Stevens to Join FOX Sports, NYRA Television Programs

[Wandering Eyes]

Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens will join FOX Sports/NYRA Live television programming as a racing analyst, making his debut on FOX Sports Saturday At The Races this spring, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and FOX Sports announced Thursday.

Inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1997, Stevens registered 5,187 wins and totaled purse earnings of more than $258 million in a career that started in 1979 and concluded with his retirement in 2018. The 55-year-old won nine Triple Crown races and 11 Breeders’ Cup races in his career.

Outside of the irons, Stevens enjoyed success as an actor and television analyst, portraying Hall of Fame jockey George Woolf in the film “Seabiscuit,” starring in the HBO series “Luck” and providing racing analysis for various TV networks, including NBC.

“I’m lucky to be able to transition to the next phase of my career with the powerhouse team that FOX Sports and NYRA have assembled,” said Stevens. “There are few things more important to the future of our sport than bringing the best quality TV coverage to America’s biggest races, and that is just what we will be doing with these shows. I’d like to thank FOX Sports for their commitment to the sport of horse racing, and to NYRA for doing the most in-depth, innovative coverage available today.”

In addition to Stevens, FOX Sports and NYRA announced that veteran host Laffit Pincay III and handicapper Jonathon Kinchen will join a broadcast team that includes host Greg Wolf, handicapper and racing analyst Andy Serling, paddock analyst Maggie Wolfendale, trainer Tom Amoss, and handicapper and former Major League Baseball all-star Paul LoDuca. Larry Collmus, NYRA announcer and voice of the Triple Crown, will provide live race calls throughout the year.

The new broadcast team will also be featured on FOX Sports Saturday At The Races, which was launched in 2018 and expanded in 2019 to a 12-show schedule over February, March and April, providing nationwide coverage and analysis of major stakes races and key Triple Crown preps.

In 2019, FOX Sports is scheduled to televise 500 hours of NYRA racing, including coverage of nearly every race day at Belmont and Saratoga. The broadcast schedule will then expand to over 600 hours annually in 2020. This agreement builds upon the prior deal between NYRA and FOX Sports that resulted in more than 100 hours of NYRA coverage on FS2 in 2018.

“FOX Sports has assembled a broadcast team without equal in horse racing,” said Tony Allevato, President of NYRA Bets & Executive Producer for NYRA TV. “Collectively, their knowledge of all aspects of the sport will provide our national audience with the best handicapping, analysis and insights available anywhere. We welcome Gary, Laffit and Jonathon, and look forward to breaking new ground in 2019.”

The 2019 NYRA shows on FOX Sports will be presented by America’s Best Racing, Runhappy and Claiborne Farm.

 

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