TRIO OF HARNESS RACES TO AIR ON CBS SPORTS NETWORK IN
2014
CBS Sports Network expands its coverage of harness racing
in 2014 to include three of the sport’s most prestigious stakes.
CBS Sports Network has been the home of the guaranteed
$1.5 million Hambletonian since 2012. The world’s most famous harness race returns
on Aug. 2 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern.
This year, the $750,000 Meadowlands Pace and the $600,000
Little Brown Jug also will air on CBS Sports Network. The purses for both races
are estimated, pending the number of entrants.
The trio of races for 3-year-olds are among the most
important in harness racing and are highly influential in determining the Dan
Patch champions.
Captaintreacherous, last year’s Meadowlands Pace winner,
was crowned Pacer of the Year and top 3-year-old Pacing Colt. The Hambletonian
victory propelled Royalty for Life to the 3-year-old Trotting Colt title.
While the Hambletonian is for trotters, The Meadowlands
Pace and the Little Brown Jug brought to you by Fazolis are showcases for the
leading pacers in the division.
The Meadowlands Pace anchors a one hour telecast on July
12 starting at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Both the Hambletonian and The Meadowlands Pace are
contested at Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment in East Rutherford, N.J.
“It’s a real positive that a nationwide audience will be
able to view some of the biggest events in our sport on CBS Sports Network,”
said Jeff Gural, chairman of New Meadowlands Racetrack LLC. “We’d like to thank
all of the sponsors and horsemen’s groups who have gotten behind this project
to make it happen, especially Ontario horseman Jack Darling who started a grass
roots fund-raising effort through his blog that raised well over $100,000. The
tremendous support from the harness racing industry has been humbling and
overwhelming.”
The action shifts to the historic fairgrounds at
Delaware, Ohio for the Little Brown Jug on Sept. 18. CBS Sports Network will
telecast the action from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
Wider exposure of the major stakes has long been a goal
of Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment and the Hambletonian Society, the
sponsors of the Hambletonian.
“Live television of the premier events has always been a
top priority of the Hambletonian Society,” said Tom Charters, president of the
organization which owns and administrates 137 of racing’s most important
events. “The Hambletonian has been televised for more than 40 years and we’re
proud to be televised on CBS Sport Network, and pleased to see more harness
racing added to the schedule.”
The on-air team is a stellar quartet of harness racing
veterans. Gary Seibel, a host of racing
coverage on ESPN, NBC, CBS and TVG, will anchor the coverage. A member of
harness racing’s Communicators Hall of Fame, Seibel will be appearing on his
22nd straight Hambletonian broadcast. Seibel also hosted network TV coverage of
the Breeders Crown, harness racing’s divisional championship series, and filled
a similar role for the American Championship Harness Series.
Dave Brower, one of harness racing’s sharpest
handicappers, will be the co-anchor. Brower is an alumnus of "Racing from
the Meadowlands" television program on SNY, Fox Sports New York, MSG
Networks and TVG's “Drive Time”. This will be his third year as co-host of the
Hambletonian on CBS Sports Network.
Brower wrote “Harnessing Winners: The Complete Guide to
Handicapping Harness Races,” published by Daily Racing Form’s press division in
2009.
Justin Horowitz and Heather Vitale will provide trackside
reports.
Vitale sports a third generation pedigree in harness
racing and hosts two popular regional television shows - Post Time and PA
Harness Week, and has covered the sport nationally on espn2 and MAV-TV.
Horowitz, a former sports video-journalist in Minnesota
and New York, is now the racing and media manager for Tioga Downs and Vernon
Downs in New York and Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment. Horowitz debuted
on CBS Sports Network’s Hambletonian broadcast in 2012, and was awarded a
Barasch Breakthrough Award the following year for his subsequent contributions.
Two multiple award winners complete the package. Bruce Casella is the executive producer for
The Meadowlands Pace and the Little Brown Jug.
Emmy Award winner Mike Trager and the Trager Group will
produce the Hambletonian.
CBS Sports Network, the 24-hour home of CBS Sports, is
available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and
via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more
information, and to access the CBS Sports Network channel finder, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com<http://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/>.
