NEWS
Jessica Pacheco
Posted: Thursday, June 24, 2010 2:13 PM
JESSICA PACHECO
Arlington Park, Fair Grounds
When asked why she got involved in racing, Jessica Pacheco gives a straightforward answer: “To make money betting horses.”
And so it follows that in addition to betting, Pacheco now makes her living helping others try to make money betting horses.
Pacheco, who got her start at Louisiana Downs in 2006, is the racing analyst and paddock host at Arlington Park in suburban Chicago and Fair Grounds in New Orleans.
Pacheco said when she is on the air, she imagines she is talking to someone just like herself.
“I always think of the person who might be listening and trying to learn or get some valuable information,” Pacheco said. “I go through [statistics]. I do my own speed figures, watch replays. It’s really time consuming, but I feel responsible to give people good information. But I don’t rehearse what I’m going to say. I look at the odds and present it when I get out there.”
Pacheco believes one of the reasons she has been a successful bettor is that she is not a gambler at heart.
“I don’t have that urge for action. I can sit back and do it only when I have a worthwhile bet,” Pacheco said. “I see it as an investment. It’s a way to make money that’s all up to you. It’s independent. You don’t have to report to anybody, no job situation you might not like.”
Pacheco lists her biggest professional achievement as being part of the coverage of the 2008 Breeders’ Cup World Championships and the ’10 Wood Memorial Stakes (G1).
Date of birth: March 8, 1975
Birthplace: El Paso, Texas
Residences: Chicago, New Orleans
Title: Racing analyst
Company: Fair Grounds, Arlington Park
Family: Single
Career: Previously worked at Louisiana Downs as a racing analyst
Background in Thoroughbred industry: “I went from fan of the sport, to student of the game, to horseplayer, to racing analyst.”
Favorite horses: Point Given, Gangbuster
What book are you currently reading? The House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Last movie you saw at the theater: Where the Wild Things Are
What’s on your iPod? Marc Bolan
Outside interests: “My dog, Harlan, and I am currently learning to speak Russian in my spare time.”
Best advice someone gave you: “There will be numerous people with opinions and advice. Listen to them all and then pick and use what works for you.”
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