WP Welcomes Clocker Ernie Perri and Old Friends' Michael Blowen Thursday, September 15, 2022

The best racing on the thoroughbred calendar this weekend is north of the border at Woodbine. The 12-race action starts at 1:10 and will feature no less than four graded stakes. Talk about inside information, we will be joined by the Head Clocker, Ernie Perri. The horses going to post on Saturday have mostly been based at the Woodbine ovals where he has had the opportunity to intimately observe their morning routine. Ernie will share his observations and let us know how he settled on his morning line odds for these very contentious races. Ernie has been a horse racing enthusiast and handicapper most of his adult life. So, it was natural that he became a clocker over 15 years ago. He moved on to Head Clocker 10 years ago at Woodbine. He also has been the morning Line odds maker for over 10 years. Currently he is the official Racing Analyst for Woodbine Entertainment. We will again get a visit from one of the real, good guys in the game. After establishing the now landmark farm in Georgetown, Kentucky. Visiting the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland? Put “Old Friends” on your to-do events in Kentucky. Michael always throws a wonderful get-together open to the public the day after the BC and he will fill us in on the details. Old Friends' founder and President Michael Blowen discovered his unique bond with Thoroughbreds while working as a volunteer groom at Suffolk Downs during the 1990s, eventually buying and racing a small stable of claiming-level horses before leaving his position as Arts & Entertainment reporter and film critic for The Boston Globe to become operations director for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. That move to Kentucky gave Michael an even greater appreciation for plight of older, displaced Thoroughbreds and led him to the idea of creating a permanent retirement home in the Bluegrass for horses who need a place to go when their working days are over.