Tony Bitonti, Director Media Relations at Ontario Lottery and Gaming / Nancy LaSala, President of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) / Chiefswood Stable’s General Manager Robert Landry

Ponies 24-7 The Radio Magazine

Larry and Ann are joined by Tony Bitonti, Director Media Relations at Ontario Lottery and Gaming, who discusses in depth the popular recent release of the docuseries ‘Ontario Racing Unfiltered,’ an initiative that was produced through a partnership between OLG and Ontario Racing. Tony explains why the produced docuseries is billed as ‘Horse Racing Like You Have Never Seen It Before ‘and why it was a success in its first season. Nancy LaSala, President of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF), a charity that provides financial assistance to Jockey’s that have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. Today is ‘PDJF Across America Day’ and Nancy also discusses the importance of today in not only raising funds and awareness, but also why every permanently disabled Jockey deserves to have a comeback story. Chiefswood Stable’s General Manager Robert Landry, who talks about last Saturday’s victory by the Chiefswood-owned Kin’s Concerto in the Woodbine Oaks and whether we may see the Filly in the King’s Plate next month. Robert also talks about Pipers Factor, who finished fourth also last Saturday in the Plate Trial Stakes and what the plans are for this three-year-old going forward. In our feature, ‘In Case You Missed It’ A Look At The Way It Was In Horse Racing News, Larry talks about the recent announcement made by Woodbine on a Juno Award winner that will headlining on King’s Plate Day and how this is another example of Woodbine making a significant effort to attract the younger generation to the racetrack. In our new regular feature, ‘Road Trip,’ Larry talks about this afternoon’s $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Racecourse 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:

• Tony talks first about the success of the ‘Ontario Racing Unfiltered’ docuseries and why it has been well received, that allowed for the second-year renewal and that it is a shared production between OLG and Ontario Racing. He also discusses the show’s content and the fact that they have added the Quarter horse industry to Season Two and why ‘Ontario Racing Unfiltered’ has been billed as ‘Horse Racing Like You Have Never Seen It.’ Tony also mentions how listeners can watch the series and how the ‘Stars of the Sport’ have made themselves available to be part of the production. He also talks about some of the other initiatives that the OLG are involved in that continue to support Horse Racing in Ontario and why the docuseries was developed to introduce a broader audience to horse racing.

• Nancy discusses the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and its history and how it is a charity that provides financial assistance to Jockey’s that have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. Also, she talks about today being designated the ‘PDJF Across America Day’ and why the day is so important to their fund-raising efforts. Nancy also discusses why the PDJF was formed originally and its mandate and who were the original founders. She also talks about how a celebrity like Bo Derek became part of the PDJF Board and another promotion next week at Saratoga called Casamigos and its significance to the PDJF fund raising efforts. Nancy also mentions that PDJF is not only important to raising funds and awareness, but why it plays an important role in providing every permanently disabled Jockey a well-deserved comeback story.

• Robert discusses last Saturday’s Woodbine Oaks which was won by Chiefswood’s Filly Kin’s Concerto and whether her performance was good enough to consider her for a. berth in the King’s Plate against the boys next month. He also talks about winning Jockey Sofia Vives and what he likes about her as a Rider and talks about Chiefswood’s Pipers Factor, who was fourth in the Plate Trial and what the plans are for him going forward and whether we may also see him in the King’s Plate. Robert also mentions whether he misses riding and who were some of the better horses he had an opportunity to ride in his career and talks about another Chiefswood horse, Weyburn and how he will be embarking on a Stud career this Fall.