Company History
Publication Profile
Daily Racing Form, "America's Turf Authority Since 1894," was born in Chicago on Nov. 17, 1894 when it first appeared as a four-page broadsheet. Over the last 113 years, DRF has been the country's only daily national newspaper dedicated to the coverage of a single major sport. DRF is the most complex newspaper in North America, publishing up to 2,000 unique pages of statistical and editorial copy every day, in as many as 25 daily editions, 364 days a year (with the exception of Christmas Day).
Ownership Profile
DRF is owned by Arlington Capital Partners (www.arlingtoncap.com), a Washington, DC-based private equity fund with over $1 billion of committed capital focused on middle market buyout investment opportunities in growth industries including: media and information services, healthcare services, aerospace/defense, business services and outsourcing, and education.
The firm’s professionals have a unique combination of operating and private equity experience that enables Arlington to be a value-added investor. Arlington invests in companies in partnership with high quality management teams that are motivated to establish and/or advance their company’s position as leading competitors in their field.
Previous Ownership
• 1894-1922 Frank Brunell
• 1922-1988 Triangle Publications, Inc.
• 1988-1991 News America
• 1991-1998 K-III/Primedia, Inc.
• 1998-2004 Alpine Capital Group
• 2004-2007 The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C.
DRF History
• 1894: Frank Brunell's dream of publishing a daily newspaper devoted exclusively to horse racing to give horseplayers reliable information on past and current form is realized on Nov. 17, 1894 when the first edition of DRF - a four-page broadsheet - is printed.
• 1896: First DRF chart book is printed. These monthly compilations were printed until 1980 when charts were issued in microfiche format.
• 1905: Brunell revolutionizes horseplaying when his belief that a horse's past record was a major factor in determining present performance leads him to compile and print DRF's first past performances record for each horse in a race.
• 1922: Acquired by Triangle Publications, Inc.
• 1954: Joe Hirsch joins Daily Racing Form after a four-year stint in the Army.
• 1955: Pierre Camille Lucien Hilaire Jean Bellocq (Peb) joins The Morning Telegraph and Daily Racing Form as staff cartoonist.
• 1971: DRF begins publishing a broadsheet "Eastern Edition," hailed as the first full-sized, multi-track computerized racing newspaper ever published. The newspaper contains 32 pages of editorial and past performances for four racing programs at Pitt Park, Waterford Park, Shenandoah Downs and Laurel Racecourse.
• 1988: Triangle's Walter Annenberg sells to News America, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
• 1991: Purchased by K-III Communications Corporation in June for a reported $180 million. K-III spends $35 million modernizing the newspaper and streamlining its production.
• 1992: DRF purchases the assets of The Racing Times.
• 1994: Celebrates its 100th Anniversary.
• 1998: DRF and Equibase Company announce on March 12 an agreement to end a seven-year rivalry and merge the data gathering and storage systems of the two companies. Alpine Capital Group and racing journalist Steven Crist purchase DRF from Primedia, Inc. (formerly K-III) for $40 million.
• 2004: Purchased by The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C. in May.
• 2007: Purchased by Arlington Capital Partners in October.
Senior Management
Steven Crist - Chairman and Publisher
Steven Crist, Chairman & Publisher, is a renowned journalist, horseplayer and gambler. Crist first caught the racing bug as an undergraduate at Harvard in 1977 and the former editor of the Harvard Lampoon has dedicated his life to Thoroughbred racing ever since. Crist was a New York Times reporter and columnist from 1981-90 and the founding editor of the short-lived but critically-acclaimed rival daily newspaper to DRF, The Racing Times, the Robert Maxwell-owned publication that introduced a variety of editorial and statistical innovations that have since become the industry standard.
In 1992, Crist was appointed a commissioner by New York Gov. Mario Cuomo to the New York State Commission on Racing in the 21st Century, where he drafted recommendations and legislation that subsequently became law. He was a vice president in charge of simulcasting, marketing and corporate development for The New York Racing Association from 1994-1997 and introduced in-home simulcasting during his tenure. He is a former director of the Equibase Company. Crist is the author of Exotic Betting (2006/DRF Press), the autobiographical Betting on Myself: Adventures of a Horseplayer and Publisher (2003/DRF Press) as well as The Horse Traders (1986) and Offtrack (1981) and a co-author of Champions (2000, 2005/DRF Press), Bet With The Best (2001/DRF Press) and Bet With The Best 2: Longshots (2008/DRF Press).
Brent Diamond - Chief Executive Officer
Brent Diamond, Chief Executive Officer, has been overseeing Daily Racing Form since July 2004. Prior to his appointment, Diamond was President of The Lifestyles Group of magazines at Primedia, including its equine titles. Previously, he was the Group Publisher for Surfer Publishing, including its Powder, Surfer, Snowboarder, Bike and Inside Golf magazines; Publisher and Editor of The Sporting Goods Dealer for Times Mirror Magazines/The Sporting News; and Group Publisher/Editorial Director for Virgo Publishing, whose titles included Team Sports and Team Licensing magazines.
Diamond has spent his entire career focused on enthusiast publishing and providing passionate groups of consumers with information they need to pursue their hobbies. Brent Diamond graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Communications.
Jim Kostas - President and General Manager
Jim Kostas, President and General Manager, began his career with Daily Racing Form in 1994 in Los Angeles as field supervisor in the circulation department. One year later he moved to the Company’s headquarters in Phoenix becoming further involved with the printing, distribution, and marketing of Daily Racing Form products. While in Phoenix, Jim held various management positions, his final being national circulation director. Kostas relocated to the New York office in early 2000 when he was named Vice President of Circulation. Kostas is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin University in Texas, as well as the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program. He later earned an M.B.A. from Texas Tech University.
Joseph Lyons - Chief Financial Officer
Joseph Lyons, VP and Chief Financial Officer, joined Daily Racing Form in December 2007 as head of the Company’s accounting and finance operations. Lyons began his career in media with PRIMEDIA’s Enthusiast Media division in 1999 where he held a number of operational as well as financial oversight roles, concluding with his role as VP of Finance and General Manager of the division’s Harrisburg, Pennsylvania facility. Lyons spent his first four years as Group Publisher and General Manager of PRIMEDIA’s History Group, a collection of ten history and military themed publications and websites. In 2004, Lyons was asked to assume responsibilities for the division’s accounting operations where he participated in numerous media property acquisitions and divestitures, including the sale of the remaining divisional assets to Source Interlink Companies in August 2007.
As an alumni of the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, Lyons spent his earlier eight years in public accounting. Lyons is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA.
Tom Thill - Senior Vice President of Production and Technology Operations
Tom Thill, Senior Vice President of Production and Technology Operations joined Daily Racing Form in 2000 as director of printing and production and was promoted to Vice President in August of 2002. Shortly after the acquisitions of Sports Eye and Sullivan Brothers Printing, Thill was promoted to his current position. He joined DRF after serving as President of Digiscope of Santa Monica, a visual effects production company from 1994 to 1999. He began his professional career in 1988 servicing the publishing industry at American Color Corporation, a company that provides pre-press and computer graphic services. Thill is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College with a degree in economics.
Rich Rosenbush - Editor-in-Chief
Rich Rosenbush joined Daily Racing Form as executive editor after 18 years with The New York Times, the last five as deputy sports editor. Rosenbush was made Daily Racing Form Editor-in-Chief in January, 2002.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Rosenbush began his newspaper career in 1973 with the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison. He moved to The Detroit News sports department in 1976 and joined The New York Times in 1980. At The Times, he held a variety of positions, including national edition sports editor in 1988, when the newspaper began to concentrate on developing its circulation outside the New York metropolitan area. He was bureau chief for the Times's Olympic coverage for the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway; the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, and the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Rosenbush is married and lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mandy Minger - Vice President of Marketing
Mandy Minger, Vice President of Marketing, has been with Daily Racing Form since 1992. She began her career in thoroughbred racing as a groom at Philadelphia Park in 1986. She worked as publicity assistant at the Atlantic City Race Course from 1987-1991. In 1991, she joined The Racing Times as marketing assistant and, following the publication's closing, moved to Daily Racing Form as marketing coordinator in 1992. She has held various positions including promotions manager, director of promotions and public relations, and director of marketing before assuming her current position in 2000. In 1999, she was appointed Chairman of the NTRA's Fan Education Task Force and actively contributes to the national marketing efforts of the NTRA. She has been a guest speaker at the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program, has been profiled in Horseplayer Magazine's “Women in Racing” series and is a former officer of the Turf Publicists of America. She earned a B.A. degree in Literature from Richard Stockton State College in Pomona, N.J., where she was sports editor of her college newspaper.
Jeffrey Burch - Vice President Advertising
Jeffrey Burch, Vice President Advertising, joined Daily Racing Form in February 2005 from Advertising Director for Advertising Age, the bible of the advertising community.
He has a deep background in enthusiast publishing and advertising sales. Prior to joining Daily Racing Form he served as VP Corporate Sales for the Primedia Enthusiast Group and Petersen Publishing; magazine publishing companies which had hundreds of titles ranging from sports to automotive, hunting to surfing. In these roles he was instrumental in developing cross platform programs including print, web, event, television, and custom publishing projects for a broad range of advertising partners. Earlier in his career he was Associate Publisher/Advertising at Cosmopolitan and the Publisher of House Beautiful while at Hearst Magazines. He also spent 10 years at People Magazine in sales and sales management,
Burch has newspaper experience including stints at Gannett and Media Space Solutions - a newspaper planning and buying resource. He is a graduate of The University of Connecticut and a frequent guest lecturer at New York University in both graduate and undergraduate programs.
Marc Attenberg - Vice President Internet
Marc Attenberg joined Daily Racing Form in 2000 as the company's first internet marketing manager, and increasingly became involved with driving all elements of the website business, ranging from customer acquisition to site design, from new product development to all of the site's marketing partnerships. He was named to his current position in 2006. He began his professional career in 1991 in the music business as a writer for industry trade publication CMJ, and gained extensive retail and consumer marketing experience working for subsidiaries of Sony Music and Richard Branson's V2 Records before joining DRF. Attenberg studied journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia.