TDN Podcast

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Tuesday fresh off of a pair of seven-figure wins at Gulfstream and amid one of the hottest streaks of his training life. Sitting down with Joe Bianca, Bill Finley and Jon Green as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Pletcher talked about Life Is Good's dazzling win in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. and what's next for the superstar son of Into Mischief, a planned Dubai trip for MGISW turfer Colonel Liam (Liam's...

It was an eventful few months for three-time Eclipse champion jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. Shortly after scoring a hat trick of victories at the Breeders' Cup, Ortiz was suspended 30 days for careless riding at Aqueduct. Upon his return, the 29-year-old picked up where he left off at Gulfstream, piloting winners left and right and over the weekend, added two more seven-figure Grade I wins to his trophy collection with victories in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S. on back-to-back winner Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) and Pegasus World Cup...

Sponsored by 1/ST Racing    The TDN's 'Let's Talk'--a podcast series featuring TDN's Christina Bossinakis and TVG's on-air analyst Gabby Gaudet, offers candid discussion on personal, and sometimes difficult, topics that are often uncomfortable for many to speak about in an open forum.    The latest edition presents a trio of successful jockeys--Journeyman John Velazquez and retired Ramon Dominguez--both in the Hall of Fame--in addition to retired rider Richie Migliore, currently serving as a NYRA and FOX Sports on-air analyst. Few will dispute the fact that jockeys are the iron...

Breakage, the practice of rounding down bettors' payouts to the nearest 10 or even 20-cent number rather than paying the deserved amount to the penny, has long been a thorn in horseplayers' sides. Kentucky state representative Adam Koenig, an avid horseplayer himself, is trying to do something about it in his state. Wednesday morning, Koenig joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss the bill he's sponsoring to eliminate breakage in Kentucky, as well as his proposed sports betting legislation,...

Kentucky Representative Adam Koenig joins the TDN Writers' Room to talk about his plan to eliminate breakage. Koenig also discusses his support of the legalization of sports betting, and a tax on ADWs.

Jason Beem was just 23 years old when he had his first panic attack, but remembers it in excruciating detail to this day. "I was in law school at Gonzaga University. I was in constitutional law class and I didn't know what it was and walked out of class and freaked out in the hallway." That episode was the beginning of over a decade-and-a-half struggle with anxiety and depression that caused him to leave racing for a period, and be hospitalized several times. The popular racecaller and podcast host talks...

Saturday at Santa Anita, Flavien Prat, the perennial leading rider in California, racked up six wins and didn't finish worse than second on any of the day's mounts. It was the third time in the past year that Prat has won a half-dozen races at the Arcadia oval; in the previous 30 years, it only happened twice altogether. With that backdrop, Prat joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Tuesday as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss his star turn since coming over from his native...

It's a hell of a time in racing to become the new head of one of the sport's foremost national organizations, but new National Thoroughbred Racing Association president and CEO Tom Rooney says he's ready for the challenge. Wednesday morning, the former U.S. congressman joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland's final show of 2021 as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss what the NTRA's top priorities will be under his stewardship, how his previous experience on the Hill can benefit the industry, what he thinks...

It was a busy news week, headlined by the unfortunate sudden death of GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) and the 30-day suspension handed down to leading rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. Wednesday morning, Joe Bianca, Bill Finley and Jon Green of the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland discussed and reacted to all of it, rekindled the debate over whether trainer Bob Baffert is good for the sport, and welcomed the director of the upcoming film "Jockey" as the Green Group Guest of the Week. "A couple of weeks...

The story of a high-quality Thanksgiving weekend of racing at Churchill Downs was undoubtedly Ken McPeek, who sent out four impressive winners on Saturday's all-2-year-old Stars of Tomorrow card, including GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. hero Smile Happy (Runhappy) and 'TDN Rising Star' Cocktail Moments (Uncle Mo), to follow up a six-length victory by his Envoutante (Uncle Mo) in Thursday's GII Falls City S. Tuesday, the thoughtful McPeek sat down for an expansive interview with the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to talk about his loaded barn of promising...

Still riding high from a scintillating victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with fast-finishing Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), celebrity chef, restaurateur and owner/breeder Bobby Flay joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Tuesday afternoon. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Flay appreciated the significance of winning on racing's biggest stage with a homebred, teased a potential Royal Ascot trip with Pizza Bianca and discussed how he would approach racing's marketing challenges and more. Flay made a huge splash at...

The TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland produced its third annual comprehensive Breeders' Cup preview show Wednesday, analyzing and handicapping all 14 World Championships races in depth, and welcomed trainer Wesley Ward later as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss his five combined Breeders' Cup starters in the GI Turf Sprint and GII Juvenile Turf Sprint and future goals for his barn. Asked whether he's happy with the niche he's carved out for himself as mainly an elite 2-year-old and turf sprint trainer or if he has...