SIRIUS XM Radio announced today that it will offer live coverage of some of harness racing’s biggest events on a new horse racing series set to debut
Saturday, May 29.
Saturday Night at the Races will air Saturday for 11 consecutive weeks and will offer listeners nationwide wire-to-wire coverage of some of the biggest races of the summer including the Meadowlands Pace, the North America Cup, the Yonkers Trot, the Art Rooney, the Maple Leaf Trot, the Dan Patch and the James Lynch Memorial.
The series will kick off Saturday, May 29 (10:00 pm ET on SIRIUS channel 126 and XM channel 243) and will feature races from the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ, Hoosier Park in Anderson, IN, and Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Click here for a schedule of races, including post times and venues.
Acclaimed track announcer Dave Johnson and journalist Bill Finley, who also host SIRIUS XM’s award-winning Down The Stretch program, will host Saturday Night at the Races. Johnson is best known as the 'Voice of the Kentucky Derby,' a title he earned after calling the race for 24 years. An expert in both thoroughbred and harness racing, Johnson has called thousands of harness races throughout a career that spans four decades. His signature phrase – “And down the stretch they come!” – is instantly recognized throughout the sport. Finley has covered harness racing for more than two decades and currently writes for the New York Times and ESPN.com. Johnson’s and Finley’s work on SIRIUS XM has been honoured with an Eclipse Award, one of the highest honors in thoroughbred racing.
“Saturday Night at the Races will give SIRIUS and XM listeners from coast to coast access to the best, richest and most important harness races held this summer,” said Johnson. “These upcoming 11 weeks feature dozens of big events and give us the chance to showcase harness racing at its very best.”
The broadcasts were made possible by a collective industry effort in which seven entities came forward as sponsors. They are Brittany Farms, Hanover Shoe Farms, the Indiana Standardbred Breed Development Fund, Perretti Farms, Tioga and Vernon Downs, Woodbine Entertainment Group and Yonkers Raceway.
Stan Bergstein, the executive vice president of Harness Tracks of America and one of the most prominent names in the sport, will be a regular contributor to the series, offering insight into the history of the races and tracks. Peter Kleinhans, who owns and trains harness horses and has also worked as a track announcer, will be the analyst.
(SIRIUS XM Radio)