James McDaniels is currently a freshman studying broadcast journalism, with an emphasis in sports, at the University of Southern California.

Born in Yuba City, Calif., McDaniels became a fan of horse racing when he found out California Chrome was co-owned by Yuba City native Perry Martin. Since then, he has followed the sport and even covered the 2014 Breeders' Cup World Championship for his campus newspaper.

McDaniels also has started to photograph races when he is able to make it out to the track.