'Winning Ponies' welcomes King Congie's trainer Thomas Albertrani
May 26, 2011
Hosted by John Engelhardt
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Episode Description
> Albertrani was born March 21, 1958 in Brooklyn, N.Y., and now resides in Garden City, N.Y. He first went to work walking hots and grooming horses for his uncle, trainer Jack Abatemarco. He started learning the basics with his uncle and eventually went on to become a jockey. The family moved from Brooklyn to Valley Stream when Albertrani was 10. In order to begin riding sooner before he grew too big, Albertrani took part in an accelerated program at Valley Stream High School on Long Island and completed his course work early in 1976. Broke in as an apprentice in New York and New Jersey at the age of 19, but was still busy in the morning working as an exercise rider. “I was kind of doing both. I was galloping horses and picking up a mount here and there." Then he began working for trainer Mark Casse, first as an exercise rider/jockey and then as assistant trainer. He was introduced to trainer Bill Mott through Casse and had the opportunity to gallop top fillies Heatherten and Sefa's Beauty . He stayed in New York to work for Mott when Casse decided to relocate to Kentucky. He then spent nine years as Mott’s top New York assistant. During that time, Mott developed champions Theatrical and Paradise Creek and Cigar emerged as a superstar. Among the other trainers Albertrani worked for were Howie Tesher and Norman Casse, and Hall of Famers P.G. Johnson, Jack Van Berg and LeRoy Jolley. In 1995, he was hired by Godolphin Racing and moved his family to Dubai, where he was a top assistant with the main Godolphin string of trainer Saeed bin Suroor. Albertrani had been introduced to members of Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin operation because Mott handled a few of their horses. Albertrani and his family moved to Dubai two days after Cigar won the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Belmont Park. In 2003, Albertrani began training in New York full-time with 10 horses for Darley, all owned by members of the Maktoum royal family of Dubai, and in Oct. 2005, he opened a public stable for the first time with the permission of Darley to take on some outside clients.
Winning Ponies
Thursday at 5 PM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel
On the show we will talk about the Sport of Kings. We will delve into the different features of the WinningPonies.com website. John Engelhardt will talk about the issues of the day that affect horse racing, such as synthetic surfaces, medication rule changes, the fate of the industry as a whole, VLTs and Casinos, and human interest stories of triumph and defeat. You will also hear our spot play of the week, where John will handicap the feature races for the upcoming weekend, and will give out his best plays. We will keep you abreast racing’s big events. Featured on the show will be guests (trainers, jockeys, owners, celebrity handicappers and industry insiders). Promotional giveaways will be featured, such as brand merchandise and free WinningCredits.
"Winning Ponies" is broadcast live every Thursday at 8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific on the VoiceAmerica Variety Channel.
John Engelhardt
You may recognize him as "Racing's Regular Guy." For ten years, John Engelhardt hosted the informative and sometimes irreverent handicapping show from his base at River Downs in Cincinnati, Ohio. He developed a passion for thoroughbred racing as a youngster at Saratoga, and has been able to make his love of the sport his life's calling.
Engelhardt, a native of Syracuse, New York is a graduate of the University of Dayton. His professional career in racing began as the track photographer at Beulah Park in 1983 and he has worked in racing ever since. John produced "The Stretch Run" for eight years, which aired on the CBS affiliate WCPO-TV in Cincinnati. For four years Engelhardt co-hosted "The Regular Guy Handicapping Show on HOMER 1530-AM in Cincinnati with former "Winning Ponies" host Ed Meyer.
John served as the President of the Turf Publicists of America in 2009 and 2010, after serving several years as the Midwest Vice-President of that organization. He is currently a consultant for Pinnacle Entertainment handling publicity, public relations, marketing, advertising and special events for River Downs. Under the "nom-de-course" of Heart of an Angel Stable, he has bred and owned thoroughbreds for 18 years.
"Racing's Regular Guy" has been exposed to racing on many levels and greets the sport with enthusiasm and well-rounded knowledge. Tune in Thursdays at 5PM PT, as he welcomes nationally recognized guests, who will help you find those "Winning Ponies.”
