Handicapper Ellis Starr / David Anderson - President of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario Division) / Author Curtis Stock

Ponies 24-7 The Radio Magazine

Larry and Ann are joined by the ‘Ubercapper,’ handicapper Ellis Starr, who discusses whether handicapping horses is an art or a science. He also talks about some angles that he has developed to help him with his own handicapping and then breaks down the four stakes’ races at Saratoga today that include the Travers, the Ballerina, the Forgo and the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial. Ellis also discusses where the interest in horse racing and in particular handicapping piqued from. David Anderson, who is the new President of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario Division), who discusses the upcoming Premier Yearling Sale this Wednesday at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion and some of the previous sales graduates that went on to successful racing careers. He also discusses how listeners can become involved in ownership packages if they have an interest in buying a portion of a Yearling this year and talks about what the goals are for his Board in 2024. David also discusses his time in the Standardbred industry and some of the success stories and also several Thoroughbred horses that he has been involved in and had some good success on the track with as well. Author Curtis Stock, who recently was named one of the finalists for the prestigious Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for his book, ‘THE TURCOTTES, ‘The Remarkable Story Of A Horse Racing Dynasty’. He says what was the inspiration for writing the book and what it meant to him when he received notification that he was one of the three finalists and the only Canadian. Curtis also discusses how he became interested in horse racing in his teens and whether his book on the Turcottes, was his greatest work to date. In our feature, ‘In Case You Missed It’ A Look at The Way It Was in Horse Racing News, Larry talks about the cancellation of the recent King’s Plate last Saturday and why it was run on the following Friday and congratulates the winner. In our new regular feature, ‘Road Trip,’ Larry talks about this afternoon’s $1,250,000 Travers Stakes at Saratoga and mentions about some of the history behind the race itself and who he believes the race ‘goes through’ today. He also provides his ‘Ponies Picks of the Day’ selections for several North American Racetracks today, later in the show.

Key Points:

• Ellis talks initially about how he originally became interested in not only horse racing but also handicapping Thoroughbreds. He also mentions what his role with the Equibase company involves and talks about whether he believes handicapping is an art or a science, or a combination of both. He also talks about one of Equibase’s Handicapping products ‘Race Lens’ and why he relies so much on it when handicapping a race. Ellis also spends much of the Interview discussing the four stakes’ races at Saratoga today, the Travers, the Ballerina, the Forego and the H Allen Jerkens Memorial and provides some handicapping advice on all four and mentions why the name ‘Ubercapper.’
  
  
• David discusses how he became President of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s Ontario Division and what is being done to help promote Wednesday’s Premier Yearling Sale at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion. David also talks about some of the past Sales Graduates that have gone on to successful racing careers and explains how people can become part of a racing stable should they like to become a horse owner on Wednesday. David also discusses in depth why he has always had such a passion for horses and talks about some of the better horses that he has been involved in on both the Thoroughbred and Standardbred side of the business. He also mentions how people can obtain further information should they wish to attend Wednesday’s Yearling Sale and learn more about the Thoroughbred industry.

• Curtis discusses the recent announcement that was made that named him as one of the three finalists for the prestigious Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for his book, THE TURCOTTES, ‘The Remarkable Story Of A Horse Racing Dynasty’ He also mentions what the inspiration was for writing the book originally and how long it took to complete and talks about how this was a work of passion for himself. As an award-winning writer, Curtis says whether this would be considered his greatest work to date and is asked whether we may see a sequel to the book in the future. He also mentions how the book will be available in Paperback form next month and discusses how he was a teen when he originally got the ‘bug’ for horse racing.