Not to be confused with the magazine (known as Gentlemen’s Quarterly until 1983) or the disco-era Bronx musical group (acronym for “Great Quality”), the original GQ is a Maryland bred. Born Gary Thomas Quill on March 19, 1958 in Baltimore, Maryland I’m a 3rd generation thoroughbred horse racing enthusiast. In 2008, after decades of feeling as if every trip to the track was akin to visiting an
old age home for men, I began a personal crusade to increase interest in the
sport by accepting the opportunity to reach out to sports fans in general as the
Horse Racing Correspondent / Expert / Blogger for a Baltimore Sports Talk radio stations website.
Through my WNST blog I not only became an admired journalist, but also a
respected handicapper. Not bad for an IT professional who never claimed English
as one of his favorite subjects. When I post a blog, it’s because I’ve
handicapped a particular race card and want to share my opinions with others,
which include a BEST BET and LONGSHOT Play of the Day.
How is GQ different from the hundreds of
others who post their picks on the world wide web and/or those on horse racing
networks? One word: Accountable.
You’ll always know how my selections fared because in every blog I’ll recap how
the top picks performed as well as keep a running in-the-money (ITM) record of
the BEST BET and LONGSHOT throughout a given meet. I have my finger on the
pulse of Maryland
tracks and prefer to stay in my “wheel-house”. Hence, other than the Breeders’
Cup, the majority of full card handicapping opinions you’ll find here will be
for Laurel Park or Pimlico Race Course.
Why should you care about races in Maryland? Probably long before you got interested in playing the ponies or even were born, Maryland was the 3rd highest profiled thoroughbred horse racing state, behind New York and Kentucky.The advent of “racinos” quickly caused Maryland to lose that status as
neighboring states (DE, WV and PA) flourished with the influx of slots and
table game revenue to bolster their purses which made Maryland’s look like chump
change. Thankfully after nearly a 20 year battle to get slots, Maryland racing is
enjoying its first full year of slots revenue and will soon up the ante as a
table games referendum was passed this November. Therefore, the tide has begun
to shift back into Maryland’s
favor and the better horses and races are soon to follow.
Will this blog be 100%
Maryland racing? Absolutely not! I enjoy following the Derby Trail. Typically
starting in mid-January, you’ll be able to read about the Derby prep races and get my opinions on those
races each weekend leading up to the first Saturday in May. Also, just prior to
the first Kentucky
Derby Future
Wager Pool I’ll post “GQ’s Derby Double Dozen”. It’s my take on the top 24 colts,
geldings and possibly a filly who in my humble opinion are worth following and could
become the next Derby
winner.
Even if all of the above hasn’t grabbed your interest in returning to this
blog, then at the very least I’ll be HRN’s
lifeline for on site coverage leading up of the PreaknessStakes. You know, that little race run on the 3rd Saturday in May after they run the Preakness prep (aka Kentucky Derby) to determine who is worthy of competing for the Triple Crown. The Stakes Barn area during Preakness Week is my second home, having access to trainers, jockeys and
owners, in order to get the latest scoop. You want to know something about a
Preakness runner, I’m your guy. Just ask and I’ll make every effort to get you
an answer.
Thanks to the HRN staff, especially
Brian Zipse, who had the courage to reach out and bring me aboard. I look
forward to sharing my knowledge of thoroughbred horse racing with you and
encourage you to comment and ask questions.