It’s been an amazing year for me.

I had a great job working for a group of state governors, but I decided I wanted to devote myself full times to two things I enjoy more than anything – writing and horseracing – so I left my job, took a deep breath and decided I’d put my new found free time to good use.

I wrote a fictional novel (that had nothing to do with horseracing) and  about six months ago started my blog, halveyonhorseracing.com. It’s a crowded field, but I decided in every field there is always room for someone that provides a good product. On my site I publish handicapping and betting articles, selections for NYRA, and opinions on a variety of horseracing topics.

Around September I published some pieces about Doug O’Neill. As a result of that I got to meet, Glenn Sorgenstein, owner of Goldencents, and then talk directly with O’Neill, a  personable guy and a caring horseman. It was a great break for me. I became friends with both Glenn and his partner Josh Hanson, two of the nicest, most generous and sincere people I’ve ever known. It led to me spending one of the most incredible days in my racing life sharing the experience of winning a Breeders Cup race. I’ve promised to write about that, and I will keep that promise.

I’ve written a lot about how racing commissions have handled medication violations and I will continue to zero in on that in 2015. I’m actually working on an important story involving a mid-Atlantic trainer and the fairness of racing commission actions.

I focused on selections for NYRA and I believe I’ve developed a good reputation for selecting winners. It’s a lot of work every day, but given the feedback I’ve gotten, it is worth the time and energy.

I managed to talk myself into a job as the paddock reporter/handicapper at Arapahoe Park, and did well enough to be invited back next year. Funny anecdote: I was talking to my brother the other day and mentioned the Arapahoe Park gig. He said, yeah I was going to bet some races and I looked up at the screen and said, that looks like my brother, which made him happy until I picked the horse he was interested in.

Most of all, I think it has been amazing finding so many great handicappers and great people on Twitter. Colorado is not the center of the horseracing universe, and it has been incredible to be able to interact with so many first-rate horseplayers. It’s an honor to be able to call these people my colleagues. I hope I eventually get to meet them all.

A year that started out with me wondering how the next chapter of my life would unfold ended with me feeling great optimism for the future. There is still plenty of work to do and stories to write. I want to be around long enough to write them all.

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy Chanuka, Happy Holidays to everyone who reads the blog. I wish you all a prosperous and healthy 2015.