Prewitt does incredible job at The Pomp

It’s true, The Pomp fills a void where bettors are looking for value and action on off-peak nights, but Sturman’s article (full story here) understates the incredible job that track announcer Gabe Prewitt has done in progressively building a social media following. He has created an online community that constantly communicates throughout each night’s card, and Gabe makes himself so accessible to that entire crowd. His program picks have a very high success rate, he’s knowledgable about the sport and has a keen eye for every element of the races, and communicates with the bettors as if he’s one of us – whether it’s joining the “Send It In Army” in lamenting a bad drive, explaining that the camera angle favors the outside horse in photo finishes, or just answering every message with patience, empathy, and light-hearted humor, he makes you feel like you’re part of a group.

That experience is more fun than simply going through the motions of betting your other preferred tracks. Being a horseplayer can be a lonely pursuit, and Gabe has instead turned every night into a party. Players across the country share in each other’s successes and failures, discuss picks, and crack jokes throughout the card. Once Gabe grew the handle substantially through this grassroots effort, other players took note of the larger pools and sizable carryovers, and it has ballooned from there. Each meet has been more successful than the one before since he arrived, and now you’ve seen 21 nights where the handle exceeded $1 million at a previously-discounted third-tier track where the plan for several years has been to eliminate racing in favor of Jai Alai. To the point where Caesar’s Entertainment purchased the track and casino, and made Gabe the director of racing for all of their horse racing operations. It’s truly an amazing success story in an embattled sport.

— Aaron Bernstein / Skokie, IL