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Eric in the winner’s circle with the winning connections of Extermynator after the 2022 Horseshoe Indianapolis John Deere Juvenile Challenge.
in Illinois until it shut down last year. “John is in a class all by himself as a track announcer,” Martha says. “Not only does he have unbelievably creative and energetic race calls, but, like Eric, he’s totally committed to making racing fun and exciting. He posts on Twitter, he puts up pictures and lists accomplishments of horses and track records ... most announcers don’t do that.
“Eric is also very detail-oriented and
he’s really, really good at organizing and communicating with his team,” Martha adds. “Everything is set up really well in advance so everybody on the team can be successful at accomplishing what they’re instructed to do.”
The team’s collaborative process has been a source of enjoyment, satisfaction and pride for Eric. “It’s a fantastic team,” he says.
Implementing drone coverage is one of the team’s outstanding innovations. “It came from watching the Breeders’ Cup race where there was a camera on a wire, and it turned into talking about drones and how cool that would be. Our team turned around and did it,” he says.
Not only does the drone coverage boost the viewer experience with more dramatic, up-close video, it also provides race stewards with footage that allows them to make
better decisions. “Every once in a while, stewards can see something there that you never would see on a pan view and if you can make the right decision based on that, it’s something to be proud of,” Eric says. “We’ve had a lot of innovations that seem to have been a little bit ahead of their time and are working well, and we’re going to try to stay on the front edge of things.
“I couldn’t say more good things about the people I work with,” Eric adds. “I value getting to be around them every day. Especially as I start to get further in my career, an important thing to me is that I get to work with people I want to work with, and I sure do right now.”
Eric joins the winning connections of Prize Kiss
after the 2022 Horseshoe Indianapolis Adequan Derby Challenge.
Eric in the winner’s circle with the winning connections of WRS Valentino after the 2022 Indiana Championship.
68 SPEEDHORSE November 2022
“I couldn’t say more good things about the people I work with. I value getting to be around them every day.” – Eric Halstrom
BUILDING REVENUE
As Eric’s team and their innovations grew, so did Horseshoe Indianapolis’ racing revenue.
“I’ve worked collaboratively with horsemen and the racing commission to take racing at the Horseshoe to a higher level nationally, and I think that’s what everybody here aspires to,” he says.
Case in point is Horseshoe Indianapolis’ handles. “We’ve taken Indiana Derby Day, which has made $3.5-4 million in the past, to
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