Winning Ponies

The interview with Mr. Charkoudian will cover his involvement in the sport, and the changing times in websites - using video production to keep the audience on line and engaged. He will talk about the It's My Job series - how it came to be and where it is going. Greg will also tell us what is going on at Belmont this week. In the second segment Marty McGee, who has been covering the Kentucky and Florida circuits for the Daily Racing Form since 1992, will join the host in discussing the possibility of a Triple Crown this year and handicapping all the stakes races on the Belmont Stakes' undercard.

Barbara D. Livingston is one of America's most respected horseracing photographers, having photographed the sport she loves for more than 40 years. She has twice been awarded the highest photographic honor in Thoroughbred racing, the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Photography, and Livingston is currently the chief photographer for the Daily Racing Form. She will tell us about her journey. In the second segment Managing Editor Tom Law at the Thoroughbred Times, will discuss the new It's My Job segment at TT, the impact of a potential Triple Crown and will join our host in handicapping some of the major stakes races to be run this week-end: - The Vagrancy at Belmont Park, The Californian at Betfair Hollywood Park and the Aristides and Early Times Mint Julep at Churchill Downs.

Dan Silver who has been with NYRA since January 2008, first serving as marketing communications manager before being promoted to director of communications and media relations in April 2009, will tell our listeners about the events surrounding the Belmont Stakes, seat availability, etc.. and their efforts to promote a potential Triple Crown. Our guest handicapper this week will be Tom Law. He will give us his thoughts about the results of the 137th Preakness Stakes, talk about the upcoming 144th Belmont Stakes and join our host in handicapping all the major week-end stakes around the country.

Winner of the Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice jockey in 1974 and the Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey in 1980, Chris McCarron was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989. Not one to rest on his laurels, he founded the North American Racing Academy in Lexington, Kentucky. Chris who has won the Preakness twice (among 6 Triple Crown races won), will tell us how it feels winning the Preakness and what his pick is for this year's renewal. In the second segment our handicapper will be Ralph Siraco who currently hosts the racing radio show Race Day Las Vegas, broadcast on KSHP AM 1400 in Las Vegas. He will join the host in examining the 137th Preakness Stakes to be run this Saturday at Pimlico in Baltimore.

Jim Gluckson currently Senior Communications Consultant at Breeders' Cup Ltd., will tell us about the journey that led him to his current position at Breeders' Cup Ltd. In the second segment Tom LaMarra, a New Jersey native, and writer/handicapper for the Daily Racing Form, will join the host to revue the 138th Kentucky Derby, handicap the week-end stakes races, and prevue the 137th Preakness Stakes to be run on Saturday May 19th, at Pimlico in Baltimore.

Award-winning writer Jennie Rees has been associated with the Louisville Courrier-Journal for the last 28 years as a turf writer. She will come on the show to give us the last minute news about all the happenings at Louisville, as to who is training well and what backstretch stories she may have heard. Rich End author of Handicapping for Dummies one of the many handicapping books he wrote, will join in to handicap the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby. He also is a writer for Las Vegas Review Journal and the Daily Racing Form. In the final segment prior host of this show Ed Meyer will unveil his selections for both major races on this Saturday May 5th at Churchill Downs.

Horse owner Marty Grunder discovered his entrepreneurial spirit as a young man with a lawn mower and grew that passion into a multi-million-dollar company. Along that journey, his success story was amplified by The New York Times and acknowledged with numerous honors, including three “Entrepreneur of the Year” awards by various institutions. He will tells us what got him involved with thoroughbreds in the first place. In the second segment Mike Watchmaker will analyze the week-end stakes races around the country and will explore the field in the upcoming 138th Kentucky Derby.

Nicholson provides an intriguing and thorough history of the Kentucky Derby, examining the tradition, spectacle, culture, and evolution of the Kentucky Derby—the brightest jewel of the Triple Crown in his recent book The Kentucky Derby : How the Run for the Roses Became America's Premier Sporting Event. He will also tell us how he got involved in writing about horse racing in the first place. James C. Nicholson recently received a PhD in history from the University of Kentucky. In the second half of the show. public handicapper Jude Feld will tell us how he got into the Sport of Kings and will join our host in handicapping the week-end stakes including the $200,000 G3 Coolmore Lexington at Keeneland and the $200,000 G2 Jerome Handicap at Aqueduct.

Kenny McPeek will tell us how he got introduced to training thoroughbreds. He is currently involved in creating a racing app through Horseracesnow and will be explaining the creation and the many uses of this innovative racing tool. 15 years as Voice of the Wildcats for University of Kentucky football and 11 seasons for men's basketball, Tom Leach will join our host in the second segment of the show to handicap all the major stakes races this week-end specially the $1,000,000 (G1) Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park and the $750,000 (G1) Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland.

After his Nates Mineshaft recorded a smashing track record in the $400,000 Grade II New Orleans Handicap over some of the top handicap performers in the country, Austin “Kep” Smith is finally getting the recognition he deserves. He will tell us how he first got involved with training thoroughbreds and what on the radar for his stable with spring upon us. In the second segment, veteran reporter, columnist and handicapper Steve Davidowitz will join our host in handicapping some of the most important stakes races to run this week-end including the Wood Memorial, the Santa Anita Derby and the Illinois Derby.

Mr. Koester is currently Chair of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, and also a current member of the Ohio State Racing Commission, of which he was the former Chair. He has been involved as an owner/breeder of thoroughbreds for over 30 years. He will tell us how he got involved in thoroughbred racing in the first place. In the second segment Ed DeRosa will join our host in handicapping the main stakes races this week-end from around the country.

Bob Ehalt has been an avid fan of Thoroughbred racing since that day in June of 1971 when he and his father walked from their Queens Village, N.Y., home to Belmont Park to see Canonero II fall short in his bid for the Triple Crown. He has been involved with horse racing ever since. He has also owned Thoroughbreds since 1995 and was a member of the syndicate that raced Tale of the Cat. Mark Klein makes laughter his living and horses his hobby. A professional comedian for 30 years in venues ranging from cruise ships to comedy clubs, this veteran headliner who is a part owner in No Joke Stable will join our host in the second segment of the show to handicap the important stakes races to be run over the week-end from around the country.

Ramon, 35, began riding full time at La Rinconada racetrack in his native country Venezuela at age 18. He came to the United States in 1995 and rode his first winner in March of 1996 at Hialeah Park. He is currently the regular rider on such outstanding horses as Horse of the Year Havre de Grace who is pointing for her 2012 debut in the March 17 New Orleans Ladies Stakes at the Louisiana racetrack, and last year's Juvenile Champion Hansen. He will tell us how it feels to be riding those 2 outstanding champions, and his expectations in riding potentially one of the favorites in this year's Kentucky Derby. In the second segment Les Instone has been involved in the Thoroughbred industry since 1984 as a handicapper and horse owner will join our host in handicapping this week-end's 3-year-old prep races for the Derby from around the country. Currently, Les is VIP Customer Service Manager with Twinspires.com online wagering service, a division of Churchill Downs based in Lexington.

Dr. Hanson is the breeder and majority owner in Eclipse Award winner Hansen. He will tell us what got him interested in the thoroughbred industry, and how does it feel to have bred one of the main favorites in this year's Kentucky Derby. In the second segment Lenny Shulman of the Blood-Horse magazine, author of several horse racing books, and a successful writer/producer of many TV shows will join the host in focusing on the 3-year-old races leading up to the Derby, the Tampa Bay Derby, the Swale Stakes, the San Felipe Stakes and the Palm Beach Stakes.

Dave Johnson who has served as Track Announcer for various racetracks over the years, will tell us how he got started in the horse racing industry. He was the Voice of The Triple Crown for a quarter of a century. In the second segment, previous host of this show, Ed Meyer will join John Engelhardt to handicap for us this weekend major stakes races from around the country. We are delighted that Ed Meyer's insightful blogs are back on WP website.

Milt Toby is an attorney, author, and photographer with a lifelong involvement in the horse industry. He has been writing professionally about horses since 1972, first as a staff writer and photographer for The Blood-Horse and since 1984 as a freelancer for a number of publications. He will tell us how he got involved in racing, and talk about his latest (sixth) book, Dancer’s Image: The Forgotten Story of the 1968 Kentucky Derby, which was published in 2011. In the second segment Jason Shandler, who has been a racing writer with Blood-Horse since 2004, will join our host in handicapping the week-end's major stakes races from around the country.

Donna Barton Brothers hails from a family of riders, including her siblings, as well as her mother who was, in 1969, one of the first women to be licensed as a jockey. She herself is one of the most decorated female jockeys of her time, retired in 1998 with more than 1,100 career wins and still ranks third on the female jockeys' money list. Presently she covers Keeneland's Spring and Fall meets for TVG and serves as an analyst for NBC Sports' Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup coverage. She will tell us about her most memorable moments in the saddle, discuss this year's 3 year-old scene and talk about her book Inside Track: Inside Guide to Horse Racing. John McDulin from the Daily Racing Form, will be our handicapper guest. He is back to help our host analyze some of the weekend stakes races from around the country.

The Louisiana native dubbed the “Ragin’ Cajun”, broke on the racing scene in 1975 after years of competing as a youngster in “Bush Races” throughout Louisiana. His family life with his father Lloyd Romero, a horse trainer, was the basis for the movie “Casey’s Shadow.” Romero will join Winningponies' host John Engelhardt to discuss his book “Randy Romero’s Remarkable Ride.” In the second half of the show, Ron Nicoletti will join our host in handicapping a slew of graded stakes races to be run this Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Margo Flynn, currently the Vice President of Marketing at Tampa Bay Downs, will talk about her journey into the world of horse racing, and the challenges that face the industry into the 21st century. In the second segment Rich Eng, a writer for Las Vegas Review Journal and the Daily Racing Form, will talk about the 13th DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, a million dollars first prize two-day tournament which just concluded Jan. 27-28 at Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas. He will also give us his insight on the main stakes races to be run this Saturday: $200,000 Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct, $200,000 Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs, the $200,000 Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis, and the $200,000 Grade 2 Strub, both at Santa Anita.

Terence j. Meyocks is currently the National Manager of the Jockeys' Guild Inc. He is also co-founder of Meyocks & O'Hara Racing Entreprises, Inc.(MORE), which was formed to pursue acquisitions within the racing industry and provide project management and advisory services. Mr. Meyocks, who is a third generation horseman, will take us through his journey from the various jobs within the racing department at tracks around the country to his current position as National Manager of the Jockeys' Guild Inc. In the second segment of the show Byron King who is the Kentucky handicapper and columnist for the Daily Racing Form, will give us an in-depth analysis on Gulfstream Park's $400,000 Florida Sunshine Millions Classic and $300,000 Florida Sunshine Millions Distaff. He will also analyze for us Santa Anita's $300,000 Gr.1 Santa Monica and $100,000 Gr.3 Santa Ysabel.