Night School, the racing industry’s national online fan education program, conducts its second annual Racing Town Hall Meeting in Tuesday night’s 38th lesson of the 2013 season. The gathering of industry movers and shakers begins at 8:30 p.m. ET and will offer fans and horseplayers a chance to interact directly with the policy makers.
The 90-minute Night School live chat will more than a dozen influential racing industry members, including executives, entrepreneurs, horseplayers and journalists. The panel will moderated by Night School’s Jeremy Plonk, Joe Kristufek and Caton Bredar. The growing alphabetical list of panelists confirmed, which is expected to grow by the start of the Town Hall Meeting, includes:
– Michael Beychok, 2012 DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship winner and political strategist;
– Jill Byrne, racing analyst & director of multimedia video content for Churchill Downs;
– Justin Horowitz, player/media manager of The Meadowlands;
– Tom Lamarra, news editor of The Blood-Horse;
– Seth Merrow, owner of Equidaily.com and Capital OTB TV host;
– Mark Midland, founder of Derbywars.com and Horseracingnation.com;
– Dan Silver, director of racing operations for Penn National Race Course;
– John Siscos, director of media relations Woodbine and Mohawk;
– Mike Tanner, executive vice president of the United States Trotting Association;
– Eric Wing, director of media relations for New York Racing Association;
– Erich Zimny, director of racing for Charles Town Races.
The inaugural Racing Town Hall Meeting in 2012 remains available for archive view (http://tinyurl.com/lyu449v) and included the likes of Breeders’ Cup-winning owner-breeder Satish Sanan, NTRA president Alex Waldrop, Maryland Jockey Club president Tom Chuckas, HRTV executive producer Amy Zimmerman, and Horseplayers Association of North America president Jeff Platt, among others.
“We opted for a different cast this year to expand viewpoints and access,” said Night School co-founder Jeremy Plonk. “Our panel is a diverse mix of small and large track interests, not to mention an undervalued part of the industry that’s burgeoning, the individual entrepreneurs.”
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.
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 two races 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. Complimentary past performances are available, courtesy of BRIS.
Study Materials: http://www.horseplayernow.com/images/STUDY111913.pdf
Video Preview of this week’s lesson: http://youtu.be/TJiMeA06HEs
Pod 5 Lesson Schedule:http://horseplayernow.com/images/2013NSCALENDAR5.pdf