The Sky Team

JOHN TAPP

John was the voice and face of Sydney racing for more than 30 years before he retired from racecalling in 1998. He now presents John Tapp's Inside Racing and is co-host of In The Gig.

GRAHAM McNEICE

Part of Sky's original on air team in 1986, Graham is one of Australia's most respected sports broadcasters and documentary producers. He hosts Racing Retro.

ANDREW BENSLEY

Andrew worked for 8 years as a reporter/presenter for the Nine Network after many years in radio. Since joining Sky Racing in 1998 he has established himself as the premier news man of racing.

MATTHEW BROWNING

Matthew joined the Sky Racing team in 1996 after nine years in radio. He has a strong racing heritage and is one of Sky Racing's most popular and authorative presenters.

GREG RADLEY

Greg is a highly acclaimed and popular sports media personality. After a lengthy reign as host of the acclaimed morning radio programme, Raceday, on Sky Sports Radio he has decided on a change of “gait” and transferred to Sky television. He hosts the irreverent Off the Rails programme and also takes a more serious look at racing as an afternoon host on the Sky World channel.

CHRIS KEARNS

Chris came to Sky in 1998 with an imposing record in the media and, radio in particular. Apart for his passion for racing, Chris also has an incredible knowledge of popular music.

RICHARD FREEDMAN

Richard is a member of the renowned F.B.I. (Freedman Brothers Incorporated) racing stables. He is an insightful, outspoken and, sometimes, outrageous member of the Racing Retro team.

TONY BRASSEL

Tony has 20 years as a racing journalist and form expert. He can be seen regularly on Inside Running and every Friday on Trials and Tribulations where his opinions are admired widely.

ANDREW LE JEUNE

Andrew is the producer and host of Sky Racing’s International program Racing Round The World. After having worked in National Hunt racing in the UK he migrated to Australia in 2004.

MICHAEL FRASER

Sydney-born but Queensland-bred, Michael has enjoyed a long and varied career in racing, as a jockey, punter and form assessor. One of our resident form analysts he is a regular panelist on Racing Retro and co-hosts Saturday's Inside Running.

JASON WITHAM

Jason has been a racing fan from a young age. He’s worked for the TAB for more than 13 years in a diversity of roles and that wealth of knowledge  is reflected in his smooth and intelligent on-air presentation for Sky Racing.

DAVE CARLSON

Dave has an extensive background in radio and TV sports journalism with a love of racing. Being a punter at heart means his on-air presentation is informative and, hopefully, lucrative for viewers. He hosts The Punting Club.

Ben Damon

Ben is one of the fresh new faces of Sky Racing. Previously a news reader with the Seven Network in Sydney, Ben hosts The Catching Pen.

Adam Hamilton

A Melbourne-based racing journalists he specialises in harness racing and has had a lengthy association with Sky covering major harness carnivals in Australia and New Zealand. Adam is a regular panelist on In the Gig.

RON DUFFICY

A former jockey, Ron is an astute form analyst and successful racehorse owner. His incisive and, sometimes, cheeky observations can be heard on Sky Sports Radio on Saturday morning and on Racing Retro on Sundays.

ALF MATTHEWS

After a successful career as a Group One-winning jockey Alf has established himself as a respected  commentator on racing. He is Sky Racing's Melbourne form expert and a regular on Racing Retro.

MARK GUEST

Melbourne-born and based, Mark is one of our Victorian thoroughbred form experts. He also is a regular on Inside Running.

LARRY OLSEN

Larry is one of a handful of jockeys to win both the Melbourne Cup and the Golden Slipper Stakes. He is Sky's Brisbane race day form analyst.

Greg Hayes

A great all-rounder whose racing and sporting knowledge equips him to host on radio and television. He is a stand-in host of Big Sports Breakfast Summer Edition on Sky Sports Radio but is seen more regularly as a presenter and harness expert on Sky Racing and co-host on SKY Racing's harness programme, In The Gig.

Glenn Munsie

Glenn started with TAB Sportsbet (or SportsTAB as it was known) back in 1999 and has been around the racetrack since birth. Now the face of TAB Sportsbet informing customers with all the latest on Sports and Racing. He is co-host of The Punting Club, broadcast on Sky Racing.

MAT BROOKS

Mat is the host of Sky’s extensive Pay Per View boxing coverage and the very popular Canvas Classics program. When he’s not bobbing and weaving his way through a big fight telecast he works as Sky Racing’s Programming Manager.

David Raphael

From broadcasting provincial race meetings in Victoria, he scaled the illustrious heights of chief race caller in Hong Kong. During his tenure in Hong Kong, his race calls of feature races were heard world-wide. After a brief time pursuing business interests he returns to the media on Sky Racing World and will concentrate on hosting major international meetings.

Michael Maxworthy

Has extensive experience in the media. Originally from Sydney, his radio career has encompassed stints at 2LT Lithgow, 2UE Sydney, 4BC and Radiotab in Brisbane. For the past nine years, though, he has been the race broadcaster and TV host in Singapore. His career highlight? – Calling the 2006 Queen Elizabeth 11 Cup in the presence of the Queen and Prince Philip. Michael joins the Sky Racing World team as our Asian racing specialist.

Bernadette Cooper

A beguiling blonde, she is a graduate of the keenly competitive field of race riding. After having ridden successfully in Queensland and New South Wales, she sought and secured further fame in Macau. Now she has embarked on a media career and the experience she gleaned in the tough terrain of riding will be transmitted to proffering punters with expert opinions on races in Brisbane and nearby provincial meetings.

Jo McKinnon

One of the most recognisable racing journalists in Australia, she started her career in Victoria in newspapers and commercial television. When Sky branched out on to pay television she was lured to Sky Racing. Since then she branched out into racing PR and has been associated with the Nine Network’s Autumn Racing Carnival coverage.

Corey Brown

A Melbourne Cup-winning jockey still riding with verve and vigour, he has added television commentator to his working repertoire. In his new part-time career he has settled into the role effortlessly. His commentary on racing has been featured on Sky programs including Off the Rails, where his insightful thoughts on racing have been a valuable feature.

Darryl Anderson

Adds another dimension to the international flavour of the new channels’ staff. A New Zealander, he has had extensive experience in racing on the TV channel, Trackside, as a studio host and on-track broadcaster for the past 10 years. Previously he worked in New Zealand radio as an announcer/producer. Darryl joins the Sky Racing World team as our New Zealand racing specialist.

Grant Boyden

A versatile and talented broadcaster. He has worked previously at Sky Racing as well as Sky Sports Radio and Sport 927 in Melbourne. He also is well versed in another brand of horsepower because he has been a commentator on motor car racing.

Danny Matthews

Hails from Victoria where he has been a journalist and newsreader on radio as well as being writer and producer of racing programs for television. In addition to racing he is well versed in many other sports.

Gareth Hall

Boasts a solid news-reporting background. So far he has worked as a sports producer/ reporter with the Nine Network in Melbourne, WIN Network at Ballarat and Setanta Sports News London. He also has been a sports broadcaster with Ladbrokes London.

Russell Veitch

Despite his relatively junior years he may be termed a broadcasting veteran. He has had a lengthy term as a presenter on Sky Sports Radio (formerly 2KY) and until switching to TV was the main coordinator of feature race days for the radio network. Russell is the Senior Program Coordinator of Sky Racing’s TAB Retail Audio Service.

Christy Johns

Willowy and winsome, she enhances the visual vista of racing on TV. From a background of a journalist, newsreader and producer at Radio 2SM she has settled neatly in the saddle as presenter of news segments on race days, racing programs and The Punting Club.

Oliver Bell

Adds a perfectly-modulated English intonation to the Sky coverage. Born in England, he has worked as a journalist with the racing newspaper, Racing Post, and with independent production companies in the UK. He also has been a presenter with Racing UK. For good measure he is an accomplished cricketer and rugby union player.

Mike McCann

ALAN THOMAS

Alan has wide experience calling major sports events for radio and television, but his first love is racing. He is Sky Racing's principal Queensland caller and correspondent.

MATTHEW HILL

Matthew was the inaugural winner of the John Tapp Racecalling Scholarship in 1999. He now is our No. 1 race caller in Sydney presenting exciting, accurate descriptions.

PAUL AMBROSOLI

Paul is Australia's best-known greyhound race caller. He began his career in 1968. Since then his voice has become synonymous with Sydney greyhound racing.

KEVIN THOMPSON

Kevin calls harness racing at a variety of tracks in NSW for Sky Racing and Sky Sports Radio. He has enjoyed a love affair with the sport since he first attended a Harold Park meeting in 1965.

ROD FULLER

Rod has more than 20 years of experience as a race caller. He joined Sky Racing full time as a presenter and a racecaller in February 2002 and now is the main caller for northern New South Wales tracks.

JOSH FLEMING

Hailing from country Queensland, Josh was the second recipient of the John Tapp Race Calling Scholarship in 2003. Now a full time caller and presenter at Sky Racing, he is a rising star in racing media.

FRED HASTINGS

Has been promoted to No. 1 harness race caller for Sky Sports Radio and Sky Racing. After a period as a race day coordinator and subsequently program manager he now has achieved his lifetime goal of being a full-time race caller. Almost two decades ago he began his calling career at the Richmond Greyhounds.

HILTON DONALDSON

Hilton joined Sky after working as a race caller with 3UZ in Melbourne and 5AA in Adelaide. He now is Sky's Adelaide-based, South Australian race caller and correspondent.

MITCHELL MANNERS

The third John Tapp Scholarship winner. He’s a graduate of what is colloquially called ‘The Alan Thomas Academy for Race Callers’. The son of a former jockey, he’s living his dream as a race caller/presenter for Sky Racing.

John McDermott

For about four decades he has been the voice of racing in the Hunter region of New South Wales. His great racing love, though, is greyhounds and his concise, authoritative calls of greyhound events in the Hunter are broadcast on Sky Sports Radio and Sky Racing. His contribution to greyhound racing has been acknowledged by the NCA with a race, The Macca, named in his honour.

Brett Considine

The latest addition to the Sky race caller ranks, he has a rather unique background for this field. A lecturer in the Department of Accounting and Finance at the Macquarie University, he has harboured the ambition to be a race broadcaster. Interwoven with his absorbing academic accomplishments he has been calling non-TAB meetings and picnic meetings to further hone his skills.