Gary Stevens to Join FOX Sports as On-Air Analyst
Broadcast team to include Laffit Pincay III and Jonathon Kinchen
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and FOX Sports today announced that Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens will join the FOX Sports / NYRA Live shows as a racing analyst, making his debut on FOX Sports Saturday At The Races this spring.
Inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1997, Stevens registered 5,187 wins and totaled purse earnings of more than $258 million in a career that started in 1979 and concluded with his retirement in 2018. The 55-year-old won 9 Triple Crown races and 11 Breeders’ Cup races in his illustrious career.
Stevens joins as the 25th Hall of Famer in their respective sport working on-air on FOX Sports. The esteemed list includes recent Hall of Fame inductees Tony Gonzalez (NFL) and Jeff Gordon (NASCAR) as well as Terry Bradshaw (NFL), Howie Long (NFL), Michael Strahan (NFL), Alexi Lalas (Soccer) and John Smoltz (MLB) among several others on FOX Sports’ airwaves.
Outside of the irons, Stevens has enjoyed success as an actor and television analyst, portraying Hall of Fame jockey George Woolf in the film “Seabiscuit,” starring in the HBO series “Luck” and providing racing analysis for various TV networks including NBC.
“I’m lucky to be able to transition to the next phase of my career with the powerhouse team that FOX Sports and NYRA have assembled,” said Stevens. “There are few things more important to the future of our sport than bringing the best quality tv coverage to America’s biggest races, and that is just what we will be doing with these shows. I’d like to thank FOX Sports for their commitment to the sport of horse racing, and to NYRA for doing the most in-depth, innovative coverage available today.”
In addition to Stevens, FOX Sports and NYRA announced that veteran host Laffit Pincay III and handicapper Jonathon Kinchen will join a broadcast team that includes host Greg Wolf, handicapper and racing analyst Andy Serling, paddock analyst Maggie Wolfendale, trainer Tom Amoss, and handicapper and former Major League Baseball all-star Paul LoDuca. Larry Collmus, NYRA announcer and voice of the Triple Crown, will provide live race calls throughout the year.
As the son of Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr., Pincay III spent his youth immersed in the sport of horse racing, developing a keen eye for identifying and appreciating greatness on the track. Over the past 16 years, Pincay III has covered Saratoga’s Grade I stakes, the Breeders’ Cup, and multiple installments of each Triple Crown race in his ongoing role as a host for NBC Sports.
Kinchen earned his reputation as one of the top tournament handicappers in the country after winning the 2015 National Handicapping Challenge championship and was the first National Handicapping Championship participant to have both of his entries qualify for The Final Table. He appeared as a guest handicapper on Saratoga Live in 2018.
FOX Sports and NYRA recently announced the most expansive television programming deal in horse racing history that will make FOX Sports the year-round national television home for NYRA racing from Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park.
The new broadcast team will also be featured on FOX Sports Saturday At The Races, which was launched in 2018 and expanded in 2019 to a 12-show schedule over February, March and April providing nationwide coverage and analysis of major stakes races and key Triple Crown preps. FOX Sports Saturday At The Races debuted for 2019 on February 2 with live coverage of the Grade 3 Withers from Aqueduct Racetrack, the Grade 2 Holy Bull from Gulfstream Park and the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis from Santa Anita Park.
“No rider has ever brought more skill or competitive fire to the racetrack than Gary Stevens,” said Michael Mulvihill Executive Vice President of League Operations, Research and Strategy for FOX Sports. “His Hall of Fame resume of nine wins in the Triple Crown and eleven in the Breeders’ Cup speaks for itself. Gary’s expertise, personality and passion for winning make him an ideal fit for NYRA and for FOX Sports.”
In 2019, FOX Sports is scheduled to televise 500 hours of NYRA racing, including coverage of nearly every race day at Belmont and Saratoga. The broadcast schedule will then expand to over 600 hours annually in 2020. This agreement builds upon the prior deal between NYRA and FOX Sports that resulted in more than 100 hours of NYRA coverage on FS2 in 2018.
“FOX Sports has assembled a broadcast team without equal in horseracing,” said Tony Allevato, President of NYRA Bets & Executive Producer for NYRA TV. “Collectively, their knowledge of all aspects of the sport will provide our national audience with the best handicapping, analysis and insights available anywhere. We welcome Gary, Laffit and Jonathon and look forward to breaking new ground in 2019.”
The 2019 NYRA shows on FOX Sports will be presented by America’s Best Racing, Runhappy and Claiborne Farm.
For additional biographical information on members of the broadcast team, please visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.
About FOX Sports
FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing 21st Century FOX’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FOX Sports includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; FS1, FS2; FOX Sports Regional Networks, their affiliated regional web sites and national programming; FOX Soccer Plus; FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports. In addition, FOX Sports also encompasses FOX Sports Digital, including http://FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports app. Also included in the Group are FOX’s interests in joint-venture businesses Big Ten Network and BTN 2Go, as well as a licensing agreement that established the FOX Sports Radio Network.
About the New York Racing Association (NYRA)
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) holds the exclusive franchise to conduct thoroughbred racing at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. NYRA tracks are the cornerstone of New York State’s thoroughbred industry, which is responsible for 19,000 jobs and more than $3 billion in annual economic impact to New York State.
Over the course of 219 days of live racing in 2018, NYRA generated more than $2.1 billion in all-sources wagering handle with paid attendance exceeding 1.7 million for the fifth consecutive year.
