2017 was a break through year for me, I was very lucky for all the opportunities I was given and all the great mentors who have helped along the way.

It all started in Feburary when I was approached by Hannah Beckett from Trot Magazine to do an article on me in the Next Generation feature for the March edition. She did a fantastic job with it and I couldn't be more happy with how it turned out.

Later in March we took a trip to Pompano Florida to get away from the cold tempertures, Of course I had to visit Pompano Park and was lucky enough to meet Director of Racing and the voice of Pompano, Gabe Prewitt and hall of famer John Berry. We were treated amazing from the minute we walked in by these gentlemen. I got to visit the announcers two nights and even call a post parade. I also got to watch Gabe and Johns live pre game show. It was an unforgettable experience and I am looking forward to going back there this March break!                

Gabe Prewitt and I!

                                                                                

Me with John Berry!

May was also very exciting I got to call two races in one night at Flamboro Downs thanks to track announcer Gary Guy. He liked my first race call I did that night so he asked me to call the next race which was a field of 9 of maiden trotters. It was a challenge, but I wasn't going to turn down that great opportunity. I'm glad I did it because it went pretty well.

Announcing at Flamboro!

The start of the Leamington Raceway racing season was a huge step forward for me as I started my fourth season working there. I worked in the backstretch the past 3 years but this time was different. I was promoted to work up front as the emcee between races and talk about my selections that are at the front of the program to help out the betters. I can't thank the Lakeshore Horse Racing Association enough for all the oppprtunities they have given me, Leamington Raceway is also the place I called my first race back in October 2014 at the age of 12.

Me in action at Leamington Raceway!

Opening day at Leamington Raceway we hosted the voice of the Little Brown Jug, Roger Huston. He was there calling the races for the 2nd year in a row. It was truly an honour to work with him for even just one day, I'm so glad he chose to come to Leamington two years in a row.

                                                          

Me with the voice Roger Huston!

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The second Sunday of the season, Kelly Steele from the Windsor Star was there to interview me for an article she wanted to write. The next day the full article was in the Windsor Star and it was excellent covering a lot of my history learning about the industry. It was unreal seeing my face on the front of the Windsor Star and a big story a few pages in. What a lucky break!

The same week I was approached by a blogger over twitter who runs a site by the name of Saddles and Sulkies. He asked me a few questions over email and took my answers and turned it into one excellent blog. The story detailed how I got involved in harness racing and definitely helped me get more exposure in the industry.

Two weeks later I got the opportunity of getting to announce at Grand River Raceway in Elora Ontario. It was very exciting to call that 4th race with a field of 9 horses and the winner by the name of Windsong Lord, I was very thankful that Gary Guy let me not only announce at Flamboro And Grand River but he also gave me tips that have helped me in future calls.

Me with track announcer Gary Guy

The next few months were a bit quiter for me as we finished off a huge season at Leamington with a 26% increase in wagering. The final day of racing was cold and gloomy but that didn't stop the crowd of over 1,500 people who wagered over $40,000 all on "track". We have the best fans in Leamington! I'm looking forward to the 2018 season which starts in August and goes every Sunday afternoon until the end of October.

Just when I thought the year was winding down, on December 7th I was nominated for horse fan of the year for the Post Time with Mike & Mike awards. I was up against some pretty strong competition in my category. I didn't end up winning but I came close with over 100 votes I want to thank whoever nominated me and those who voted for me. Thank you Michael Carter and Mike Bozich for running this awards show. Be sure to listen to their online show every Thursday at 11am in the morning. (www.posttimewithmikeandmike.com)

That connection with Michael Carter inspired my family and I to make the trip to Northfield Park to catch the 15 race card over the holidays. I contacted Michael Carter to see if I could visit the announcers booth during our visit and he was more than happy to welcome me up and show me around. Like my other experiences, we were treated amazingly by both track announcer Ayers Ratliff and Michael. They showed me how things worked there and we learned some pretty cool stuff about the racetrack, Ayers was kind and invited me to call a race. I jumped on that opportunity right away and quickly reviewed the program to give it a "go". This was my first time announcing under the lights and it was definitely more challenging. The call was made even more challenging by a sudden snow flurry at the end of the race that pretty much looked like a white out at the wire. I managed to get the call right despite the conditions and learned some valuable lessons. I will never forgot my amazing experience at Northfield Park, the home of the Flying Turns!

The start of 2018 was also great especially on January when I got to go on Western Fair Raceways pre game show with track announcer Sugar Doyle, the pregame show was a lot of fun I got to talk a little bit about our horses and my selections for the night which were posted on the screen before each race. Sugar also let me call the 8th race which was a lot of fun to call that exciting race. He also gave me a book call World of Harness Racing I have been reading it and it is very good and interesting. I cant thank Sugar enough for all the mentoring he has done with me, letting me announce and doing the pre game show. In my mind Sugar is one the best people in  this industry for all he does to help our sport.

In conclusion I would just like to thank everyone once again who has helped me in this industry I appreciate  very much what everyone has done for me. I am very thankful for all the opportunities I have gotten at just the age of 15!, Stay tuned for future blogs of mine on this site.

A Warm Welcome from Pompano Park!

A recent visit to Florida, thanks to my Mom and a connection she had in Pompano, I had an amazing opportunity for a behind the scenes experience at Pompano Park at Isle Casino. This visit turned out to be the highlight of my vacation!

First of all I have always been a huge fan of this racetrack.  I watch and handicap their races a lot since I admire how unique the track is. When my parents told me we were going to Pompano Florida for March Break and our house was within five minutes of the racetrack I was pretty excited for this vacation. Our first full day, we woke up and went to go check out the racetrack.  We watched the horses that stable on the grounds jog and train on their impressive 5/8 mile track. Later that night we went back to watch the live racing action. Before the races started on Wednesday night we were invited to go to the racing operations office to meet up with Harness Racing Hall of Famer John Berry and Director of Racing Gabe Prewitt,

Right from the time we walked into the door we were treated amazingly. We leaned that not only was Gabe Prewitt the Director of Racing he was also the voice in the sky, the track announcer! I told Gabe and John about my experience in harness racing and announcing. They were very interested in hearing about my race calls, our stable and home racetrack, Leamington Raceway. I was thrilled when we were invited to join Gabe in the announcer booth.  He explained how he memorizes the horses names and how he times the races so that Pompano is not racing at the same times as other tracks on TVG. What a great day this turned out to be.  We watched a couple of the races in the announcer booth and then enjoyed the rest of the race card right on the fence where the action is.  This night could not get any better! What could Sunday night possibly bring?

As Sunday came around we headed to the racetrack. First of all we went to the racing operations office because we were invited to watch the pre-game show hosted by Gabe Prewitt and John Berry on the top floor in the big grandstand. They also talked about me in the pre-game show and shared a few of my selections with the racing fans. After the show ended we went one floor down to the announcers booth to see the first race from up top. Once the first race ended Gabe asked me to call the second race post parade. Wow! I was very excited and nervous all at the same time so I took a good look at the program to read out all the names I was not familiar with. I was very honored since it was the open pace which was feature race of the evening. This group of horses are speedy every week and I wanted to do a good job. When the time came I opened up my voice and it all came out pretty good in the end. I was nervous for nothing after all and doing a post parade at Pompano is something I will never forget.

     

After all this excitement we headed back downstairs as it was time for my Grandpa and I to ride in one of the best starting cars; the Hummer starting gate. That was a very cool experience riding in there, being that close to the racing action during the whole race. As the night was coming to an end we watched the few remaining races of that remarkable night. As I walked away, I hoped that I would get the chance to come back to this racetrack once again with the amazing experience here and the way we were treated. If you have never been to Isle Racing Pompano Park put this on your bucket list as it is something you shouldn't miss out on.

Nathan Bain 

Be sure to check out my future blogs on this site!