Meet The Horse Racing Nation Team...

You can reach any members of the Horse Racing Nation team on the Contact Us page. You may also reach us at mail@horseracingnation.com or at 502-650-9390.







Mark Midland
Co-founder, CEO

Mark has more than 20 years of horse racing marketing experience having held executive positions with Churchill Downs Inc., Harrah’s and Youbet.com. Mark has a track record of innovating new products including the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (1999), establishing 20-horse wagering in the Kentucky Derby (2001) and the daily guaranteed Pick 4 at Hollywood Park (2003).

With Horse Racing Labs, Midland has launched Horse Racing Nation (2009), DerbyWars (2011) and was a co-founder of TimeformUS, which launched in 2013. Horse Racing Nation has grown to one of the top news sites in horse racing, with 20 million annual visits including the website and mobile app, and DerbyWars is a leading horse racing contest site.

Mark resides in Louisville, Ky., with his wife Kelley and two daughters. He received his BA in Economics from the University of Illinois and an MBA degree from the University of Louisville.

Mark can be reached at mmidland@horseracingnation.com.




Mike Shutty
Co-founder, Investor, Creator of the Super Screener

Mike has been a passionate horse racing fan for more than 30 years. He received his “handicapping education” through countless hours of deciphering the mystery that is embedded in every race. It was the tough beats at the window, however, that propelled him to never make the same mistake twice (well, maybe three times).

Prior to Horse Racing Nation, Mike owned and managed a successful direct marketing agency for 17 years that he subsequently sold in 2007. In 2007, Mike co-founded www.TrendPointers.com, a new source for predicting shifts in the economy and markets, and serves as Managing Partner.

Mike serves as an investor and developer of handicapping content and is the author of the Super Screener.





Candice Curtis
Email Marketing Manager

Candice is a lifelong horse racing fan and player. Her goal in life is to bring this fantastic game into the 21st century and beyond by embracing online and emerging technologies like Horse Racing Nation and DerbyWars.

She is a graduate of the University of Memphis and the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program. Candice counts as a mentor and friend the late Jim Gaffney, one of Secretariat’s exercise riders, who encouraged her to get involved in horse racing full-time.

As a tribute to Gaffney, Candice contributes annually to the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs, giving back to the people who ride, groom and train her beloved equine athletes.

Contact Candice at ccurtis@horseracingnation.com.





Ed DeRosa
VP, Product & Content Development

Ed DeRosa is a Cleveland native who got into horse racing going to Thistledown with his bookie grandfather. He graduated from Denison University and after nine years with Thoroughbred Times as a writer and editor spent 10 years with Churchill Downs Inc. as director of marketing of Brisnet and TwinSpires. His favorite horses are Real Quiet, Ghostzapper, and Rachel Alexandra. His favorite whiskeys are Booker's and Pinhook.

Follow Ed on Twitter @EJXD2.





Sara Elbadwi
Handicapping Content Coordinator

Sara Elbadwi grew up in Red Hook, NY obsessed with horses, especially racehorses. A cherished childhood memory was attending Kentucky Derby gatherings, hosted by family friend Esther Higgins. Feelings of connection, passion, and excitement made a lasting impression to get her hooked on the Sport of Kings.

A graduate of Becker College in Massachusetts in 2017 with a Bachelor’s in Equine Science, Sara’s been watching the races almost daily as a fan since 2011. Her first winner picked was Coil in the 2011 Haskell. While figuring out which avenue would best suit her interest in a career with horses, she waitressed and bartended at Via Italian Table in Worcester, MA. Everybody that worked with Sara knew of her passion for horse racing. In September of 2021, a spontaneous trip to Louisville, KY inspired her active participation in the horse racing Twitter community. This led to some of her wildest dreams becoming a reality.

New to the Louisville, KY area, Sara hopes to improve her skills as a handicapper. Her biggest goal is to bring the thrill of horse racing to the public in a positive way.

Follow Sara on Twitter @outruntheodds.

Ron Flatter
Managing Editor

With more than four decades of sports journalism experience spanning four networks on two continents, longtime national broadcaster and writer Ron Flatter came to Horse Racing Nation in 2020, first as a free-lance writer and a contributing editor before being named managing editor with his move to Louisville in the spring of 2021.

Before moving full-time into the coverage of racing, Ron spent four years based in Las Vegas. He was one of the original hosts for the Vegas Stats & Information Network, where he served as the network’s chief racing correspondent. He began his Ron Flatter Racing Pod at VSiN in 2017 before moving it to Horse Racing Nation in 2022.

Flatter spent 2007-17 in New York working at CBS Sports Radio, ESPN New York, Fox News Radio, SiriusXM, WFAN and WINS. That decade followed three years working as the in-house, international correspondent in Melbourne, Australia, for RSN927, a station that is owned and operated by the Victorian racing industry. Flatter’s first full-time national job came in 1992 as a producer at ESPN Radio, where he eventually became creative director before leaving for Australia in 2004.

With horse racing part of his duties at nearly every stop, Flatter has covered nearly every Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup since 2007, missing only the 2020 races because of the pandemic. He has also covered multiple runnings of the Pegasus World Cup, the Arlington Million and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in addition to assignments at the Dubai World Cup, British Champion Stakes and the Melbourne Cup.

Flatter is married with a stepdaughter who lives in Vienna, Austria, with her two children.

Contact Ron at rflatter@hotmail.com.

Carolyn Greer
Associate Editor

Carolyn transitioned to horse racing from a career in business journalism. After graduating from Rutgers University, she worked for Dow Jones in New York before returning to her hometown of Louisville. She held many editing positions at Louisville Business First, most recently as digital editor.

Carolyn's experience with racing mainly involves Derby parties and covering the event for Business First, but she has attended races with friends and family members since childhood. She's looking forward to learning and covering a different industry.

Contact Carolyn at cgreer@horseracingnation.com.

Victor Ryan
West Coast Editor

A native of Chula Vista, Calif., Victor was introduced to horse racing as a child when he would tag along for the occasional trip to Del Mar with his father and Navy buddies. But it wasn't until joining the sports staff of the North County Times out of college, and being assigned the role of backup turf writer for Del Mar, that the horse racing bug fully bit him.

Victor soon moved his tack to Lexington, Ky., for a staff writer position with the Thoroughbred Times. He later accepted an editor's position at The Blood-Horse magazine before returning to Southern California with Today's Racing Digest as a race analyst.

In recent years, Victor has provided in-depth horse racing and sports gambling content for an array of leading websites and magazines. He resides in Pasadena, Calif., where he patiently awaits the next visit by his beloved San Diego Padres to Dodger Stadium.

Contact Victor at vryan@horseracingnation.com.

Brad Stephens
Managing Editor

A Winchester, Ky., native, Brad grew up a short drive from Keeneland. But his first experience at a track came as an 11-year-old at the former River Downs in Cincinnati. That’s where his grandfather – a veteran horse player and cousin of the legendary Woody Stephens – taught him how to bet. 

Brad’s worked sports writing stints in Kentucky at The Oldham Era and Bowling Green Daily News, sporadically covering racing but mostly focusing on high school and college athletics. Now he’s looking forward to reporting on the sport full-time for Horse Racing Nation.

Follow Brad on Twitter at @stephens_brad.

Jarrod Horak
Handicapper

Horse Racing Nation handicapper Jarrod Horak has been handicapping thoroughbred races since 1980. He served two seasons as Track Handicapper/TV Host for Harrah's Louisiana Downs and has contributed to numerous online publications including Today’s Racing Digest. You can read his daily blog at pick6blog.com.

Brian Zipse
Senior Writer

Brian has been a passionate fan of horse racing since birth. Taken to the races at a very young age, he has been lucky enough to see all the greats in person from Secretariat and Ruffian through Rachel Alexandra and American Pharoah. Before coming to the Nation, Brian displayed his love for the sport through the development of his own horse racing website, which quickly became one of the most popular blogs in the game.

Editor of Horse Racing Nation from 2010-2017, Brian now works as Senior Writer, as well as co-host of the popular video show HorseCenter. You can also find Brian regularly on Facebook and Twitter.

A graduate of DePaul University, Brian also serves as President of The Exceller Fund. He lives in Suburban Louisville with his wife Candice and daughter Kendra.

Follow Brian on Twitter at @zipseatthetrack.

Matt Shifman
Senior Writer

Matt has been working with Horse Racing Nation since 2011 covering racing across the country. You can frequently find him at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, Saratoga, and Monmouth Park. Currently, he is also Assistant Editor and the co-host of the popular weekly video show HorseCenter.

Matt lives in Metuchen, NJ, with his wife Cora and his son Riley. He received a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University and an M.Ed. From Rutgers University. His favorite hobby is going to the racetrack.

Follow Matt on Twitter at @AndyScoggin