We're baaaccckkk

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. the combination of the holidays, some minor illness and just getting busy with Herps Alive! has forced the blog to take a back seat, but I will be posting on a regular basis as we go forwward. I will also be posting side-by-side at my new site (http://smokingwiththegiss.blogspot.com/) for the next month at least so everyone can get their bookmarks in order. Thanks for your patience. We are closing in on the one-year anniversary of my separation from Northfield Park and a recent visit there shows the departure was none too soon. While the racing remains exciting, pools that were $80-90K a race are now $55-65K a race and a number of long-time employees have been shown the door. The joy and excitement that used to be there are gone and that is truly a shame. In the year since leaving, I have had the chance to work on the Breeders crown media Guide; do winners circle interviews for Ohio Super Night at Scioto Downs (Stacey,call me) and appeared at Vernon and Tioga Downs as the Handicapping Herpetologist (I will return to those model race tracks the first weekend of June, by the way). My reptile program, a part-time endeavor as I watched my kids grow up and toiled at the Route Eight Oval, is back in gear with dozens of programs upcoming (you can check our facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Herps-Alive-The-Interactive-Reptile-and-Amphibian-Experience/62345873433, for schedule updates, and a website is coming soon.

But the most fun has been working with the Harness Horse Youth Foundation.I have attended a number of events, but mostly work from home. This organization. The picture is of me in on the grandstand apron on Kentucky Futurity Day at The red Mile with Ima Hit (originally named Ima's Hit until we realized what happened if you left out the space between words. If you have kids, check out our website (www.hhyf.org) for our summer camp and event schedulem which will be posted soon. We also have compiled a list of available scholarships and are in the process of finishing a new harness racing careers guide. So lots is going on.