Winning Ponies

Joe Nevills is a staff writer for Thoroughbred Times, a columnist for Arabian Finish Line, and an outspoken advocate for the parts of the horse racing industry that get lost in the margins. A native of Edmore, Michigan, where he grew up learning the sport from his grandfather, a Thoroughbred owner and breeder in the state's claiming ranks, he followed the exploits of his family's stable at Great Lakes Downs and Mount Pleasant Meadows. Mr. Nevills has been with the Thoroughbred Times since August 2011 and will tell us about his journey into horse racing. In the second segment Katie Mikolay who is the racing analyst at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots for the second year, will help our host handicap the $175,000 Grade III LeCompte, the $100,000 Grade III Col. E.R. Bradley Hcp., the $125,000 Silverbulletday all at Fair Grounds, and the $150,000 Grade II Palos Verdes at Santa Anita.

Mr Nader is Asia’s representative (Vice Chairman) on the International Racing and Planning Advisory Committee, and also serves as Chairman of the Asian Racing Federation’s Asian Pattern Committee. He will share with us his journey into horse racing and how he got involved with thoroughbreds in the first place. Rich Nilsen has qualified 9 times for the National Handicapping Championship (NHC) and is the only player to finish in the top 10 twice in the history of the event. He will help our host handicap the Grade III Fort Lauderdale Stakes and the Grade III Hal's Hope, both from Gulfstream Park, the Grade II San Fernando Stakes from Santa Anita, and the California Derby from Golden Gate.

Jennie who just won the Eclipse Award for writing, has been a guest on this show before. For the last 28 years Jennie Rees has been associated with the Louisville Courrier-Journal as a turf writer. Prior to that, she had a stint of 2 years with the Rochester Times-Union as a sportswriter copy editor. Her insight on racing in general is very refreshing. Mike Penna first sat down behind a microphone in 2003 when he began co-hosting the popular Saturday morning “Equine Forum” talk show. In 2005, Mike and the late Pete Kules established the Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN). In addition to producing the “Equine Forum” every week, the duo started to travel to racetracks around the country, providing fans with live coverage of many of the nation’s biggest races. He will help our host handicap some of the stakes races to be run this week-end around the nation.

Ray Paulick was introduced to racing while working as editor and occasional ghostwriter for Jimmy (The Greek) Snyder in 1970s at Field Newspaper Syndicate, Chicago. He authored Sunday Silence biography, which was translated into Japanese, and currently writes a weekly column for Japan's Gallop magazine and a monthly column for Canadian Thoroughbred. He has attended major race meetings on six continents and 12 countries. His Paulick Report currently averages 40,000 unique visitors a month. In the second segment, award winning writer Jay Privman will be back as the guest handicapper. He will join the host in covering the Grade I Le Brea Stakes and the Eddie Logan Stakes from Santa Anita, and the Grade III Mr. Prospector Stakes from Gulfstream Park.

Ms. Novak has won many awards for writing such as the 2008 Louisville Metro Journalism Award for Sports Writing. While contributing to racing coverage for Hearst Publications’ Albany Times Union every summer at Saratoga Race Course since 2007, her work has been published in Louisville Magazine, Keeneland Magazine, Kentucky Derby Magazine, and Breeders’ Cup Magazine, among others. Claire will enlighten us about how she got into writing about the sport of kings, and share some of her most memorable moments as the youngest member on the Breeders' Cup notes team. Ed Meyer was the host of this show for almost 3 years since 2008, until he moved on from his Publicity Director job at River Downs to Keeneland, where he is currently Administrator of their Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) services. He will provide us with his expert picks as our host analyzes this weekend stakes races from around the country.

Gary West will tell us how he got started writing about the Sport of Kings, and will take us through his journey from a college teacher to turf writer. West has appeared as a racing commentator on ESPN and CNN, and hosted his own radio show. He was the President of the National Turf Writers Association 2005-2006. In the second half of the show Frank Angst will handicap with our host the major stakes races to be run over the weekend including the Cash Call Futurity (Grade 1) at Hollywood Park, the Tenacious Handicap at Fair Grounds and the Maryland Juvenile Championship at Laurel.

We are taking a trip to New Orleans for Louisiana Champions Day. Bob Fortus has been the Turf Writer for The Times-Picayune for over two decades. Bob who always tells it like it is, has developed a fantastic rapport with the trainers and jockeys at the Fair Grounds. His writing talents are not limited to the Crescent City. He covers the national racing scene, and in 2009 he was presented with the Old Hilltop Award for covering racing with excellence and distinction. The following season he won the 2010 New York Racing Association's Joe Hirsch Memorial writing contest recognizing the best print coverage of the Belmont Stakes. In the second segment, Daily Racing Form columnist Marcus Hersh will be our guest handicapper. He concentrates his efforts on the Fair Grounds and Chicago racing scene. Hersh has worked for the Daily Racing Form for over a decade and is the co-international correspondent and a Daily Racing Form features writer. He will help us muddle through the Louisiana Champions Day races to be run th

Steve will tell us how he got into the Sport of Kings and will take us through his career from a national correspondent for the Daily Racing Form covering the Kentucky Derby, to his current post as a senior editor at the helm of The Blood-Horse thoroughbred magazine. Bobby Newman will join the host in the second half of the show, and together they will handicap among other races the Grade III Native Diver from Hollywood Park and the Claiming Crown Jewel at Fair Grounds.

Ms. Jennie Rees is with the Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky. An award winning writer, she is considered one of the best racing journalists in the buisiness. She will cover who looks good, and what is going on behind the scenes of the 2011 Breeders' Cup. Brad Free, Daily Racing Form handicapper and columnist based in Southern California, will join in to help segregate the contenders from the pretenders. Also for a trifecta, we will have Marty Mcgee who covers the Kentucky and Florida circuits for the Daily Racing Form, weigh in with his predictions in this year's Breeders Cup two days extravaganza to be run at Churchill Downs on Friday & Saturday, Nov. 4th & 5th.

Paul Moran will tell us about how he got involved with horse racing and how his love for the game took him on a journey from writing about thoroughbreds to owning and racing them. He will reminisce with our host about his most memorable big races he has covered through a long career as writer for virtually every racing publication. John Asher will join in the second segment of the show to help us with handicapping most of the major stakes races to be run over the week-end.

Lenny Shulman is a writer and racing analyst for the Blood-Horse magazine who covered this year's Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs. He will give us first hand account of what happened on Friday and Saturday Nov. 4th and 5th. He will recap for us the winners and losers, and what impact those results will have on the different Awards categories. Ralph Siraco is a former track announcer who turned turf writer. He currently hosts the racing broadcast Race Day Las Vegas. He will tell us how he got involved in horse racing and a little about the journey that took him to Race Day Las Vegas.

Ms. Jennie Rees is with the Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky. An award winning writer, she is considered one of the best racing journalists in the buisiness. She will cover who looks good, and what is going on behind the scenes of the 2011 Breeders' Cup. Brad Free, Daily Racing Form handicapper and columnist based in Southern California, will join in to help segregate the contenders from the pretenders. Also for a trifecta, we will have Marty Mcgee who covers the Kentucky and Florida circuits for the Daily Racing Form, weigh in with his predictions in this year's Breeders Cup two days extravaganza to be run at Churchill Downs on Friday & Saturday, Nov. 4th & 5th.

Terry Wallace will reminisce on a career in race calling at Oaklawn that spanned almost four decades. He has been called the most recognizable voice in Arkansas, and will be receiving the Mr. Fitz Award this year. Ed Derosa will shed some light on this weekend stakes races to be run around the country, and will share his thoughts on the upcoming Breeders' Cup to be run on Friday 4th, and Saturday 5th of November at Churchill Downs.

Jeff Johnston will take us to a journey into his racing career, and tell us about how he got into racing in the first place. He will cover his current job and explain his current responsibilities with the Jockeys Guild. Jeremy Plonk will handicap all the major stakes races to be run this weekend around the country, and will talk about the main contenders in this year's Breeders' Cup major races which are to be held at Churchill Downs Nov. 4th and 5th.

Elliott who is a third generation horseman from a noted Kentucky family entrenched in thoroughbred breeding and racing, will talk about how he got involved with thoroughbred racing and the highs and lows of his career. John McDulin who writes for the Daily Racing Form, will handicap for us all the stakes races to be run this week-end.

Julie Balog who is currently Director of Communications at the Keeneland Association, will tell us what her job is about and shed some light on her responsibilities as Keeneland's media relations' head. Dan Kenny who is a handicapper, bloodstock agent, and a writer will talk to us on how he got involved with horse racing, and help us handicap this week-end's major stakes races from around the country.

Bill Finley is a veteran freelance writer for the New York Metropoltian newspapers and radio host. He will talk about the state of horse racing in general and the advent of slots and casino gaming at racetracks across the country. Rich Nilsen has qualified many times for the National Handicapping Championship and will help us with some insight into all the major Stakes races from around the country to be run over the weekend.

Mr. Corey Johnsen, track President at Kentucky Downs will talk about the payoff snafu that took place this past Saturday on their seventh race at Kentucky Downs. Corey Johnsen said he understands the frustration of bettors who had the correct top four in the superfecta but could not cash their tickets. But he said the payoffs after the race was made official by the stewards, stands under Kentucky’s pari-mutuel racing rules. We’re going to stick by the rule and follow it, he said. It was unfortunate, and we apologize. Mr. Mike Watchmaker will bring us some insight on some of the major Stakes races to be run this weekend around the country.

Frank Mitchell will talk about the breeding industry and give us some insight into the yearlings and 2year-olds sales with the Keeneland Sales just concluding. He is an author of several important books on thoroughbred breeding and is a private consultant to breeders and owners. Tom LaMarra will help us get a winning edge into this weekend's major stakes races across the country.

. Daryl Parker will talk about how he got involved with horses and how he encouraged his son to become a jockey. He will tell us about this game he called Rescue he used to play with his son DeShawn at age 5 or 6. Daryl Parker eventually became the first black Racing Official in the U.S. Ed Meyer, former host of Winningponies.com's radio show, is an avid tournament player, and an expert handicapper. With our host, he will handicap some of this weekend's main stakes races from around the country.