About Mary Forney

The purpose of this blog is to share my passion for Thoroughbred horse racing and to promote, in a positive light, the sport that I have loved for so many years.

I have been involved in the business of Thoroughbred horse racing for more than 25 years. I worked for the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association for nine years, Santa Anita Racetrack for 13, and Thoroughbred Owners of California for seven.

I enjoy blogging daily on "the buzz" in Thoroughbred racing -- the people, the horses, the history, and current events.


Contributors

Larry Zap is known as "the eye" for being able to measure quality in thoroughbred racehorses, and is practically a fixture at Southern California tracks. He has a deep appreciation for quality horses, music, movies, live performance, and comedy.

Zap has used a video recorder since 1998 to study the physical makeup of horses and can be regularly seen with camcorder in tow.
Much of the footage has been made available on his personal YouTube channel, “Larryzapeye.”

Since 2003, he has co-hosted the San Diego based and Internet driven horse
racing show, Race and Sports Radio, with Felix Taverna. Airing weekends at
9:00 a.m. on XXSportsRadio.com, the show covers timely horse racing news and
provides insight to picking winners by handicapping many of the day’s races.



Jerry McMahon is an auction industry consultant and former founding president of Barretts Equine Limited, California's premier regional sales company. He previously served as auction sales manager for CTBA Sales and vice president of Fasig-Tipton California, Inc.

McMahon is a graduate of USC and a lifelong racing fan. With more than 35 years experience in the Thoroughbred racing industry, he offers a unique and well-rounded view of the economics of racing.


Victor Harrison is Executive Secretary of the Virginia Racing Commission, to which he was appointed in May 2008. He has 19 years experience in the pari-mutuel racing industry, both on the track management and regulatory sides of racing. He worked for the Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering in Florida for 8 years overseeing the state's pari-mutuel auditors and the operations of the totalizator 
companies that provide pari-mutuel services to the racetracks. He then spent 10 years with United Tote as the Director of North American Sales before moving to track management at Vernon Downs in 2007.
Vic has been married for 25 years and has two lovely daughters ages 19 and 21. He plays guitar and other musical instruments and loves rock and roll and blues music. Vic has also been a harness race horse owner, and he claims to have “handicapped, touted and bet Giacomo in the 2005 Derby!”