Winning Ponies

George Hall, co-founder and executive chairman of SportBLX, said his company's goals to revolutionize fan engagement and investment opportunities are a natural fit with Thoroughbred racing. Hall knows the racing industry well as the owner of 2011 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Ruler on Ice and 25 other black-type winners. Trainer Kenneth McPeek said he immediately recognized the potential in Sport BLX's proposal. Kenny McPeek bought Curlin, a son of Smart Strike out of Sherriff's Deputy, for $57,000 out of the 2005 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The colt went on to earn more than $10.5 million and two Horse of the Year titles. Kenny McPeek is our guest to give us a perspective on his involvement with SportBLX. With the passing of Mary Lou Whitney we are bringing in Dan Illman for the $1 million Whitney Stakes (G1) a Win and You're In event. On Friday, the $200,000 National Museum Racing of Racing Hall of Fame (G2) and on Saturday the $500,000 Longines Test (G1).

Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) will be our first guest. He will discuss matters like the protection of trainers such as Jerry Hollendorfer and other issues such as the use of Lasix in horses. Ed Meyer, a regular on the show, will handicap this weekend's big races which include three graded stakes at Saratoga - the Jim Dandy, the Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. and the Bowling Green. Also on tap is the Bing Crosby at Del Mar.

Senator Damon Thayer is the Majority Leader of the Kentucky Senate. When last seen on TVG he was in a top hat and tails at Ascot, while two weeks later he was attending the races at a quite different venue - Kentucky Speedway who is represented by Thayer Communications and Consulting. Prior to becoming a politician he worked at Detroit Race Course, Thistledown and Turfway Park. We will discuss his impressions of the Ascot meet, Kentucky's future political involvement in racing and breeding and his views on the future of Turfway Park now that they have changed ownership. A regular on WP Eric Wing of Horse Tourneys will join John for some coast to coast handicapping starting at Saratoga with the Gr.1 $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks, to Monmouth for the redemption race of Maximum Security the Gr.1 $1 million Haskell Invitational. Then out west for opening weekend at Del Mar where they will feature two Gr. 2 $200,000 races - the San Clemente Stakes and San Diego Handicap.

In upstate New York you can sense the anticipation and magic in the air under the Ancient Elms as Saratoga gets ready to open its gates on their 40-day meet. On the backstretch there is a cast of colorful characters and pillars of racing. No one catches these images in photos and word better than the staff at the legendary 'Saratoga Special.' Tom Law is one of the key players on this team that brings news as fresh as an early morning doughnut to the fans at Saratoga every day. Tom will paint the portrait of this year's meet and give his insight to several of the weeks graded stakes races. Indiana Downs celebrates their greatest evening of the season on Saturday with a program with 6 stakes races. The 500,000-dollar Indiana Derby G1 and 200,000-dollar Indiana Oaks G3 have attracted class fields and will highlight the card. Nancy Ury-Holthus brings a wealth of experience in handicapping and will join John to analyze the top races of the evening.

The 160th running of the $1 Million Queen’s Plate, the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown will take place Saturday. Sandy Hawley, a member of the Canadian Hall of Fame and the North American Hall of Fame won the prestigious race four times. He will join us to reflect on those wins and update us on the recent Jockeys and Jeans event held at Santa Anita to benefit the PDJF. Sandy's career as a jockey spanned 31 years from 1968 to his retirement on July 1, 1998. He had 31,455 mounts, garnering 6,449 wins and won 18 riding titles at Woodbine. He currently is a Public Relations Ambassador for Woodbine Entertainment Group, and resides in Oshawa, Ontario and Lexington, Kentucky. Communications Director John Siscos covers the racing scene at Woodbine and will join John Engelhardt to analyze the four graded stakes on the six stakes program. - The $1,000,000 Queen’s Plate Stakes; the $300,000 Grade 1 Highlander; $175,000 Grade 2 Dance Smartly and the $175,000 Grade 2 King Edward.

Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey was the site of one of racing’s most surprising results last week when 1-20 shot and the horse that crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky, Maximum Security was upset by King for a Day. Over it’s 149 year history the oceanside track has seen many greats capturing the prestigious United Nations Stakes over their turf course such as Round Table, Manila, English Channel, Dr, Fager, Halo and Lure. The United Nations will head up a card with 4-stakes – 3 of them graded. John will be joined by Brian Skirka who is the Marketing Manager at Monmouth Park Racetrack to analyze the stakes. Veteran handicapper Rich Ruda will make his annual appearance on winningponies, which can mean only it’s Ohio Derby Day at JACK Thistledown! The Ohio Derby has attracted better fields each year and won its listing back as a graded stakes race. The $500,000 Derby will be supported by two $75,000 stakes – the George Lewis Memorial and J. William Petro.

With the help of the E-Z Win Forms and his own handicapping expertise Ed Meyer crushed the Belmont card with a Pick-4 anchored by The Test of Champions. He'll be discussing his betting techniques and then apply them to the Saturday Night under the Lights stakes-filled program at Churchill Downs. It's racing's version of Saturday Night at the Fights as we highlight the five graded stakes races at Churchill Downs. In the other corner the handicapping heavyweight champ and hometown hero Marty McGee! The award winning writer and handicapper from the Daily Racing Form is back on his home turf and hopefully will give some knockout selections in the feature event - the Grade 2 $600,000 Stephen Foster and some competitive under-card events: the Grade 2 $250,000 Wise Dan; Grade 2 $250,000 Fleur de Lis and if time allows the Grade 3 $150,000 Regret and Grade 3 Matt Winn.

The Stakes at Belmont will be smokin' for three days! Get your E-Z win Forms to get you through 18 stakes races at all distances and surfaces for every division. We will be joined this week by two respected writers and handicappers - Frank Angst, the Online News Editor from the Blood-Horse and the Daily Racing Form's King of the 'Cappers Byron King. Both of our guests will tackle the Test of Champions - the Belmont Stakes, that looks to be a toss up between Preakness Stakes winner War of Will and the 3rd place finisher in the Kentucky Derby Tacitus. Then they will be asked their opinion on Serengeti Empress' chance to stretch her speed again in the $700,000 Acorn Stakes. Frank and Byron will get a Pick 'em on the amazing undercard that features a delicious selection of Grade 1 Stakes. Don't forget winningponies.com is offering another free handicapping contest - head to the website for all of the details!

Jason Beem is a man of many talents. A handicapper, author and track announcer from coast to coast. He recently emerged at the microphone for the Monmouth Park meet and did an excellent job calling the graded stakes race filled card. It was announced this week he would be the race caller at Colonial Downs. From River Downs to Portland Meadows and beyond, we will discuss his adventurous life at the races. Like Beem, Ed Meyer is a man who has worn many hats during his years at the track. His most recent story on winningponies describes his last day watching the recently departed Euclyn Pede Prentice compete in the saddle. The personable rider from the Island of St. Croix died of injuries suffered in a car accident over Memorial Day weekend at the age of 28. Ed will join John to discuss the passing of Pede and handicap graded stakes races from around the country - the Grade 2 $500,000 Penn Mile; Grade 2 200,000 Santa Maria; Grade 2 Connaught Cup and Grade 3 Arlington Matron.

Jennifer S. Kelly fell in love with horse racing when she read Walter Farley’s Black Stallion series as a child and watched the filly Winning Colors beat the boys in the 1988 Kentucky Derby. Sir Barton and the Making of the Triple Crown is the first book to focus on Sir Barton. Jennifer Kelly charts how Sir Barton broke track records, scored victories over other champions, and sparked the yearly pursuit of Triple Crown glory. The book reveals the legacy of Sir Barton and his seminal contributions to Thoroughbred racing one hundred years after his pioneering achievement. Ralph Siraco is a former track announcer who became a turf writer. He hosts the racing radio show Race Day Las Vegas. He will give us his read on the spread of legalized Sports Betting in the U.S. and it's impact on the wagering in Las Vegas. He will join John in 'capping the 3 Grade 2's - the $200,000 Charles Whittingham; $200,000 Triple Bend at Santa Anita and the $200,000 Monmouth Stakes at Monmouth Park.

Matt Bernier handicapper at the Daily Racing Form is a frequent guest on this show. He will join John to cover the big races this Friday/Saturday at Pimlico and anything DRF.COM has going on those days. He will also give us his read on the Derby Debacle and will look at the Gr.2 $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan on Friday (which will probably be on drf.com) ; the Gr.1 $1.5 million Preakness Stakes and the Gr.2 $250,000 Dixie Stakes. Tom LaMarra has shifted his tack to the Maryland area and will be at the Preakness on Saturday. Tom will join us to discuss the potential moving of the Preakness away from Pimlico while decisions are being made on the track's future. Tom and John will get a jump on the great weekend card with Friday's Gr.3 $300,000 Pimlico Special and the Gr.2 $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan. Saturday is the Gr.1 $1,500,000 Preaknes and as time allows they will analyze the Gr.2 $250,000 Dixie Stakes; Gr.3 Chick Lang Stakes; Gr.3 Maryland Sprint and Gr.3 Sir Barton Stakes.

From a small 12 stall farm in his back yard in central Ohio, where his father had horses competing in the claiming game on a modest level, Dr. Joel Politi has reached the heights of thoroughbred racing when his 3-year-old filly Serengeti Empress wired the field in the historic Grade 1 $1,250,000 Longines Kentucky Oaks. We will be talking to him about the roller coaster ride he has taken with her and the faith he has in his trainer Tom Amoss. Eric Wing has served in numerous capacities a publicist and marketing, but is certainly a man who can watch a race keenly and come away with a decisive opinion. In the wave of reaction to the first-ever disqualification of a Kentucky Derby winner we will be anxious to listen to Eric’s view. Eric will then join John to look at the top Saturday races in his backyard called Belmont Park. Gr.1 $700,000 Man O’ War; Gr. 3 $300,000 Peter Pan Stakes: Gr. 3 $200,000 Vagrancy and the Gr. 3 $200,000 Beaugay Stakes.

We've lined up a Trifecta of handicappers for this week's show representing every part of the country to tackle a wide open Kentucky Derby. Daily Racing Form's Dan Illman is DRF.com Handicapping Editor and host of the DRF News Desk. and is New York-based. Dan Illman's “Spa Babies” and “Keeneland Babies” columns are also featured on DRF.com during the Saratoga and Keeneland meets. Rich Eng is located in Las Vegas and often concentrates on the West Coast tracks. Handicapping for Dummies is one of the many handicapping books he wrote. He also is a writer for Las Vegas Review Journal and the Daily Racing Form. Ed Meyer is a Kentucky-bred, though he follows the top races wherever they take place. Prior Host of this show and current Belterra's Race Caller and Odds Maker Ed also blogs for Winning Ponies. In what is called The most wide open Derby in a decade, it will be interesting to get their read on the top prospects and longshots in this year's Kentucky Derby.

Eric Hamelback is the CEO of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. He is the former general manager of Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs Farm and resides in Paris, Ky. With the rush to judgement on restriction of the administration of Lasix, Eric gives a fresh view on the subject. Dick Downey spends his year lazer-focused on the Kentucky Derby through his annual Downey Report. We will see what has surfaced to the top for this year's wide open Run for the Roses. His research has delivered a slew of winners over the years, let's talk about the major contenders he has unearthed for 2019.

Hard to believe it has been almost a year since Justify began his historic run through the Triple Crown series. Lenny Shulman, the colorful Features Editor of the Blood-Horse, has just penned Justify - 111 Days to Triple Crown Glory. Lenny's keen observations and description of the people and places paint colorful and detailed images of the Triple Crown series and Justify himself. He'll share his travels and experiences with us and you can get the book at amazon.com or www.triumphbooks.com/justify. This year's Kentucky Derby trail left most of us lost in the woods. Ed Meyer has tracked the contenders and pretenders and he will share his insights with us. With the Derby and Oaks Preps completed, Racing's Regular Guys will give their selections from across the country. Featured races will be the $125,000 Federico Tesio from Laurel; the Gr. 2 $1 million Charles Town Classic; Keeneland's Gr.2 $250,000 Dixiana Elkhorn and the Gr, 2 $200,000 Kona Gold from Santa Anita.

Hot Springs will be bubbling with outstanding racing this weekend and we have two of the stars of the show at Oaklawn Park joining us. Starting with the Ageless Jon Court who hopes to do the improbable by upsetting the Bob Baffert star Improbable for the 2nd time. Court ran down the heavily favored Improbable in the first division of the $750,000 Rebel with 8-1 shot Long Range Toddy. At 58 Court has no thoughts of retirement and credits his longevity at the highest level to bio-hacking, the process of using science, biology and self-experimentation to take control and upgrade your body, mind and life' he said. Despite drawing the outside post 11, Long Range Toddy has been installed as the 2nd choice at 4-1, while Improbable, drew the rail and is favored at 7-2. Vic Stauffer, the Oaklawn announcer and a competitor in national handicapping contests, will join John to cover the $1 million Arkansas Derby; $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap and Sunday's $700,000 Apple Blossom Handicap.

Amy Gregory, Director of Communications at Keeneland, is one of the busiest publicists in the game of thoroughbred racing. She and her talented team will be providing previews and post-race coverage of 5 graded stakes at the historic track this Saturday highlighted by the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes and the $500,000 Central Bank Ashland Stakes. Amy is also the President of the Turf Publicists of America. That 67-year-old organization has changed with the times and Amy will tell us about key projects they have expanded and are currently working on. Tom Law is the Managing Editor of ST Publishing, Inc., the award-winning publishing company that produces The Saratoga Special and Steeplechase Times. Tom will join John to handicap the major Derby and Oaks points races this Saturday. They will be challenged by the Toyota Blue Grass and Central Bank Stakes at Keeneland; the Santa Anita Derby and Oaks at Santa Anita and the Wood Memorial and Gazelle from Aqueduct.

After landing the biggest stakes win of her career on Street Band, Sophie Doyle was selected as Jockeys’ Guild Foundation Detox Jockey of the Week for March 18 - 24, 2019. The award is voted on by a panel of experts for riding accomplishments by members of the Jockeys’ Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 riders in North America. The win in the Fair Grounds Oaks was Doyle’s 2nd career graded stakes win and carried the largest purse in a race of her career. She will tell us about both accomplishments. One of DRF's most respected handicappers Dan Illman will join John to analyze Saturday's outstanding card at Gulfstream Park highlighted by the Gr.1 $1 million Florida Derby and Gr. 2 $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks. Both with points to the Derby and Oaks. Also on the under card the Gr. 2 $300,000 Gulfstream Park Mile and Gr. 2 $250,000 Pan American Stakes. In his many appearances on WinningPonies, Dan Illman has delivered some solid key horses and longshots.

Dave Basler just returned from the Annual H.B.P.A. meeting in Tampa, Florida. He has been the Executive Director of both the Ohio HBPA and the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Health Fund since 2007. Basler also represents the National HBPA as that group's chairman of both the Medication and Model Rules Committees at many national meetings including the ARCI, RMTC and Racing Symposium along with National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback. He will give us an update on the most important issues discussed by their membership. Handicapper Ryan Martin will join John to analyze the 4 graded races with War of Will heading up the Gr. 2 $1 million Louisiana Derby, and Serengeti Empress favored over the girls in the Gr. 2 $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks – both will have major impacts on entry into the starting gates in the Kentucky Derby and Oaks. Supporting races will be the Gr. 2 $400,000 New Orleans Handicap and the Gr. 2 $300,000 Muniz Memorial – a salute to Fair Grounds legends Mervin and Ramone Muniz.

In a sportsmanlike gesture, Oaklawn said last week it would consider adding $500,000 to the Rebel purse and splitting it into two $750,000 divisions when it became clear that an abundance of horses were looking for a Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) prep after the San Felipe Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park was canceled. The split became a reality Wednesday when 19 were entered for the 1 1/16-mile race, including the top two early Kentucky Derby favorites, Game Winner and Improbable. Track Announcer Vic Stauffer will join John in handicapping the two divisions of the Rebel, the Gr. 2 $350,000 Azeri and the $350,000 Essex Handicap. We will have Part 2 of our interview with retired jockey Rosemary Homeister Jr. In the first interview we covered her riding career and in this segment we will discuss her decision to retire from the saddle and her transition to a physical fitness instructor, fitness competitions and her use and promotion of CBD oil for its many benefits.