Hooked on Racing

For the past two weeks, we have been telling you how some of racing's biggest names fell in love with the sport. Now it's our turn. Here are some of the stories behind the bylines you see every day in the TDN. Chris McGrath We all know how pedigrees can confound us. We spend more than we can afford on the best page we can, and end up trying to salvage something in a maiden claimer. And then the horse you put an immediate line through, when you first go...

How did we get hooked on this sport? We all have stories about how our love affair developed and blossomed. The TDN will be reaching out to numerous notable people in the industry to get their stories to find out how they got hooked and stayed hooked on the sport. Dr. Barry Eisaman, Eisaman Equine I've been in the horse world my entire life. So, I think it started just with horses and a love for them in general. That quickly transferred to love of horse racing because in my...

How did we get hooked on this sport? We all have stories about how our love affair developed and blossomed. The TDN will be reaching out to numerous notable people in the industry to get their stories to find out how they got hooked and stayed hooked on the sport. Jessica Paquette, Parx announcer I grew up a horse-crazy kid and we didn't have much money so horses were a world away. I consumed every bit of horse related media I could and these were the early days of the...

How did we get hooked on this sport? We all have stories about how our love affair developed and blossomed. The TDN will be reaching out to numerous notable people in the industry to get their stories to find out how they got hooked and stayed hooked on the sport. Dave Johnson, Racecaller & Radio Host My mom and dad and then my grandparents on both sides, they all went to Fairmount Park just for fun when I was growing up in St. Louis. Mostly it was just for holidays...

Tired of all the bad news? So were we. So, in our new series, we focus on the positive, asking people from non-horse racing families two questions: how they get hooked, and how they'll hook someone else on horse racing this year. ROBB LEVINSKY, KENWOOD RACING What was the experience that made you fall in love with horse racing? I was first introduced to horse racing at age 14 when I was living with my aunt and uncle for the summer in Lincoln, Nebraska and I went with my aunt...

Tired of all the bad news? So were we. So, in our new series, we focus on the positive, asking people from non-horse racing families two questions: how they get hooked, and how they'll hook someone else on horse racing this year. CHRISTA MARRILLIA, VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, KEENELAND What was the experience that made you fall in love with horse racing? So like many who grew up in Central Kentucky, my passion for the sport sparked from my experiences at Keeneland. In high school, I would skip...

What was the experience that made you fall in love with horse racing? My dad's roommate in college was Tom Durkin, and he was still good friends with my parents when I was a kid. So when I was growing up, horse racing was something that was always on the television at my house and viewed as important. But the first instance I remember being mentally captured by the sport was when I was there for Alysheba winning the Kentucky Derby. Would you commit to creating one new fan this...

Tired of all the bad news? So were we. So, in our new series, we focus on the positive, asking people from non-horse racing families two questions: how they get hooked, and how they'll hook someone else on horse racing this year. What was the experience that made you fall in love with horse racing? My way to horse racing was fairly unconventional. I grew up Washington DC in the pre-cable television era. Cable didn't come to DC until the late 1980s, so my access to sports was fairly limited....