jimmy mcnerney | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Your Guess As Good As Mine’: Announcer McNerney Gets Creative During Snowstorm At Turfway

Visibility became an issue during a snowstorm Saturday evening at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. Track announcer Jimmy McNerney was unable to see the horses rounding the far turn in the fourth race due to the snow, and got a little bit creative with his race call.

“They continue to race around the turn, and your guess as good as mine with about a quarter mile to go,” McNerney said on the live feed. “Up top it's somebody who just leads somebody there in second, and a couple lengths back somebody is coming after a quarter in 1:13 and four. They run to the top of the stretch, it's absolutely wide open!”

Watch the race from far turn through the stretch run here:

McNerney laughed about the call when reached by phone on Monday, saying he'd received a lot of positive feedback from racing participants and fans.

“You just try to pick them out, relay what you see, and when you can't see you just don't want dead air,” said McNerney. “I've always had some things in my head, especially if it was football or baseball season or something, but obviously there's nothing going on right now because of COVID, so that's just what came out!”

McNerney is also a jockey's agent, representing Turfway-based riders DeShawn Parker and Rafael Hernandez.

Saturday's race reminded McNerney of a similar issue with visibility at Turfway under retired track announcer Mike Battaglia. On Jan. 22, 2012, a dense fog covered the backstretch of the track, and Battaglia used the time to make up an advertisement for the track's gift shop.

Watch Battaglia's call here:

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Jockey Agent Billy Johnson Passes: Teamed With Leading Riders Deshawn Parker, Luis Quinones

Jockey agent Billy Johnson died Thursday in East Liverpool, Ohio, just across the Ohio River from West Virginia's Mountaineer Park, where he helped Deshawn Parker become the No. 1 rider in the country by wins in 2010 and '11.

Johnson, who was in his late 50s, had been plagued with health issues in recent months.

“It's a sad day. He is family to me,” said Parker, who said he and Johnson worked together for about 20 years, parting ways in 2017 when Parker moved his tack to Indiana. “He helped raise my kids. We'd spend Thanksgiving and Christmas together and hung out all the time.”

Parker recalls growing up in Cleveland and when he was 14 or 15 years old playing on the same softball team with his father, state steward Daryl Parker, and the Johnson brothers, Billy and Thoroughbred trainer Gary.

“I've known him for so long,” he said.

Parker said Johnson helped him win more than 30 riding titles at Mountaineer Park and they earned another together at Sam Houston in 2015 after testing the waters in Texas.

Johnson worked on the backstretch and eventually the racing office at Ohio racetracks. Fellow agent Jimmy McNerny worked alongside Johnson in the Beulah Park racing office and said Johnson left to become an agent in the mid-to-late '90s. McNerny followed him a couple of years later and now is agent for Parker, who won the 2020 Indiana Grand riding title.

“He's one of the best agents I've known,” said McNerny.

Parker led all North American riders with 377 wins in 2010 and 400 in 2011. After Parker left for Indiana, Johnson teamed up with Luis Quinones to win the 2018 and '19 Mountaineer titles and finish third and second by North American wins in those respective years.

Quinones was voted Santa Anita's George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award by his fellow riders in February 2020. “He was a big influence in helping Quinones getting that award,” McNerny said. ”Most of the riders who vote don't know anything about Mountaineer or Mahoning Valley, where Quinones rode. Billy really campaigned for him.”

When Quinones was sidelined by injury earlier this year, Johnson brought Luis Colon to the West Virginia track. Colon and Johnson's other rider, Charle Oliveros, are currently 1-2 in the standings.

“He did a great job,” Parker said. “And everybody liked Billy. He's just one of those guys. Never a bad word about him. Even if he spun the trainers, he would smooth it out so they weren't upset with him. He tried hard for everybody.”

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‘Can’t Put Into Words What This Means’: DeShawn Parker Wins First Indiana Grand Riding Title

DeShawn Parker has accomplished a lot in his 32-year career as a jockey. He doesn't experience many firsts in this phase of his career, but he did Thursday, Nov. 19, to close out the 2020 racing season at Indiana Grand. Parker earned his first leading jockey title at the Shelbyville, Ind., track with 106 wins for the season.

When asked what the highlight of the season was for him, he replied, “This right here (winning the leading jockey title). This is the best thing of the meet and of my year. I had some chances the past couple of years to win (the title), but I got hurt and it just didn't work out. My agent, Jimmy (McNerney), always does a good job but he did an exceptional job this year for me, and I was able to stay healthy. I can't put into words what this means. This means so much to me.”

Parker is a member of an elite group of jockeys who have scored more than 5,000 wins during their career. With 5,821 wins and in excess of $74 million in purse earnings, the multiple graded stakes placed jockey continues to stay at the top of his game year end and year out. He led the nation in wins twice in 2010 and 2011 and adds the leading jockey title at Indiana Grand to multiple titles from Mountaineer Park and Sam Houston.

“A special thank you to all the owners and trainers for letting me ride their horses this year,” added Parker. “I got lucky to ride a lot of horses for local trainers. It's been a great year, and I appreciate their support.”

Parker completed the shortened 96-day meet with 106 wins, six ahead of second place finisher Fernando De La Cruz with 100 wins. Both Parker and De La Cruz are only one of eight jockeys who have ever eclipsed the 100-win mark at Indiana Grand, especially impressive with the shortened racing season due to Covid-19 shutdowns earlier this year.

With 106 wins for 2020 at Indiana Grand, Parker moves into eighth place on the list of all-time leading jockeys at Indiana Grand with 391 wins. He has won at least 100 wins each year since 1997. Parker plans to accompany McNerney to Turfway Park this winter.

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Announcer, Analyst McNerney Hoping To Bring ‘More Educated Angles’ To Dual Role At Ellis Park

Jimmy McNerney, Ellis Park's announcer who also does the morning line and race selections for the program, is resuming his role as pre-race analyst from his booth. Rocco O'Connor, the paddock analyst the past two years, has left horse racing.

McNerney also is the race-caller at Turfway Park during the winter and a top jockey agent at Indiana Grand. He believes having a bird's-eye view of so many races helps him in his handicapping.

“I think I have unique insight just from my other duty as announcer,” said McNerney, who had been the Ellis broadcast analyst several years ago and also holds that position at Turfway Park. “Not that other people can't see it on replays, but I do catch stuff. I watch the horses on the gallop-out, whereas the normal replay stops and goes back to odds or slow-mo finish. I can see them galloping out. I watch all that stuff, really critique a race. When I prepare, I watch the last couple of replays of most horses, not only for handicapping purposes but I do it also because sometimes you need the pronunciation of a name. Probably being an announcer gives me a little more insight.

“And I'm so close to all those people down there that I have a lot of insight with the local horsemen. I know how horses are training. I hope I can bring a little more educated angles.”

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