There are three reasons I’m well suited to serve on the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. Decades working in the game, knowledge of and ongoing interactions with NYRA customers as a businessman and owner, and countless hours spent on the backstretch engaging grooms, trainers, vets and NYRA employees.

My love of New York racing came early. As a youngster in the mid-60s, my father would take my brother and I to what he referred to as the open-air synagogues of Aqueduct and Belmont. There, I became enamored with the characters, as well as littered selection sheets, Lawton and Jacks Green Card, on the ground. Twenty years later, the Wizard Selection Sheet became my reality.

Fan Education and Player Development have always been a mission. In 1986, I set the paradigm for modern-day selection sheets as a handicapping and betting lesson for the old and new. Successful players churn; churn increases handle. My goal has always been to have people improve skills and love wagering. I’ve successfully adapted to the changing times and am thriving where tip sheets of my youth have long disappeared.

In my early days I handicapped at the Belmont track kitchen. There I would socialize with backstretch employees. Trainers, grooms, hot walkers and maintenance workers became part of my life. To this day, I walk through barns each morning at Saratoga. It’s my hunting grounds for conversation with racing personalities to showcase the industry on my weekly show. I treasure these relationships, built on integrity, honesty and mutual respect.

I know the racetrack and live with the racetrack as others might not. I continue to be a supportive critic of the industry. I bring a well-rounded and unique perspective on what needs to be addressed to improve New York racing and the business of ALL its stakeholders.