HorseRacingFLA is pleased to announce a significant expansion of our on-air reporting and overall working relationship with Internet-only station RadioStPete.
The station is based in St. Petersburg and can be found on the Web at http://radiostpete.com/.
On most live racing days at Tampa Bay Downs, HorseRacingFLA’s Tampa Bay associate editor and handicapper Bob Bauer is phoning in two reports to RadioStPete.
Bauer’s first report is a preview of the race day, along with his “pick of the day.” It airs at approximately 8:10 a.m. and at 9:10 a.m. during RadioStPete newscasts.
Bauer’s second daily call-in is a report and analysis of the day’s races at Tampa Bay Downs. It airs at approximately 4:05 p.m., 5:05 p.m. and 6:05 p.m.
Bob Bauer, HorseRacingFLA Handicapper
Tampa Bay Downs has live thoroughbred racing every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday thorough May 6. It also will have racing on two Thursdays—Feb, 15 and Feb, 22.
On many dark days, Bauer will phone in morning reports with news about Tampa Bay Downs. This will include information about which horses, jockeys and trainers are hot and previews of upcoming stakes races.
In addition Radio St Pete station owner and general manager Joe Bourdow will do phone interviews and podcasts with HorseRacingFLA editor Jim Freer and with Bauer. Topics will include previews of major races such as the Tampa Bay Derby on March 10d and the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 31.
RadioStPete’s format has music, news, public affairs, public service announcements and locally produced programs on a variety of topics. The music is easy listening–“today’s hits and yesterday’s favorites.”
Freer is a former racing writer for the Miami Herald, which is among daily newspapers in Florida and around the country that in recent yerars have significantly reduced their coverage of thoroughbred racing.
Bauer is a former racing reporter for the St. Petersburg Times (now the Tampa Bay Times) and a former Tampa Bay Downs publicity director.
During the 2016-2017 Tampa Bay Downs meet, Freer and HorseRacingFLA business manager Barry Unterbrink called in reports on Tampa Bay Downs on many Saturdays and Sundays. On some weekends, Bourdow did interviews with Freer.
“Bob has been with us from the start this meet, and we asked RadioStPete if we could do more with Bob as the point man,” said Freer, whose office is in Fort Lauderdale.
“We are pleased that the station agreed with us” he said. “We expect that many RadioStPete listeners will begin reading HorseRacingFLA on the Web and that many of our readers will begin listening to RadioSt Pete.”
Freer added: “We hope that more of the station’slocal listeners will become horse racing fans and start going out to Tampa Bay Downs.”
Bourdow and Freer each said they plan to develop additional ventures between Radio St Pete and HorseRacingFLA, adding that they hope to add marketing and promotional activities with Tampa BayDowns.
