Night School, the racing industry’s national online fan education program since 2011, offers its third annual “Racing Town Hall Meeting” tonight with a jam-packed guest list of industry newsmakers and experts. Racing fans and horseplayers will have a chance to pose their questions directly to the panel in what promises to be a spirited, interactive session.

The free program is offered online each Tuesday, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET and runs 40 consecutive weeks through Dec. 2. More than 40 websites in the Thoroughbred, American Quarter Horse and Standardbred industries simultaneously offer the Night School lessons.

“Racing’s Town Hall Meeting” and its interactive discussion will be simulcast on SiriusXM satellite radio with the free audio stream able to be accessed directly from the radio link within the Night School live chat module. Those listening on the dial can catch the show on Sirius 220 or XM 206. Night School founder Jeremy Plonk and original cast member Caton Bredar join weekly with Steve Byk of “At the Races with Steve Byk” from 8:30-10 p.m. ET during Night School’s traditional timeslot. Each week, top guests in the world of handicapping and horse racing will be featured.

Tonight’s lesson will feature a state of the industry from such experts, listed alphabetically, as:

Steven Crist: Editor Emeritus of Daily Racing Form. Horseplayer, journalist and racetrack manager whose credits include the creation of The Racing Times.

Pat Cummings: Director of Racing Information for Trakus and international racing blogger. World travels give a unique perspective on horse racing globally.

Alan Foreman: Chairman and CEO of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, widely heralded as a premier racing law attorney.

Alicia Wincze Hughes: Turf writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader and one of the leading journalists for breaking news in the racing and breeding industries.

David Longinotti: Director of Racing at Oaklawn Park, one of America’s most successful on-track businesses. Now recruiting horses for record $6.6 million purse schedule in 2015.

Mike Mulvihill: Sr. VP of Programming & Reasearch  for Fox Broadcasting. Led 2014 launch of The Jockey Club Tour on the new Fox Sports 1 network.

Alex Waldrop: CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which operates the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship and lobbying/legislative efforts.

Free archives of all lessons, current and past, remain available for views by racing fans and horseplayers at any time. Therefore, if you can’t make class each week during the 90-minute live session, you can still take part and reap the benefits. Title sponsors for 2014 include charter members National Thoroughbred Racing Association and American Quarter Horse Association, as well as Keeneland Select, The Stronach Group, Twinspires, BRIS, Bet America, Mountaineer Park and Woodbine Entertainment.

Night School is free and voluntary with no registration necessary. Simply visit any of the Night School syndicate websites weekly at 8:30 pm ET to take in the live lesson, or access the archives at any of those same sites at your leisure. The program does offer a voluntary registration both live or in the archives. Attendees who register in at least half (20) of the season’s lessons are eligible to win prizes that include merchandise, NHC Tour memberships, handicapping contests, free handicapping products, etc. Fans who enjoy playing the races can participate alongside the Night School experts in two additional ways. TheNight School Woodbine Wednesdays live chats feature the live races on the program each Wednesday at Woodbine. And, Night School Friday Night Live at Remington Park is a weekly Friday live chat during the full card from Oklahoma City. Both offerings present free live video streaming, free BRISNET.com past performances, real-time expert advice and fan camaraderie.

2014 FALL SEMESTER TOPIC SCHEDULE
Session
Date
Spring Semester Topics (all begin 8:30p ET)
27
2-Sep
Trip Handicapping
28
9-Sep
Sheets Handicapping
29
16-Sep
Pedigree Handicapping
30
23-Sep
Layoffs
31
30-Sep
Handicapping Stakes Races
32
7-Oct
Racing’s Town Hall Meeting
33
14-Oct
AQHA Challenge Handicapping *
34
21-Oct
Identifying Key Races
35
28-Oct
Breeders’ Cup Handicapping *
36
4-Nov
Election Night – Horseplayers Polling
37
11-Nov
Handicapping Tournaments/Contests
38
18-Nov
Slumps & Bad Beats
39
25-Nov
Betting Online
40
2-Dec
Fan’s Choice
*-denotes live chat lessons with no radio component.