Willie Geist is host of NBC’s “Sunday Today with Willie Geist”. He also is a co-host of “Morning Joe,” host of the “Sunday Sitdown” podcast, and a contributor to NBC News programs and to the NBC Sports Group, where he reports for NBC Olympics and NBC Sports Network. Geist is the co-author of Good Talk, Dad: The Birds and the Bees ... and Other Conversations We Forgot to Have.

Geist graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville where he was contributing editor of the school newspaper, The Vanderbilt Hustler. Geist lives in New York City with his wife and two children. He is a Thoroughbred racing fan who was lucky enough to be present at the 147th Belmont Stakes and witness American Pharoah's Triple Crown.

Name: Willie Geist

How and when I was introduced to Thoroughbred racing:  My first memory is of Sunday Silence’s run for the Triple Crown in 1989. The deal was closed the first time I went to the Kentucky Derby in 1995.

My favorite racetrack: Churchill Downs

My favorite Thoroughbred racing event: Now that I’ve witnessed a Triple Crown win in person there, it has to be the Belmont.

Other sports/teams I follow: Pro: Yankees, Giants, Knicks and Nets. College: Vanderbilt (where I went to school) and Illinois (where my parents went).

What I would like to see more of in Thoroughbred racing: A reason for the public to be roped in beyond the three big races.

What I would like to see less of in Thoroughbred racing: My losing tickets.

Three words that define what Thoroughbred racing means to me: Beautiful (the animals). Thrilling (the races). Heartbreaking (when your horse gets nipped at the wire).

First Thoroughbred track I ever attended was: Meadowlands. I grew up in northern New Jersey.

Favorite all-time Thoroughbred: Secretariat. I still get chills watching the Belmont on YouTube. 31 lengths.

My personal best moment in the sport of Thoroughbred racing: Seeing American Pharoah win the Triple in person.

Best racetrack food can be found at: Saratoga (I hear).

My favorite jockey: Eddie Maple. He’s a legend … and my buddy Iver’s dad.

My favorite trainer: Bob Baffert. Happy he finally got his Triple. And those shades, man.

My heroes: Mom, dad, and late grandparents.

Person in Thoroughbred racing I’d like to have dinner with: Would have been Chic Anderson, just to hear him narrate my meal. “He’s moving his fork to his mouth like a tremendous machine!!!”

My philosophy on life: Take life seriously, but not yourself.

Favorite quote or motto: “We talkin’ about practice … Not the game. We talkin’ about practice, man.” –Allen Iverson, 2002

Favorite animal other than a horse: Tiger

Favorite non-Thoroughbred racing sports event I have attended: The Masters

Favorite food: Chicken quesadillas

Favorite vacation spot: My backyard.

Favorite city: Other than my runaway No. 1 home city of New York? New Orleans and Paris.

Favorite musician/band: Rolling Stones, Jay Z, Eazy-E, and Dierks Bentley.

Favorite all-time movie(s): Impossible question, but “Boyz n the Hood,” “Goodfellas,” or “Blazing Saddles.”

Favorite hotel: Gurney’s in Montauk, N.Y. for good times family fun.

Websites I visit daily: Too many to list. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, ESPN.com among hundreds of others.

GEIST WITH JAKE PANUS AT THE BELMONT

Photo courtesy of Stephen Panus

Pet peeve: When the table at a restaurant is wobbly. I cannot continue until I’ve shoved a couple of Sweet ‘n’ Low packets under the offending leg.

Favorite movie about horse racing: "Seabiscuit"

Which actor would play me in a movie: Cedric the Entertainer

Alma mater: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.

Favorite radio shows/channels: Howard Stern since I was a teenager in New Jersey. 

Best book I recently read: “Good Talk, Dad”, the New York Times bestseller now out in paperback!

Favorite memento: Anything my kids make for me.

Favorite dessert: Key lime pie.

Favorite drink: Bourbon and a splash of ginger ale.

Favorite scent: Cut grass.

GEIST

Photo courtesy of Willie Geist/NBC

What I like about my job: Every day is different, and the people we get to meet and spend time with.

Twitter Handle: @WillieGeist

People I follow on Twitter: [More than 1,600] ranging from famous comedians to obscure economists.

No. 1 bucket list item: Win the Triple Crown as the first, 6’4”, 210-pound jockey in racing history.

Note: This Willie Geist feature first ran on America's Best Racing in 2015