from Horse Player NOW

Chicago, IL — Harness Night School, the racing industry’s national online fan education program dedicated to the Standardbred set, offers a seventh session Thursday (August 30) at 7 p.m. (EDT), with a focus on “Trip Handicapping.”

Harness Night School is free to all users. Set a reminder for Thursday’s session, and enter the chat room here.

Serving as guest chat panelists are David Siegel and Frank Cotolo.

Siegel is the president of TrackMaster, an Equibase Company business that produces and distributes handicapping information for Standardbred, Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing in North America. Named the 2007 U.S. Amateur Driver of the Year, he has owned and raced horses, primarily in California, since 2002.

Cotolo, a Hervey Award winner for excellence in magazine journalism while editor of TIMES: in harness, has been writing about horseracing as an insider and as a player since the 1970s. He is widely published in harness and Thoroughbred magazines, writes a monthly handicapping column for Hoof Beats, is a weekly guest blogger for Hoof Beats online and authored six books, including the cult classic “Pony Player” and “The Handicapper’s Money Book” about betting in pari-mutuel racing.

The interactive chat program will be hosted by T.J. Burkett, executive editor of Hoof Beats, the official magazine of the USTA; Tom Kelley, director of publicity and handicapper for Balmoral Park and Maywood Park; and Horse Player NOW’s Joe Kristufek. Kristufek, the co-founder of the Night School program along with Horse Player NOW partner Jeremy Plonk, offers a video introduction to the Night School program.

The participants will offer their opinions on the importance of visualizing trips, watching races/replays, and taking good notes that can be helpful in better evaluating a performance for the next time a horse races.

Via video, Daily Racing Form’s Derick Giwner will present topical insights and drivers Dave Palone, Jody Jamieson and Corey Callahan offer opinions on how they strategize and map out their journey from gate to finish.

The Trip Handicapping Intro with Joe Kristufek and Tom Kelley is available at this link.

Harness Night School Session 7 Study Materials are available at this link.

Harness Night School is free to all fans, and no advanced sign-up is required. The 90-minute classes will be held each Thursday at 7 p.m. eastern time and continue through the Oct. 25 Breeders Crown Preview. A different handicapping subject will be featured weekly as well as a look at the weekend’s major harness races on the USTA’s Strategic Wagering schedule.

Title sponsor for Harness Night School is the United States Trotting Association, in conjunction with presenting sponsor and content provider Daily Racing Form. Harness Night School’s supporting sponsor is Meadowlands Racetrack. Founded by Horse Player NOW’s Joe Kristufek and Jeremy Plonk, the Night School brand has provided fan education courses throughout the racing industry over the past 17 months and has been viewed live or in archives by more than 400,000 racing enthusiasts from newbies to hardcore handicappers.

Harness Night School runs separately from the regular Tuesday editions of Night School. The Harness Night School classes will be available at three websites for the initial season — www.ustrotting.com, www.drf.com and www.horseplayernow.com. Each week, fans will receive free, downloadable study materials and be eligible to win prizes by simply registering. The courses are free to anyone from any computer.

Following each Thursday night edition of Harness Night School, fans will be directed to www.drf.com for an “After Night School Special” featuring live racing video from top national tracks such as the Meadowlands and Yonkers, as well as expert live commentary, interactive fan chats, free giveaways and more. Fans are encouraged to join the e-mail list at www.Horseplayernow.com for updated news.

Upcoming Topics

September 6 (Thursday) 7 p.m. (EDT)-Handicapping A to Z/Using Technology
September 13 (Thursday) 7 p.m. (EDT)-Track Configurations