Santa Anita Names Race for NTWAB's Privman
NTWAB past president and board member Jay Privman will be honored Saturday in Santa Anita's fourth race named in his honor when he'll be presented with a plaque acknowledging his 40-plus years of covering the Sport of Kings.
Recently retired as Daily Racing Form's national correspondent and nducted into the Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in August, 2021, Privman began his journalistic journey in racing while an undergrad at Cal State Northridge.
“I’ve been to many racetracks all over the world, and there’s no more beautiful place to watch a race than Santa Anita,” said Privman, who currently resides in Carlsbad, CA with his wife Anne.
A Los Angeles native, Privman began covering high school football on a part-time basis for the LA Daily News while enrolled as a journalism student at CSUN in the winter of 1979-80. With no one regularly assigned to cover horse racing, Privman requested to cover some big races that winter at Santa Anita.
The primary reason Privman sought the racing assignment was Spectacular Bid. An imposing Maryland-bred colt, grey in color and trained by the irascible Grover G. (Bud) Delp, “The Bid” had won the 1979 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and had taken up residence at The Great Race Place in advance of his 4-year-old campaign.
Spectacular Bid would go on to have a winter for the ages, winning four graded stakes -- the Grade II Malibu on Jan. 5, 1980, the Grade II San Fernando on Jan. 19, the Grade I Strub on Feb. 3 and the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap under 130 pounds on March 2 -- all in combination with Bill Shoemaker and on all four occasions with a gutty California-bred named Flying Paster checking in second.
From that point forward, it’s safe to say that through an incredible career that saw him cover racing for the Daily News full-time for 10 years beginning in 1981, serve as West Coast editor for the Racing Times from 1991-92, West Coast correspondent for the New York Times from 1992-98 and finally as National Correspondent for DRF from 1998 until his retirement at the end of the Del Mar meet last month, Privman’s love for and devotion to racing never waned.
“We’re honored to be able to name a race for Jay and to acknowledge his contributions to racing,” said Nate Newby, Santa Anita Senior Vice President and General Manager. “Jay’s love of the game and his professionalism through these many years are what made him stand out. He covered our sport with a steady hand and was always fair.
“Although we certainly miss him in print and as a regular voice on radio, we’re happy that with all of his newly found free time as a retiree, he’ll be able to spend significant amounts of quality time with us as a fan and horseplayer. He’s truly a Hall of Famer and we wish him and Anne all the best in the years to come.”
In all, Privman, 62, whose resume also includes television assignments with CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBCSN and as the Saturday morning radio host of “Thoroughbred Los Angeles” on KLAA, AM 830, covered 39 of the past 41 Kentucky Derbies dating back to 1982 and 37 of the 38 runnings of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships beginning at Hollywood Park in 1984.
Privman remains a member of NTWAB and will be in Lexington Breeders' Cup week in attendance at the organization's annual awards dinner on Nov. 2.
--Edited Santa Anita release with content by Dick Downey
