Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella and NBC Sports reporter Bob Neumeier will be among the esteemed panelists joining this Tuesday’s session of Night School, the racing industry’s free national online fan education program. The season’s 24th of 40 lessons will feature “Turf Handicapping” with additional preview coverage of this Saturday’s Arlington Million Day program. The interactive lesson will be simulcast on SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s “At the Races with Steve Byk” program from 8:30-10 p.m. ET.
Night School co-founder Joe Kristufek will co-host with Byk on-air and provide insight into the Million as the official track morning line maker for Arlington Park. Also, Churchill Downs handicapper and long-time Night School contributor Jill Byrne, on-site covering the event in Chicago this weekend, will take part in the panelist discussion and Q&A with the fans. Horse Player NOW’s Jeremy Plonk will moderate the live chat portion of the lesson with the racing fans listening into the audio stream.
Mandella was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2001 and perhaps is best known for his amazing 2003 Breeders’ Cup dominance in which he won four championship events, including the Turf with Johar. He saddled 2006 Arlington Million winner The Tin Man, shipped east to win multiple editions of Monmouth’s United Nations Handicap, and has won the west’s premier turf races like the Eddie Read at Del Mar and Clement L. Hirsch Turf Championship at Santa Anita. Mandella will attempt to annex his second Arlington Million on Saturday when his second-time import Indy Point makes his US graded stakes debut.
Neumeier is an accomplished handicapping contest winner and horseplayer, specializing in turf handicapping. A frequent contributor to Horse Player NOW, “Neumy” is best known as a reporter and handicapper for NBC Sports’ coverage of the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup.
Fans can take part in the class free by visiting any one of the 40-plus websites that provides the Night School lessons each week. Tuesday’s Night School will be the sixth such class to be simulcast with “At the Races with Steve Byk” on SiriusXM. Night School attendees will be able to pose questions to all of the guests in two manners, either by the live chat module or by joining the “At the Races with Steve Byk” live call-in show at 1-866-454-6848. Those wishing to listen in on the radio can find the program from 8:30-10 p.m. (EDT) on Sirius 93 or at Sports Zone 961 for Sirius Online users (XM Radio will have live baseball this week).
This week’s Night School will be followed at 10:00 p.m. ET by the “After Night School Special,” featuring live racing from Mountaineer Park. The segment will cover the evening’s final race in real time with free, live-streaming video. Fans wishing to take part in the Mountaineer action simply need to remain in the Night School chat after class. Free past performances are available, courtesy of BRIS.
On Thursday evening at 8:30 p.m. ET, Kristufek and Ed DeRosa of Brisnet will conduct a one-hour online Big Event chat devoted to handicapping the Arlington Day program. The seminar can be accessed through horseplayernow.com, arlingtonpark.com any of the other Night School partner websites.
In conjunction with American’s Best Racing, the Night School Tour stops off live at Arlington on Saturday. Beginning at 11:45 a.m. ET in the Racing 101 area on the east side of the Arlington paddock, Kristufek will host a one-hour handicapping seminar with guests Marcus Hersh of Daily Racing Form, Pat Cummings of Trakus and dubairacenight.com and Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.
The remainder of Million Day in the Racing 101 area, Kristufek will be joined by Brian W. Spencer, Katie Gensler and Tim Brannan, offering hands on handicapping and wagering lessons, paddock tours and conducting interviews with Festival participants.
For those who cannot attend live, the Night School archives always are available free, immediately following the session and beyond. Videos used in all lessons also can be seen at www.youtube.com/horseplayernow.
Presenting title sponsors for Night School are the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, American Quarter Horse Association, Keeneland, Churchill Downs, Inc., and the United States Trotting Association.
Night School is offered every Tuesday for 40 consecutive weeks through Dec. 3. Topics change weekly, and fans are eligible for prizes and rewards for registering. Registration is optional and free. There is never a charge for taking part in Night School. The weekly program is offered in three media: live chat via the Cover It Live blogging/chat forum, audio/radio streaming and full video lesson plans. The media of delivery is based on the subject matter and alternates throughout the season.
Updated Night School Tour schedule: http://horseplayernow.com/10-night-school/5-night-school-tour.
Study Materials: http://horseplayernow.com/images/STUDY081313.pdf
Video preview this week’s lesson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csnd5c3f27M
Pod 3 Lesson Schedule: http://horseplayernow.com/images/2013NSCALENDAR3.pdf