Mike Battaglia is an American

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

analyst,

race caller A race caller is a public-address announcer or sportscaster who describes the progress of a race, either for on-track or radio and TV fans. They are most prominent in horse racing, auto racing and track-and-field events. Among the jobs of a race ...

and television broadcaster. He is most closely associated with

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

, the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

and as the on-air talent for

Keeneland Racecourse Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

with Katie Gensler.

Career

Battaglia, a native of

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers, across from Cincinnati to the north ...

, has worked most of his career at Churchill and

Turfway Park Turfway Park is an American horse racing track located within the city limits of Florence, Kentucky, about south of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. The track conducts live Thoroughbred horse racing during two meets each year—Holiday (December), ...

. He has set the morning line odds at Churchill since 1974, and was the race announcer there from 1977 to 1996. He left his position as analyst for simulcast racing in 2008. Battaglia is also the morning line oddsmaker for Turfway Park and Keeneland. His son Bret was the morning line oddsmaker for Ellis Park in 2010 and 2011, and has been the oddsmaker at Turfway Park since December 2013. Battaglia was a member of the

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...

broadcast team for the Kentucky Derby and the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

from when the network gained broadcast rights in 2001 until 2016. He also worked the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

for NBC from 2001 through 2005, the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was ...

from 1993 through 2005, and various other races televised by NBC from 1993 onward. Mike Battaglia was in the 2010 movie ''

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...

'' as well as the 1999 film ''

Nice Guys Sleep Alone ''Nice Guys Sleep Alone'' is a 1999 romantic comedy film written and directed by Stu Pollard. The film is based on a book of the same title, written by Bruce Feirstein. Synopsis A young man in Louisville sees his dating failures are related to h ...

''. In 2017 Battaglia was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Churchill Downs announcers Sportspeople from Covington, Kentucky Television personalities from Kentucky {{US-horseracing-bio-stub