04 January 2023 , 16:26
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On-air racing talent Andie Biancone has a novel way of assessing a male horse’s chances - by studying their testicles.
Biancone, the daughter of two-time Arc-winning trainer Patrick Biancone, is an analyst and reporter for TVG, which broadcasts live racing from Gulfstream Park in Miami, Florida.
She had her colleagues in stitches when declaring on air last year, “Believe it or not, testicles are one of the first things I look at when I look at these horses”.
In a later bulletin she said: “I liked the number two horse but honestly if I am going to keep it 100 [per cent], he didn’t pass the testicle test for me.”
TVG have had fun at Biancone's expense with presenter Michael Joyce nominating Biancone's comments as his favourite moment of 2022.
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Yet Biancone, who also helps her father run his barn in Florida and gallops horses for him, says she was trying to make a serious point.
“Being a horse person, testicles can honestly affect a horse,” explains Biancone, 24. “My Dad has always taught me to look at their testicles.
“We’ve had horribly behaved horses in the past which we’ve gelded only to realise that their testicles were twisted inside and were causing them pain and they would be a lot better after gelding.
“Some horses will have one testicle that is smaller than the other and they will get sucked up and that will bother their performance, especially younger horses.”
She goes on, “I had always wanted to bring it up but was too scared to. Then when I was talking about that one horse that day, I talked myself into a corner and I said it out loud. I was super worried I was going to get fired but it worked out okay.”
Andie Biancone: also works as assistant to father and Arc-winning trainer Patrick Biancone in Florida (Twitter@https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmobile.twitter.com%2Fandie_biancone&psig=A)Biancone says she regularly uses her theory when assessing the runners on raceday.
“Even if I’m looking at two horses and they are physically equal, I go to the testicles and whoever has the better testicles is the horse I will pick," she says.
“It’s very easy to spot. Look at Flightline’s [the best horse in the world in 2022] testicles, those are the perfect example of what you want them to look like - a good, equal size, not riding up, not flapping down, and the head of epididymis is facing the back.
“TVG won’t let me live it down but I feel good about saying it. I can educate people about this topic.”