To Be Recognized at Alibi Breakfast Thursday, May 16
LAUREL, MD – Dan Illman, longtime handicapper and writer for the Daily Racing Form (DRF) and executive producer for DRF’s video productions, has been named recipient of the 2024 Old Hilltop Award for covering Thoroughbred racing with excellence and distinction.
Illman will be presented with the Old Hilltop Award May 16 at the Alibi Breakfast at Pimlico Race Course during Preakness Week. The Alibi Breakfast began in the 1930s on the porch of the old Pimlico Clubhouse and features a gathering of media, owners, trainers, jockeys, horsemen, and fans to celebrate the Preakness and gain interesting and humorous race predictions.
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A racing fan since childhood, Illman, lead anchor for DRF’s handicapping videos since 2003, grew up on Long Island halfway between Belmont Park and Aqueduct. A graduate of Nova Southeastern University, Illman began his career at Sports Eye. Illman has authored “Betting Maidens & Two-Year-Olds,” has appeared on ESPN, MSG and TVG, and compiles DRF’s Weekly Divisional Ratings. He has been DRF’s Mid-Atlantic correspondent since 2020.
“I am very honored to receive the Old Hilltop Award from the Maryland Jockey Club,” Illman said. “I fell in love with racing the first time I went to Belmont Park as a child, snuck the Daily Racing Form into my high school classes, and am very grateful to live my dream by covering the sport each day. The last few years of reporting on the Mid-Atlantic region, especially Maryland racing, have been the most rewarding of my career.”