Beginning with the $1,500,000 Charles Town Classic at Charles Town on April
19, Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN) — the Eclipse Award-winning broadcast
organization based in Lexington, Kentucky — will become the exclusive radio
home for the remaining five events in the 2014 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge. In
addition to Charles Town Classic day, the HRRN team will provide coverage of
Penn National’s Penn Mile card on May 31, the Race for the Ribbon program at
Charles Town on September 20 as well as Zia Park’s Land of Enchantment day and
Penn’s Thanksgiving Eve Racing Festival, both of which take place on November 26
and round out the series.
Much as it did in 2013, HRRN’s live Charles Town Classic coverage will
originate on site, and the two-hour show can be heard nationwide on SiriusXM and
will be available worldwide via live streaming on the HRRN website,
www.horseracingradio.net. Additional information along with specific
broadcast times and channels will be announced prior to April 19.
“We’ve had a great partnership with HRRN over the past few years and we look
forward to them adding value to the Charles Town Classic card and Penn Gaming
Racing Challenge series as a whole,” said Erich Zimny, Charles Town’s Vice
President of Racing Operations. “As the exclusive radio providers of Triple
Crown coverage and the Breeders’ Cup, HRRN’s peak visibility periods fit very
well with not only the spots on the calendar occupied by the Charles Town
Classic and Penn Mile, but also the Zia Park Oaks and Penn Thanksgiving Eve
Racing Festival cards in November.”
HRRN’s award-winning broadcast team will be anchored by HRRN President, Mike
Penna.
“After luring Game On Dude, Ron the Greek and others in 2013, Charles Town
has continued to build the Classic into one of our sport’s premier events,”
Penna said. “Now, we’re extremely excited to add the other events in the Penn
Gaming Racing Challenge to our broadcast slate and help the series start
building the same momentum. We are looking forward to showcasing not only the
West Virginia Thoroughbred industry to our nationwide audience again, but those
in Pennsylvania and New Mexico as well.”
The Charles Town Classic, which still rates as the country’s richest race
outside of the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup, will be one of 13 races on April
19 and serves as the feature on a card that includes the $200,000 Sugar Maple,
the $100,000 Robert Hilton Memorial and $50,000 Webb Snyder Charles Town Dash.
Post time for the first race on Charles Town Classic day will be 5 p.m. (EDT),
with the Classic itself scheduled to go off at 10:30 p.m.
On May 31, the second running of the $500,000 Penn Mile is on tap as part of
a card that also includes the $200,000 Mountainview Handicap, $150,000
Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup and $100,000 Penn Oaks. The 2013 Penn Mile card,
also covered by HRRN, shattered virtually all of the track’s single day
pari-mutuel records and will again kick off at Penn’s standard first post of
6:00 p.m.
On September 20, Charles Town offers up the Race for the Ribbon, headlined by
the track’s second graded race — the $500,000 Charles Town Oaks. The Oaks is
joined by a trio of races worth $100,000 apiece in the Researcher, Wild &
Wonderful and Pink Ribbon.
The final two events in the Penn Gaming Racing Challenge take place on
November 26. On its second Land of Enchantment card, Zia Park will play host to
the second running of the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks as well as the $200,000 Zia
Park Derby. Following the races in New Mexico, Penn National takes the spotlight
with its Thanksgiving Eve Racing Festival featuring the $200,000 Fabulous Strike
Handicap in addition to the $100,000 Swatara.
The Penn Gaming Racing Challenge kicked off in January with the Houston
Ladies Classic night at Sam Houston and binds the six events through points
awarded to owners, trainers and jockeys based on their participation and results
in addition to containing other incentives for the connections of horses
participating in multiple series races. The Penn Gaming Racing Challenge
ultimately rewards the winners of the year-long series with a waiver of stakes
fees at Penn Gaming tracks for an entire year as well as a trip to the Penn
National Gaming owned M Resort in Las Vegas.
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com