Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds on Personality of the Month

February 2005

Dave Brower
Meadowlands Odds Maker, TV Host & Handicapper

Thirty-six-year-old Dave Brower has been an avid harness racing fan since he was a youngster, and as a result has been involved in the industry for nearly all of his life. A graduate of St. Johns Universtiy with a BS in Journalism in 1991, Dave was born and raised in Parsippany, New Jersey and today resides in the Garden State town of Passaic.

Dave is the morning line odds maker for the Big M, and is also a co-host of the popular "Racing from the Meadowlands" TV show, and is a Meadowlands track handicapper. In his spare time, Dave proivdes the chartcalling for the popular East Coast horse racing tabloid Sports Eye.

Dave Brower

Single and loving it, Dave says that the best part of his job is "getting paid to watch races."

"I grew up five minutes from The Meadowlands, and I went there all the time with my Dad when I was kid and just loved it. I've done about everything at the tack except sell tickets and sweep the floors," Dave mused. "I just love the horses--they try so hard, even when they're not at their best. The competition at the Meadowlands is the best in the world and I get spoiled by watching it every night."

Dave's very first job in harness racing was as the Big M's race teletimer operator.

"My favorite memory of that job was when the dead heat occured during the Hambletonian between Park Avenue Joe and Probe," Dave recalled.

Through the years, Dave has seen many innovations in harness racing, but none stick out in his mind as much as the development and use of television in the sport.

"Definitely, the television aspect of harness racing coverage has changed a lot," Dave said. "It’s gone up and down over recent years but is starting to gain momentum again with the likes of TVG and HRTV. More coverage can only mean more fans and that’s what this game needs more than anything. More power to those stations and I hope we do more things with them here at the Big M."

With his deep love for horses, does Dave have any favorites from his years in the business?

"There are so many, and so little time," Dave laughed. "How bout Varenne’s win in the Breeders Crown? I’ve never seen a more spectacular performance under such a setting. There were a lot of people there from Italy and every one of them was on the apron that day waving a flag and screaming. It was almost surreal and when the horse turned for home, it was a roar like nothing I’ve ever heard at a racetrack before."

Dave said he thinks that television is what the harness racing industry needs to thrive and survive in the future.

"Basically, we get even more coverage on TV," Dave concluded. "We used to do weekly recap
shows and we used to have live harness racing on ESPN and Fox Sports. We need more
of that and hopefully some of the newer cable channels and networks will give us the opportunity."

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