For those of us that follow horse racing, few Web sites are more important than Jessica Chapel’s Railbird V2. A relaunch of the ever-popular Railbird, which ran from 2004–2008, V2 features commentary on journalism, digital media, and naturally, horse racing. With a chunk of bloodhorse experience, both in print and in the shedrow, Chapel has a keen eye for what’s relevant, topical and worth noticing. Whereas some blogs can become so heavily niched or compartmentalized, Railbird manages to cover a wide swath of stuff without being alienating or disjointed.
Perhaps what’s most engaging is that she has enough on the site, via archives and the like, that could draw the casual horse racing fan in and then keep them glued.
As Paul Moran continues to pound away at a book and focus his attention elsewhere, Railbird V2 has become a daily ritual for both myself and other horse racing fans across the country. Highly recommended.
