pandemic). Author of the books “Breeders’ Cu

Our first guest will be Clint Bentley, the co-writer and director of “JOCKEY” which is scheduled for limited release at theatres over the Holiday Season. Filmmakers Bentley and GREG KWEDAR began their careers together in the early 2010s, having met after graduating from college and finding they had similar interests in telling stories. They began making shorts and documentaries, always having the goal of one day making narrative features together. Bentley’s father was a jockey. While he was born and raised in Florida, his father raced all over. “So I was raised behind the barns at horse tracks.” After his father’s passing, countless colleagues told Bentley stories of his dad’s career – how he had been kicked out of the house at age 17 and, with no money, became a jockey, living in barrack-like dorms on the backside of racetracks. Bentley himself recalled, while in college, helping his father, who by that time had become a trainer. “I remember, even then thinking, ‘This world of horse racing is so interesting

If there is a Santa Claus for thoroughbred horses, he/she/them/they would look a whole lot like Michael Blowen, founder and director of Old Friends Retirement Facility. Through his tireless efforts he provides a home for racing greats and not-so-greats where they can live out their lives in a warm, welcome setting where they receive the utmost in care. Fans of these stars of racing are allowed an up-close experience and can even join in ownership of one of Old Friend’s champions. Michael will join John to discuss what it is like to be the caregiver of the many storied horses who have been a part of Old Friends over the years. He will also let our listeners take advantage of a unique opportunity where they can buy a “share” in any of the classic winners or their fan favorite. Just in time for the Holiday gift with the horse lover in mind. One size fits all! Track announcer and radio host Bobby Neuman is another in the long line of successful Race Track Industry Program graduates that pepper the landscape of

Jockey T.D. Houghton is one of the most successful riders in the racing game, but he didn’t achieve that status without many hurdles to overcome. On more than one occasion, doctors have told him his riding career was over, but somehow he lays out a map of successful rehabilitation that has continually guided him back to the winner’s circle. Terry started riding in 1987 and has earned countless frequent flyer miles from the doctors and hospitals in the region while piling up the injuries in a 34-year riding career that has seen him win over 6,000 races and win over $65 million. On April 10 he was involved in a 3-horse spill at Mahoning Valley that put him in the hospital. His injuries were extensive to the point that he required an almost complete facial reconstruction. During his rehabilitation, he took advantage of the time away from the saddle to begin preparing for his life after competition on horseback to study to become a steward. Terry will discuss his most recent comeback that saw him victorious in

Hall of Fame rider Pat Day will join us in our first segment. The inspiring reinsman won 12 breeders’ Cup events, 4 Classics and 3 Distaffs during his storied career. In retrospect even Day himself is in awe how things came together in his life. “I came from an area where there was no horse racing. I knew nothing about the great sport of horse racing,” said the native of Brush, Colo. “I was an absolute natural. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was just doing it.” Day earned his first victory on July 29, 1973 at Prescott Downs in Arizona, never imagining he would be a dominant figure in the game by the following decade. But he was, sweeping Eclipse Awards as the leading rider in North America in 1984, 1986, 1987, and1991. When Day retired on Aug. 4, 2005, he had earned a record $297,912,019. He ranked fourth in victories with 8,803. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991. Not one to sit on his laurels ,he is as busier out of the saddle now, than when he was riding, as he

NBC Sports will air coverage of the 2021 Breeders’ Cup on Friday, Nov. 5, from 5 to 9 p.m. EDT on NBCSN. On Saturday, programming will begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT on NBCSN before jumping to NBC from 8 to 9 p.m. EDT. We will need every angle we can get to cash some big pool tickets and in addition to your E-Z Win Forms, we will be arming you with input from two of the most respected experts we have from the world of horse racing. Dan Illman is the DRF.com Handicapping Editor and host of the Daily Racing Form News Desk. He joined Daily Racing Form in 1998 and was promoted to handicapper two years later. Illman's “Spa Babies” and “Keeneland Babies” columns are also featured on DRF.com during the Saratoga and Keeneland meets. In 2005, Illman authored the book Betting Maidens and Two-Year-Olds. We’ll see who Dan feels are the top babies to watch on the turf and the main track at Del Mar in the four Grade 1 races on Friday along with his play in the evenly-matched Breeders’ Cup Classic. Jay Privman covers the Southern

Before there were numerous television and on-line hosts of handicapping productions, there were two individuals chosen to be nation’s handicappers – Mike Battaglia and the recently deceased Bob Neumeier. The duo came from different directions to earn the respect of national audiences over the years. Together they entertained us through the national broadcasts of the Breeders’ Cup and Triple Crown for over a decade. Popular Boston sportscaster Bob Neumeier, a reporter and analyst on horse racing telecasts on NBC and ESPN for more than a quarter century, died Oct. 23 at the age of 70. Known as “Neumy” to friends and fans, Neumeier – a graduate of Syracuse University –he became a reporter and sports anchor for Boston's Channel 4 in 1981, a position he held for 20 years. In the 1980s, Neumeier – an avid horse racing fan and sharp handicapper – began working for Breeders' Cup on a newsfeed that distributed news and personality features nationally to local TV channels. In 1990. Neumeier joined the NBC Sports bro

Eurico Rosa de Silva is a Brazilian native who is best known for his outstanding career as a jockey in Canada where he won two Queen’s Plates and was the leading rider at Woodbine for seven seasons, including five consecutive years until his retirement in 2019. He is now a life coach for several professional athletes. There were many diverse roads and obstacles this talented reinsman took to the eventual successes of his career and they are revealed in his recently published book – “RIDING FOR FREEDOM.” John will re-visit with Eurico, the last interview about his life and times went too quickly. The book leaves no stone unturned regarding his tumultuous family relationship and his hard-earned achievements in racing. A definite read for your Holiday gift list! We have the opportunity to bring back former winningponies' host Ed Meyer to join the show while he is in between stints at Belterra and Turfway Park. As an odds-maker, he hasn’t thrown away his handicapping pencil and we will put him to work for hi

Matt Shifman will be our first guest, he co-hosts the popular weekly video show HorseCenter, which can be seen on YouTube. He has been a devoted fan of thoroughbred racing and handicapping since childhood, going to the races with his father at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Monmouth Park from their home in Central New Jersey. Since 2011, Matt has been the New York and Monmouth Park Correspondent at HorseRacingNation where he is currently a Senior Writer. You can follow Matt on Twitter @AndyScoggin. Saturday’s 38th running of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) Presented by Dixiana will be the featured race of the week. Klaravich Stables’ two-time graded stakes winner Technical Analysis (IRE) and Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Robert LaPenta’s Shantisara (IRE) headline a field of 10 3-year-old fillies. The 1 1/8-mile grass test will go as the eighth race on Saturday’s 10-race program with a 4:44 p.m. ET post time. First post Saturday is 1 p.m. Chad Brown, who has saddled three winners of this race to ma

With less than five weeks to go before the Breeders' Cup Championships, this weekend is busiest of the North American season for the win and you're in races. 11 qualifiers are on the calendar, mostly at Keeneland where we will put the focus of this week’s show. Amy Owens logs a lot of miles every morning traveling from barn to barn to find stories of interest and check in on the many stakes horses – before and after the races. As always, a new Keeneland meet brings in new creative ideas to the game and Amy will update us on all of them and the schedule of events for the Fall Meet. One eye-catching concept is the new Keeneland Turf Pick 3, for handicappers of all levels during the Fall Meet from Oct. 8-30. The Keeneland Turf Pick 3 wager will be offered on the final three turf races each race day. The minimum wager is $3 and will follow the same rules as the traditional Pick 3. The new wager has a 15% takeout, the same low takeout as Keeneland’s popular Pick 5 wager. As Keeneland Communications Associate, A

This will be a huge weekend for handicappers to start lining up their Breeders’ Cup selections. There will be 9 Breeders’ Cup “Win & You’re In” events from Friday through Monday contested at both ends of the map. We will be joined by two of the country's most experienced handicappers Ralph Siraco and Anthony Stabile. Ralph Siraco is a former track announcer who became a turf writer and broadcaster. He currently hosts the racing radio show Race Day Las Vegas, broadcast on KSHP AM 1400 in Las Vegas. Ralph will cover several races from Santa Anita over Friday and Saturday. 2-year-olds will be featured first and the races are full of blue-blooded individuals with top connections. As usual, Bob Baffert's trainees will be front and center in both. At least three youngsters from his barn are set to make their mark in the G1, $300,000 American Pharoah, headed by his $1,500,000 baby Corniche. In the $200,000 G2 Chandelier, the white-haired wonder sends out two runners including Grace Alder, a smashing winne

The popularity of horse racing in Chicago was not to be rivaled in any other metropolitan area. Since the 1800’s, the Windy City’s enthusiasm for both harness and Thoroughbred racing led to 10 major racetracks being built in the Chicago area. Sadly, it appears that racing in the area will be dealt a major blow with the apparent demise of Arlington Park which has hosted racing since 1927. Our first guest, Kimberly A. Rinker, a 1983 graduate of the Ohio State University, has been involved with Chicago horse racing since 1984 – both as a writer and as a participant. An award-winning journalist, she is a licensed trainer-driver of Standardbreds and represented the U.S. in the International Drivers Championship in Moscow, Russia. She has documented the racing history of the Chicago-area tracks in two published books – “Chicago’s Horse Racing Venues” and “Arlington Park Racetrack.” Our guest handicapper will be Bob “Railbird” Roberts, a veteran turf writer, handicapper and author of “ Writings of a Railbird.“

Pat Day Hall of Fame Jockey and now the Churchill Downs Chaplain, plans to join us to discuss his current career on the backstretch of Churchill Downs and his days there in the saddle. One of the most accomplished and revered names in Thoroughbred racing. Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day enjoyed a riding career spanning 30 years with more than 8,800 winning races, accumulating an all-time North American earnings record of $298 million. Now he is a Chaplain for Kentucky race tracks including Churchill Downs. With the opening of Churchill Downs for the Fall Meet this week, we are bringing in PR Man extraordinaire Kevin Kerstein. There is a lot happening under the Twin Spires, including the unveiling of statues of the late, great John Asher and the legendary Col. Matt Winn. For more than 40 years, Asher was the voice and face of horse racing and radio broadcasting in Kentucky. He joined the Churchill Downs family in 1997 and served as Vice President of Racing Communications until his untimely passing on Aug. 27, 201

Joe Kristufek has become the Where's Waldo of thoroughbred racing on television. ;There he is - under the Twin Spires of Churchill Downs. Wait! I see him in the paddock among a group of fun-loving owners. Hold on! That's Joe getting his picture taken in the winner's circle with the partners in Brilliant Racing. Naw, I just saw him interviewing a winning jockey at The Fair Grounds. You never know where Joe will show. Well, we know where Joe will be on Thursday evening - on Winningponies. As a man who has been the oddsmaker at North America's most unique boutique meet, Joe will bring his unique insights to Saturday's most lucrative program at the all-turf Kentucky Downs. Two, yes two $1 million races will be held with the G 2, 1 & 1/2 mile Calumet Turf Cup and the G 3 6 furlong Fanduel Turf Sprint (is there a richer Grade 3 in North America?). Featured on the 'undercard' are the G 3, $750,000 Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf; G 2, $600,000 Franklin-Simpson and the G 3, $600,000 The Mint Ladies Sprint. It ain'

Ken Kirchner's experience in thoroughbred racing is extensive and he is now serving as Kentucky Downs' Director of Wagering Development. The all-grass FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs runs this Sunday, Labor Day Monday and Sept.8, 9, 11 and 12. First post is 12:20 p.m. Central. Ken will point out the numerous opportunities for you to put your E-Z Win Forms to use; and he is a man who knows what he is talking about. He was the founding member and manager of the NTRA National Handicapping Championship, the country's largest handicapping contest 1999-2007; Founded NHC Qualify.com - the industry's first online handicapping tourney site 2006-2015 and Created Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, the country's biggest live money contest 2009-2015. He has held key positions with the Pennsylvania Racing Commission, Daily Racing Form and Breeders' Cup. One of the highlights for handicappers and for fans at Kentucky Downs is that you get this amalgamation of horses from different racing circuits around the country that you

This Saturday's Saratoga racing program is so talent heavy, we brought in two of our favorite guest handicappers, to help us lift some winners from a card that features six consecutive Grade 1 races. Up first will Brooklyn's own Dan Illman, the DRF.com Handicapping Editor. Ed Meyer, a man who sleeps with a Daily Racing Form under his pillow, will handle the second segment. We are banking on his experience as an odds-maker and contest player to help grow our bankroll. The Midsummer Derby serves as the highlight of the star-studded afternoon. Champion Essential Quality has been tabbed as the pre-race odds-on favorite. His lone defeat in his eight-race career came in a troubled trip in the Kentucky Derby. The 1 1/4 mile Travers Stakes carries a hefty $1,250,000 purse. The Grade 1 races start in the 7th with the $500,000 Ballerina Handicap for fillies and mares and will feature Bob Baffert trainee Gamine, a brilliant speedster who drew the rail in the 7-furlong test. The following Forego for $600,000 is t

Rich Perloff is a regular figure delivering race information from regions far and wide on TVG. His smooth delivery may be influenced by his experience as an actor/director, lawyer and University Professor. After we explore his entrance into handicapping thoroughbred racing I'll ask him to join us to analyze the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama that has a talent-laden field featuring the rubber match between Malathaat and Maracuja who traded victories in the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Kentucky Oaks. Rich and John will also look at Saratoga's Grade 2, $200,000 Lake Placid for 3-year-old fillies on the turf and the Grade 3, 250,000 Philip Iselin at Monmouth Park. The Deacon of Del Mar Rich Eng, will be joining us from his base in Las Vegas. One of our most popular guests, Rich covers the Horse Racing industry through many formats. Handicapping for Dummies, a beginner's bible was penned by him. He also is a writer for Las Vegas Review Journal and the Daily Racing Form.