Rosie Napravnik (Brien Bouyea photo)
Jockey Rosie Napravnik, trainer Dale Romans, jockey agent Matt Muzikar, and journalist Michael Veitch will be the featured guests at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s annual “Saratoga Preview” on Wednesday, July 18 at 7 p.m. in the Museum’s Hall of Fame Gallery.
The event will feature an audience-driven discussion with the panelists and is free and open to the public. Brien Bouyea, the Museum’s communications officer, will moderate the program. There will be drawings for giveaways from the Museum’s gift shop, including merchandise from EMBRACE THE RACE, The Apparel for the Horse Racing Lifestyle.
Napravnik became the first woman to win the prestigious Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks earlier this year aboard Believe You Can. Her other major victories include the Louisiana Derby, Peter Pan Stakes, Fair Grounds Oaks, and Maryland Million Classic. Through July 9, Napravnik has 1,345 career victories and purse earnings of more than $38 million. The winner of riding titles at Fair Grounds, Pimlico, Laurel, and Delaware Park, Napravnik will be riding regularly at the Saratoga meet for the first time this summer. She currently ranks seventh among North American jockeys in earnings in 2012 with more than $6 million.
Romans won his first Triple Crown event in 2011 when Shackleford captured the Preakness Stakes. Romans also scored a major upset at the 2011 Breeders’ Cup when Court Vision won the Mile at 64-1. In a career that began in 1987, Romans has won 1,553 races and has purse earnings of more than $70 million. At the recently concluded Churchill Downs spring meet, Romans led all trainers in wins and earnings. He has won nine training titles at Churchill Downs and currently ranks fourth among North American trainers in earnings this year with more than $5.6 million. His major victories include the Dubai World Cup, Whitney Handicap, and Metropolitan Handicap. Notable horses trained by Romans include Kitten’s Joy, Paddy O’Prado, Dullahan, Roses in May, and Tapitsfly.
Muzikar, a Saratoga Springs native, has been a jockey agent for 15 years. He currently represents Napravnik and Javier Castellano, who is the leading money-winning jockey in North America so far in 2012. He has also worked for jockeys such as Joe Bravo, Shaun Bridgmohan, Cornelio Velasquez, Eibar Coa, Channing Hill, Aaron Gryder, and Mike Luzzi.
Veitch has been covering horse racing for The Saratogian and its racing supplement, The Pink Sheet, since 1979. He is a former host of “Down the Stretch” on the Capital OTB television network and his writing has appeared in a variety of outlets, including Daily Racing Form. He is the author of “Foundations of Fame: Nineteenth Century Thoroughbred Racing in Saratoga Springs.” Veitch is a member of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s Nominating Committee and Historic Review Committee, as well as a member of the Saratoga150 Committee, which is organizing a series of events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the inaugural Saratoga meeting in 2013.
The 2012 Saratoga Race Course season opens on Friday, July 20 with a 40-day meeting. The track is open six days a week (closed on Tuesdays) with the highlight being the 143rd running of the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on Saturday, Aug. 25. The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily during the Saratoga racing season.
