What attracted you to the horse racing industry? A friend of mine at work kept asking me to go see the races. I didn’t have any interest in going, but in 1991 I finally gave in. When we got to the track, I was just blown away the minute I walked in the doors — the colors, sounds, smells…everything. It was amazing. A couple of weeks later, we went to one of the smaller tracks in Nebraska where my friend’s dad was a veterinarian. After watching the races, we went to the backstretch to watch him go through his rounds.…
What attracted you to the horseracing industry? I’ve loved horses since I can remember, but when I was younger the only way I could participate was by watching horse races on television. That was my introduction to the industry. What aspect of horse racing do you enjoy the most? I’m interested in horse breeding and bloodlines. It’s really intriguing to look at the breeding background of a horse to try to figure out in what race it will run best, or what horse to breed it to later. I read everything I can about horse bloodlines, such as BloodHorse magazine…
What attracted you to the horseracing industry? My initial experience with horse racing was about three years ago when I was a speaker at a conference held at Churchill Downs. I was there very early in the morning getting prepared, and American Pharoah was doing his morning workout. I didn’t think anything of it at the time because I didn’t know anything about horse racing. I just knew that was the “horse from TV”, but we all know what happened a few weeks later when he won the Triple Crown. So, it was amazing for me to know that I…
What attracted you to the horse racing industry? I was your typical horse-crazy little girl. We didn’t have a Thoroughbred track close to us, so I started by watching Standardbred Racing. I grew up in southern Maryland, where Rosecroft Raceway is located. My dad used to take me to the harness races. However, I got really annoyed because in Standardbred racing they don’t run. When they break pace, they have to go to the back until they regain their stride. So, I thought, ”This is fun, but why don’t you just let them run as fast as they can?” Now…
As Managing Editor of DanonymousRacing.com, John Piassek is responsible for creating and producing content, as well as managing a staff of 12 handicappers who post their picks and analyses of a wide variety of racetracks all over the United States. The site also features articles about racing from a variety of different perspectives among racing fans. John is also the columnist for Mid-Atlantic Musings, which is featured on DanonymousRacing.com. The column represents John’s passion for horse racing and an interest in ways to improve the industry from a fan’s perspective. In addition to handicapping the races at Laurel Park, John…
Gary is a fourth-generation handicapper. Currently, Gary’s handicapping prowess is on display as “The GQ Approach” at TheRacingBiz.com, providing selections & analysis for every race day at Maryland tracks. In the past, he’s been a guest handicapper at Laurel Park on Maryland Million Day and at Pimlico on Preakness Day in the Preakness Infield Corporate Village. During Preakness Week, he has conducted interviews with horsemen, jockeys, and others in the racing industry at Pimlico Stakes Barn, Alibi Breakfast, and Preakness Post Position Draw since 2008. Though an IT professional by trade, he has had part-time roles with the Maryland Jockey…