Alan Carasso

Trainer John Shirreffs joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss his recent GI Santa Anita Derby winner and Triple Crown hopeful Honor A.P., as well as a special three-year-old filly named Zellda, the daughter of champion and Hall of Famer Zenyatta.

Trainer Brendan Walsh joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to talk about his Triple Crown hopeful Maxfield after last weekend's win in the Matt Winn S., as well as Godolphin's pursuit of the elusive Kentucky Derby.

This week NYRA's VP Martin Panza joins the TDN Writers' Room to talk racing at Belmont and Saratoga.

Fresh off a dominant weekend at Oaklawn Park in which he swept both divisions of the GI Arkansas Derby, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland this week for a wide-ranging video interview. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Baffert talked about plans for his undefeated trio of Charlatan (Speightstown), Nadal (Blame) and Authentic (Into Mischief), why it was important to support California backstretch workers at last week's protest, taking over the training of Maximum Security,...

He might not want to answer the question, but among his 1-2-3 Derby prospects, Nadal, Charlatan and Authentic, who is the best? Bob Baffert joins the writers on the Writers' Room podcast to try to answer that question.

EVAN FERRARO, RECRUITING & MARKETING MANAGER, FASIG-TIPTON Favorite: Songbird The two-time Fasig-Tipton sales graduate has been a personal favorite of mine since first seeing her as a yearling. Back in 2014, my friend and Fasig-Tipton colleague Dennis Lynch returned from a yearling inspection trip in California raving about a Medaglia d'Oro filly he had accepted for our Saratoga Sale. Whenever Dennis talks up a horse, you better listen, as he is one of the best judges around. That filly turned out to be Songbird. Songbird was easy to fall for,...

Will there be spectators at the September sale? The Keeneland Fall Meet? Like all of us, Bill Thomason doesn't have all the answers, but he talks about plans, protocols and contingencies for Keeneland this fall on the Writers' Room podcast.

The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation was formed to cultivate and put forth independent ideas to help Thoroughbred racing. Pat Cummings, the TIF's executive director, joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast this week, where the timely discussion centered on how the racing industry can sustain itself--the subject of the group's new white paper, and a particularly timely topic given this week's news from Pennsylvania. The writers discuss the Pa. situation and review last weekend's three-year-old preps. Listen to those topics and more, on this week's Writers' Room podcast by clicking here.

A pair of immaculately bred 2-year-old fillies by the late Deep Impact (Jpn) and produced by two mares of considerable importance in the U.S. broke their maidens about 30 minutes apart at Japan's Niigata Racecourse Sunday, Aug. 11. Sunday Racing Co. Ltd's Catulus Felis (Jpn), the first foal out of 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Stephanie's Kitten (Kitten's Joy), validated 3-10 favoritism to graduate over 1800 meters. Drawn gate 12 in the field of 14, the February foal was off a beat slowly then settled about...

In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend--each making their racetrack debuts--running at Kokura and Niigata Racecourses: Saturday, August 10, 2019 5th-KOK, ¥13,400,000 ($126k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1700m NOCTURNE NOTES (JPN) (f, 2, Medaglia d'Oro--Summer Soiree, by War Front) is the first Japanese-bred produce for her dam, who posted her...