Light Up Racing is assembling approximately 20 individuals from every aspect of the horse racing industry, across all demographics, united by their passion for positive change over two days of training.

“Our goal is to empower each participant with the confidence to share their stories and perspectives in horse racing,” said Vicky Leonard of Kick Collective. “We believe that by building these skills and generating confidence, we can collectively start shifting how the sport is perceived and talked about.”

The days are planned to equip a diverse group of participants with the tools they need to make an impact. While the first focuses on personal branding, leveraging social media and confidence in media interview techniques, day two advances into content creation and strategies for maximizing engagement.

“By the end of this program, participants will not just have skills; they'll have the confidence to use their voices and showcase the industry from their perspective,” Leonard said. “They'll also have a community supporting their journey.”

This training marks the beginning of a larger movement towards a more open and forward-thinking horse racing community, sharing the positive elements to the wider public.

“When an industry isn't talking, people assume it has something to hide,” added Leonard. “The antidote to fixing the perception and trust issues is by opening the door and inviting people in–both in person and online. Your voice matters, and together, we have the power to redefine the narrative,” said Leonard.

Additional training will soon be announced across the country, reflecting Light Up Racing's commitment to fostering a nationwide community of empowered racing advocates.

“These two days will empower the Kentucky cohort to go out into the community, both in person and online, to engage in fact-based, transparent dialogue about horse racing during a crucial time on our calendar,” said board member Christina Blacker. “We need to share the good stories and we must stop uninformed opinions from driving the narrative of our sport. I look forward to participating in the training myself when it comes to California.”

Click here for more information about the training or email hello@lightupracing.com.

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“I am grateful to be a part of Light Up Racing's mission,” Blacker said. “It is one that is very close to my heart and one I've put a lot of time and effort into over the years. Horse racing is a beautiful sport filled with equally beautiful, deeply caring and hard-working individuals, but is not actually what we, as a collective, are currently being portrayed as. It is a difficult assignment to be sure, but I am fully committed.

“This is an industry-wide problem and should be met with an industry-wide approach. A lot of important and necessary work is being done at the highest levels, but all of us possess the ability to have a positive effect, and it is our duty to not stand by and leave it to others. Highlighting the good being done, and the good that already exists, is something each of us can take part in.”

Blacker, who currently serves as a host, analyst and reporter with FanDuel TV, began her broadcasting career in 2004 and has worked with HRTV, TVG, and NBCSports. She is also a Keeneland Sales representative, a spokesperson for Equibase “Race Lens,” a pivotal figure in digital creation and ambassadorship for MyRacehorse, in addition to co-founding “I Am Horse Racing,” a non-profit organization dedicated to amplifying the voices of the

sport's unsung heroes.

“Christina Blacker's credibility within the industry, coupled with her unparalleled media expertise, makes her an invaluable asset in our mission to enlighten, engage, and evolve the narrative surrounding horse racing,” said board chairman Price Bell. “Christina has a proven track record of, not only illuminating the sport's finest aspects, but also addressing its challenges with integrity and insight. We are very excited to have her as part of the team.”

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Directors beginning service in 2024:

• Christina Blacker, Racing Host and Analyst at FanDuel
• Jay Privman, Former National Correspondent at Daily Racing Form
• Dean Roethemeier, Assistant Director of Sales Operations at Keeneland
• Barbara Vanlangendonck, Owner of Summerfield Sales

Directors returning for a second term in 2024:

• Walter Robertson, Attorney at Stites & Harbison
• Yvonne Schwabe, Owner of Persley Den Farms

Each Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance director may serve for up to five consecutive years. Upon completion, each is required to rotate off the board for at least one year before becoming eligible for renomination.

Having dedicated five years of their time, expertise and resources, Craig Bandoroff, Simon Bray, Donna Brothers, Boyd Browning, Chip McGaughey and Tom Ventura will conclude their service at the end of 2023.

For a third consecutive year, Jeffrey Bloom, Managing Partner of Bloom Racing Stable, will serve as TAA President.

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The pre-entry announcement will be hosted by FanDuel TV talent Christina Blacker and Joaquin Jaime.

Featuring 14 Grade I races and $31 million in purses and awards, the 40th running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships will be held Nov. 2 and 4 at Santa Anita. Fields for the races will be drawn Oct. 30.

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Eclipse Awards are voted on by members of the NTRA, represented by member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, NTWAB, and Daily Racing Form, and are produced by the NTRA. The announcement of the Eclipse Awards finalists on FanDuel TV is sponsored by Keeneland and John Deere.

The Eclipse Awards ceremonies are scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 26, at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL, and will also be televised by FDTV. The evening will begin with the Keeneland Red Carpet show at 6:30 p.m. ET, hosted by Todd Schrupp and Christina Blacker, followed by the awards ceremony at 7:30 p.m. ET. The ceremony, which will be streamed on additional outlets, will culminate with the announcement of the 2022 Horse of the Year. Finalists in the Horse of the Year category also will be announced earlier that evening.

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“Our special coverage of the Keeneland September sale is always one of the highlights of the calendar,” said Kevin Grigsby, the Senior Vice President of Programming and FanDuel TV executive producer. “We are excited to be back in Lexington. Our network has built a valued partnership with Keeneland and the central Kentucky breeding community over the years and we look forward to promoting this cornerstone of the sport.”

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TVG will have blanket, wire-to-wire coverage of the meet including behind-the-scenes features, exclusive interviews from the Keeneland paddock, and expert analysis led by Todd Schrupp, Christina Blacker, Simon Bray, Scott Hazelton, Caton Bredar and Gabby Gaudet.

The featured race on Opening Day is the $400,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) which is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Series race and qualifies the winner for the Juvenile Fillies (G1). The race has drawn a full field of twelve 2-year-old fillies and Juju's Map has been tabbed as the 5-2 morning line favorite for trainer Brad Cox. Florent Geroux will be aboard for Albaugh Family Stables.

The coverage of Keeneland's Fall Meet will run through Saturday, Oct. 30, and will include the $200,000 Woodford (G2) Presented by TVG on Oct. 9 alongside 16 additional graded stakes races, ten of which are part of the Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Series with winners earning automatic berths into the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar on Nov. 5-6.

Saturday's loaded card features five graded stakes races including the $750,000 Keeneland Turf Mile (G1) which will earn the winner a spot in the starting gate in the Breeders' Cup FanDuel Mile (G1). The race has drawn a contentious field of thirteen including the defending winner from 2020, Ivar (BRZ). Trained by Paulo Lobo, Joe Talamo will be aboard as the 5-year-old son of Agnes Gold (JPN) makes his second start of the year following a sixth-place finish in his seasonal debut.

“We are excited to bring these innovations and enhanced broadcast technology to our comprehensive coverage of Keeneland and its Fall Meet, always one of the most anticipated and prestigious on the racing calendar,” said Kevin Grigsby, TVG Executive Producer.

“Keeneland fans are among the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic in Thoroughbred racing, and they will truly appreciate TVG's enriched coverage of the Fall Meet,” Keeneland Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Christa Marrillia said. “These new features represent the latest chapter in Keeneland's strong partnership with TVG.”

TVG's Jockey Cam was a popular addition to its coverage of the Del Mar meet and its Rail Cam is designed to bring fans even closer to the action. At Keeneland, the robotic Rail Cam will travel down the stretch with the horses as they approach the finish line. TVG's coverage at the track will also feature handicapping analysis with integrated graphics and touch screen technology.

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   The inaugural edition presents a trio of successful horsewomen who have made a name for themselves in the game, while simultaneously starting and raising families–TVG Host and Racing Analyst Christina Blacker; principal partner in BSW/Crow Bloodstock and co-owner of Elite Sales Liz Crow; and Anna Seitz Ciannello, Fasig-Tipton's client development and public relations manager. 

Long considered a male-dominated industry, horse racing has seen that change through recent times. In fact, many of the sport's highest offices are now occupied by women, and while that is certainly something to celebrate, it all poses challenges to those that aim to have a dynamic career while still trying to start and build a family.

“Both of my sisters don't work, and they stay at home with their children and my mother did not work when we were growing up. I'm the first woman in my immediate family to have  a career, and it's definitely been trying,” offered Seitz, who cut her teeth at her family's Brookdale Farm in Versailles, Kentucky growing up and later spent several years as a member of Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher's team. “I didn't really know where I fit in. I love being a mom but I also love working. When the kids are really little, it's hard and you feel like something has to give in your career because you can't do everything. You can't be super focused at work when you haven't slept.”

And while 'having babies' is a tale as old as time, many women still find themselves put under an increased scrutiny and all to often face judgement for trying to 'have it all.'

“I always say our industry is a little behind the rest of the world,” said recent first-time mother, Liz Crow. “I feel like in this next generation, there are a lot more women coming up through the ranks right now so I think having a kid will be a little more normalized.”

There is no doubt that the hurdles can be high, and sometimes precarious, for many women trying to find the delicate balance of having a family and continuing to pursue their dreams in racing, however, women continue to do what they have done throughout history, finding the path that works best for them and for their own individual lifestyle and family.

“Having kids was always a non-negotiable,” asserted Blacker, also a mother of three daughters. “I was going to be a mother. Children and being a mom [has always been] one of my major goals in life. And it's never perfect–it's not easy. I cry about it all the time because I feel like I'm failing at something. I either end the day and feel like I've been a great mom or I've been a really good employee. Sometimes I feel like I've done both.”

And despite many of the challenges faced by women in the industry along the way, women continue to forge a way to create a profitable career while simultaneously offering their families stable and nurturing environments to flourish.

“The horse business is such a family…everybody does just really pitch in and help out,” added Blacker. “As hard as it is with the travel, I cry when the plane takes off every time, and you also can't get rid of that morbid fear of what if something happens now and now I'm going on this trip. But once they can start coming with you, it's something that a lot of other kids can't experience. People can't take their children into the office but our office is so exciting. They can be there and participate and watch and enjoy what we do as much as we do.”

To listen to the audio only version of 'Let's Talk,' click here.

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Reflecting on the top-level success of the Blacker barn's Hit the Road (More Than Ready) in the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S., Blacker said, “The challenging thing about training is that you can put in all the time, the blood, sweat and tears, but until you have a horse that really has some ability, I don't feel like a lot of trainers get the chance to show what they can do. I've always believed that Dan would be playing at this level, and that he had the horsemanship skills and the background and was putting in the effort and hard work to deserve this kind of success. But until a horse of this ability came along, he hasn't had the opportunity to show people how he can train and manage a good horse. I think one of the things I'm most proud of with the way Dan has campaigned [Hit the Road] is he pulled back and was patient when he needed to. Now I think you're really seeing that patience pay off. Hopefully his trajectory will continue to improve.”

Asked about the I Am Horse Racing project to educate the public about the sport's people and their care for horses, Blacker said, “The idea for it came from a group of women who are interested and all have investments in the game. We felt that a couple of years ago when the safety issues were so prevalent at Santa Anita, there was so much coverage, and in those reports was a real implication that people in horse racing don't love horses, don't care about horses, aren't treating these horses with the respect that they deserve. So we wanted to try to put something forward that was educational that was out there to say, 'We recognize that there's a problem, that safety needs to be addressed, but look at these thousands of people across the country who are dedicated to these horses.' We wanted people to know that from the top to the bottom, there are people invested in this game because their core passion is the animal.”

Elsewhere on the show, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, hosts Joe Bianca, Bill Finley and Kelsey Riley criticized the lawsuit filed by some horsemen's groups to stop HISA and debated what its implications may be. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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Racehorse owner Rick Gold explains that's one of the qualities he most respects about up-and-coming trainer Dan Blacker. The English-born horseman, now based in Southern California, earned his first graded stakes victory last weekend in Santa Anita's Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes with Hit The Road, a 4-year-old Gold co-owns.

“It's easy to talk about Hit the Road, right,” Gold mused. “It's one thing to train a horse like Hit the Road who has the mental and physical ability… Meanwhile, a horse like Sir Eddie had none of those things.”

A California-bred gelding by Square Eddie, Sir Eddie required 13 tries to break his maiden. The $35,000 yearling purchase wound up earning over $130,000 on the track, but he definitely did it the hard way. From 18 starts, Sir Eddie entered the winner's circle just once.

“He had six seconds and three thirds, and he was the favorite eight times, and he just couldn't do the job,” Gold said, laughing.

“He was an absolute oil painting of a Thoroughbred, but he just didn't want to try very hard,” Blacker remembered. “He kept running second or third, but he just didn't really care to win. I think most of it is in the genes. People talk about what makes a good stallion, and physically what they see, what attributes are passed down. But I think the great stallions, the most important thing they pass down is that mental toughness, that will to win, that attribute that they just want to try hard.”

Sir Eddie may not have had a strong will to win, but that didn't mean Blacker treated him any differently than the rest of the racehorses in his barn.

“Dan tried everything with Eddie, short, long, turf, dirt; he was committed to getting that horse over the wire first,” said Gold. “I was so impressed, because the horse kept paying his bills because Dan kept him sound. The horse was a happy, healthy horse, he retired sound, and he has a great second career. Dan put his heart and his soul into Sir Eddie just the way he's doing Hit The Road. We, as owners, we loved Sir Eddie. I was as happy when he broke his maiden as any time I've been at the racetrack. That's what it's all about.”

“That's really why we're here, for the owners,” echoed Blacker. “The more you're part of the process, the more enjoyable it is.”

Blacker's regular communication with his owners includes weekly voice notes on each horse's progress, as well as video footage and reports on each workout, and recent photographs whenever possible.

“I think when people hear my voice it's easy to get my point across how the horse is doing,” said Blacker. “It's much easier for me to record a one-minute voice note on how the horse is doing than to write all that down… Emails and text messages are easily misconstrued when you read them, but when I send out a voice note, you can hear in my voice when the horse is really doing well.”

“I get so much more color; it's kind of taken the communication to the next level,” Gold said. “it's so gratifying to me to see that the last couple years he's really started to come into his own, and the results have started to catch up with the hard work I've seen.”

Gold and Blacker were introduced via the Bourbon Lane Stables partnership group in the early 2010s, and Gold was immediately impressed by the young horseman.

“I was a limited partner at the time, but I got to know him and I really got to just admire the way he dealt with horses, the way he dealt with people,” said Gold. “He's got an analytical mind in addition to being an intuitive horseman. I've never ridden a horse faster than a trot, so when a trainer tells me, 'I feel it,' it's hard for me to understand that. But he can explain things in a way that I can understand.”

Blacker's father is the famed equine sculptor and former jockey Phillip Blacker, so perhaps that's where he got his analytical mind. The horsemanship, however, Blacker credits mostly to his two year stint working for Hall of Famer Richard Mandella.

The Blacker family often revolved around horses, from his father's time at the racetracks to Dan's hours in a show jumping saddle. After attending university for environmental science, the younger Blacker was selected as part of the third intake for the very new Darley Flying Start Program. 

“I think it was a case of mistaken identity,” Blacker joked. “They were still experimenting with the curriculum, and it was just an incredible experience. I'm so thankful to Sheikh Mohammed for his foresight to create a program like that, and for the chance to be with a group of people who were like-minded. 

“One thing in particular, the lightbulb for me was when we went to the Kentucky Derby with the whole group, and Barbaro won that year. That was one of the moments when I really felt like I wanted to be an American and train horses in America.”

Richard Mandella with Omaha Beach at Churchill Downs in 2019

One of his placements through the Flying Start program was in Mandella's barn, and Blacker was immediately struck by the immaculate nature of the trainer's program.

“He's just one of the greatest horsemen I've ever been around,” Blacker summarized. “When I started working for him I felt confident that i was ready to start training, but after a few months of working for him I realized that I had so much more to learn. He taught me a level of horsemanship that is way beyond what I expected to know, a way of connecting with each racehorses, and achieving what you hope to achieve with each horse. He has a program, and his way is very thorough with everything you do, so that you ultimately get the best out of each horse.”

(Mandella's barn also happens to be where Blacker met his wife, Christina Olivares, daughter of former jockey Frank Olivares and now an analyst for TVG. She came to the backside to interview the Hall of Fame trainer but met Blacker instead, and somehow that particular interview didn't happen.)

Mandella's most unique quality, Blacker explained, is that he's constantly training his horses.

“I'm not talking about working it faster,” Blacker said. “[Mandella is] training the horses around the barn, when he puts the rider up, etc. He's thinking about how to make that horse behave better, and how to get the best performance out of it. Everything about the morning is designed to try to educate the horse, to make it more calm about its day-to-day routine. He likes the horses to behave a certain way, and the employees to be a certain way. This is 'The Mandella Way,' and you fall into line when you work for him. 

“He'll have horses come in that are wild, and by the time they come ready for the race they are like a show pony. He's a thinker and a problem solver. From a handicapping point of view, I'm not a particularly avid one, but when I see a Mandella horse at the races, I know that horse is ready to roll. That's something that I took from him and try to emulate. Whenever I walk a horse over, I want to make sure it's ready to fire its A-game.”

Hit the Road was certainly ready to fire his A-game in the Thunder Road, galloping to a 3 ¾-length victory to clock a mile over firm turf in 1:33.35.

Hit the Road and Umberto Rispoli winning the Thunder Road

“He ran even better than I was hoping for,” Blacker admitted. “He met every hurdle, everything we asked of him.”

The Thunder Road was also Hit the Road's first start without Lasix, since graded stakes in California are being run without the race-day medication this year.

“I'm not really for or against Lasix; I'm pro-a level playing field,” said Blacker. “I just want to walk my horse over knowing I'm on a level playing field with all the other trainers. If we have to take away Lasix to do that, so be it. It has its place and it's a useful training tool. I understand the arguments on both sides, like how it would be long-term beneficial for the breed to take it away. On the flip side, if you get a great horse, you've spent all this money, and it's got tons of talent and can really run, but it bleeds, that's really hard to explain to an owner.”

Hit the Road won a listed stakes as a 2-year-old, then ran a bang-up race in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf only to be disqualified to last for interference in the stretch. It was a bit of a disappointing result, co-owner Gold admitted, but the horse hadn't been disgraced in crossing the wire seventh, beaten just 2 ½ lengths in total. 

“I won't say we were happy just to be there, because he really made a great run and it was encouraging,” Gold remembered. “He came back strong last year and he's off to an even better start this year.”

After a vacation from his strong juvenile campaign, Hit the Road returned to win an allowance race at Santa Anita and the Oceanside Stakes on the opening day of the Del Mar summer season. The colt came out of the Oceanside with a minor issue, and Blacker immediately told his owners he'd need some time.

That decision was rewarded when Hit the Road returned seven months later to win the G3 Thunder Road. Up next, the son of More Than Ready is expected to tackle the G1 Kilroe Mile on March 6.

“Hit the Road has such a great mind, he's very calm and collected, so when he goes over to race I don't have to worry about anything,” Blacker said. “He came out of this race in good shape, carrying good weight. He's got three works between now and then, and he needs to be doing well, but we'd like to take a shot in that race.”

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