In addition to my on-air duties at HRTV, I have been named to the newly created
position of Director of Brand Management for the network. I will be responsible for
promoting HRTV and its various services to members of the racing and equestrian
communities.
Increasing consumer demand for HRTV, as well as increasing subscriptions to
HRTV.com and RTN will be part of my objective.
I am excited to bring HRTVʼs product to the forefront of equestrian sports coverage.
The time is right for HRTV to become a household name in sports television, and in my
new role I will be working to make that a reality.

If you haven’t read it in the press by now, I have officially adopted Z Fortune! I am so excited for his arrival in California that I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve!

Z, a former stakes winner and Kentucky Derby contender, has matured into a gorgeous dapple gray and was retired by owner Ahmed Zayat while still sound enough for a second career.

I have paid close attention to Z Fortune since his debut, largely because he is a son of my favorite horse of all time, Siphon. Siphon was the most powerful horse that I ever galloped. He was trained by Richard Mandella and won both the Hollywood Gold Cup and the Santa Anita Handicap.

Z Fortune’s daddy knew he was good and made no mistake about it. To enter his stall was to risk your life, and I always felt a bit safer on his back than next to him. That said, Siphon and I had a beautiful understanding… I would ask him politely to do things, like pull up at the end of a gallop or slow down a bit after a worker went by, and he would respond like a gentleman. To force him to do something was asking for trouble.

I can’t wait to ride Z Fortune and find out if the apple fell far from the tree. He certainly has Siphon’s height and bulk, and is equally as handsome.

Siphon loved to take the long way home from his gallops at Santa Anita. At the instruction of Mandella we would meander through the paddock and roam the backstretch until the big bay was content to go back to the barn. I hope Z Fortune enjoys the California trails and his new home just as much.