TDN Podcast

TDN Writers Room for Nov. 13, 2019 With Erik Johnson

Sue Finley — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 00:27:35 +0000

Erik Johnson is a superstar hockey player for the Colorado Avalanche, but he’s also a racehorse owner. This past weekend, he became part of the story swirling around racing in California when his filly Princess Dorian broke down at Del Mar in an $8,000 claiming race. “How could we not step up and do everything we could to save her, and have respect for her no matter if she was a graded stakes winner or an $8,000 claimer?” Erik Johnson is our guest on this week’s TDN Writers’ Room podcast.

Keeneland Life’s Work Project #3: Ted Bassett

Sue Finley — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 16:42:39 +0000

It barely seems a figure of speech, in fact, to describe James E. Bassett III as a pillar of the American Turf. His whole bearing remains so upright that it condenses not only the indelible stamp of his wartime service, with the U.S. Marines, but also the authority and integrity he seamlessly transferred to civilian life.

TDN Writers’ Room for Nov. 6, 2019 With Todd Pletcher

Sue Finley — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 21:52:21 +0000

In this week’s TDN Writers’ Room Podcast, future Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher didn’t mince words when talking about the breakdown of Mongolian Groom (Hightail) in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the rash of breakdowns that have emboldened politicians and animal rights activists. Calling the current situation a “crisis,” Pletcher implored the racing industry to do whatever it takes to cut down on the number of equine fatalities.

TDN Writers’ Room for Oct. 30, 2019 with Mark Casse

Sue Finley — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 23:39:33 +0000

It’s Breeders’ Cup week, and before the writers sit down to handicap the races and commit to their selections, they talk to trainer Mark Casse, who’s at Santa Anita getting ready for the big day. Casse trains Proven Strategies (Sky Mesa) for owner Jon Green and his father Len, who pen a popular TDN column by that name, and the younger Green joins Bill Finley, Alan Carasso and Brian DiDonato to handicap the Cup.

TDN Writers’ Room for October 23, 2019 with Guest Sol Kumin

Sue Finley — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 00:27:42 +0000

This week, the writers welcome successful owner Sol Kumin in their Breeders’ Cup pre-entry day show. Sol makes the Horse of the Year case for Midnight Bisou, while Bill Finley, Alan Carasso and Joe Bianca touch briefly upon the Breeders’ Cup pre-entries. Owner Jon Green of DJ Stables (and TDN writer) is lucky enough to have a starter: Skidmore winner Another Miracle. He also picked up the session topper with his father on Day 1 of Fasig-Tipton October, and has the report. All that and more on today’s Writers’ Room

TDN Writers’ Room for October 16, 2019

Sue Finley — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 00:22:02 +0000

How do we make TDN Rising Stars? While the writers discuss the week’s races, the Breeders’ Cup and the divisional championships, it’s the behind-the-scenes look into how Rising Stars are made that will capture the industry’s interest this week. Tune in to Joe Bianca, Brian DiDonato, Alan Carasso and Bill Finley for this week’s TDN Writers Room podcast.

TDN Writers’ Room for October 10, 2019

Sue Finley — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 01:33:01 +0000

What Breeders’ Cup race should Omaha Beach choose? The TDN Writers make their case for the Classic. Check in with 30 minutes of interesting racing news and opinion with Joe Bianca, Brian DiDonato and Alan Carasso. And, after missing last week’s podcast, Bill Finley returns with his opinion into the “What Should We Fix First.”

Behold. Her.

Sue Finley — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 15:12:22 +0000

With four Eclipse Awards, three Breeders’ Cup victories, 11 Grade I wins and over $6 million in earnings, Beholder is truly the horse of a lifetime-of many lifetimes, really. The future Hall of Famer has accomplished what most can only dream about and did so in a way that left the racing world in awe.

Performing on the biggest stages for years was, in fact, Beholder’s specialty, and while she may no longer be doing so in front of adoring crowds, the 9-year-old mare is still the star of the show at Spendthrift Farm. This was evident on my trip to the Lexington farm, where I visited with the superstar mare and her offspring. Beholder was not born a leading lady, however. She earned it with each and every scintillating racetrack performance over her lengthy career.

Christie DeBernardis talks to Ned Toffey and others at Spendthrift about Beholder’s life at the farm.

TDN Writers’ Room for October 2, 2019

Sue Finley — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 00:20:08 +0000

TDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack makes his TDN podcast debut today, joining Joe Bianca, Brian DiDonato and DJ Stables’ Jon Green. The writers debate the Vino Rosso DQ, talk Horse of the Year picture, and spend a little bit of time mocking Bill Finley, who was out with the flu. They also weigh in on the TDN’s new series, “What Would You Fix First?” and let us know what they would each fix first, and have some very interesting answers.Finally, what do Tupac and Biggie have to do with racing? Joe Bianca explains.

TDN Writers’ Room for September 25, 2019

Sue Finley — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 00:14:26 +0000

This week, the writers talk about the three-year-old picture after the disruptive Pennsylvania Derby, which did nothing to clarify the division. We recap the weekend’s races, and look ahead to this week. The TDN team also welcomes Jon Green back to the TDN studios, after his trip to Keeneland September. He talks about the sale, but jokes he’d rather not discuss the Cotillion Stakes, which marked the return of his Breeders’ Cup champion Jaywalk.

Keeneland Life’s Work Project: John Phillips

Sue Finley — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 12:00:56 +0000

His grandfather’s greatest achievements, on the Turf, were all about looking outward; about opening minds and dismantling boundaries. Listening to John Phillips, however, you realize that the impetus for the whole adventure–for the mutual enlightenment, either side of the ocean, achieved by sending Roberto and Ribot in opposite directions–could not have been more definitively American. Listen to Chris McGrath’s podcast with John Phillips, part of the Keeneland Life’s Work project.

TDN Writers’ Room for September 18, 2019

Sue Finley — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 01:06:55 +0000

This week, the writers–Joe Bianca, Alan Carasso and Bill Finley–talk about the story about the Justify Scopolamine positive, the three-year-old picture, the upcoming Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion Stakes at Parx, and next year’s Derby picture. Plus, we talk on the phone with trainer Chad Brown about the Cotillion favorite, Guarana.

Opinions are in no short order.

The Man O’ War Project

Sue Finley — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 17:07:24 +0000

Of all the terrible things that mankind has inflicted upon one another, there is none so terrible as war. Estimates of the total number of people killed in war in the history of the world range up to a billion lives, and for the combatants, oftentimes just surviving the conflict seems like the goal. But of course, too many people come home from combat only to find that they cannot leave it behind. In 2013, the Veterans Administration released a study which showed that 22 veterans a day were committing suicide. And now one man, former U.S. Ambassador Earle Mack, has decided to do something about it.

Horologist Owner Cameron Beatty is Getting a Second Chance at Life

Sue Finley — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 11:58:15 +0000

Saturday, 27-year-old Cameron Beatty will watch his filly Horologist compete as one of the favorites in the $1 million Cotillion Stakes at Parx. Just eight years ago, however, he thought he had lost everything when a motorcycle accident cost him his college football career, and left him seriously injured. We talk to Beatty about his recovery, his life, and his star filly.

TDN Writers’ Room for September 12, 2019

Sue Finley — Thu, 12 Sep 2019 01:38:09 +0000

This week, Joe Bianca, Alan Carasso and Bill Finley discuss the astronomical returns at Keeneland, the upcoming weekend’s racing, and Finley’s horrible understanding of the apostrophe rule.

The Curragh: Ireland’s Bedrock of Champions

Sue Finley — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 16:55:00 +0000

The Curragh has recently undergone a much publicised €80 million redevelopment, but it is much more than just a racecourse. Set in Ireland’s Thoroughbred heartland of Kildare, it is home to the country’s largest training centre and more than 800 racehorses. Listen as Emma Berry talks to some of the industry icons who call The Curragh home.

TDN Writers’ Room for September 5, 2019

Sue Finley — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 12:18:17 +0000

In this week’s TDN Writers’ Room podcast, Joe Bianca, Brian DiDonato and Bill Finley welcome Jon Green from DJ Stables. Green co-authors the TDN’s popular tax column, Proven Strategies, with his father Len Green as part of the accounting firm The Green Group. Their stable will send out A Thread of Blue in this weekend’s $1 million Jockey Club Derby at Belmont. The quartet discusses the Saratoga and Del Mar meets, TDN Rising Stars, how the first-crop sires are faring, and the upcoming Keeneland September Sales.

Keeneland Life’s Work Project: Seth Hancock

Sue Finley — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 17:53:35 +0000

“You ever see me around the sales wearing short pants, you better run for cover-because the world’s getting ready to come to an end.” Seth Hancock is remembering Swale. Bittersweet animal! He slaked Claiborne’s ancestral thirst for a Kentucky Derby, trained by the great Woody Stephens. A week after Swale added the Belmont, Hancock was back in New York to see one of the farm’s fillies run in the Mother Goose. Listen to the entire podcast, with Chris McGrath.

TDN Writers’ Room for August 29, 2019

Sue Finley — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 12:05:05 +0000

Welcome to the Writers Room, the first edition of the new weekly TDN Podcast. Today, writers Joe Bianca, Alan Carasso and Bill Finley wrap up the Travers Stakes, the Personal Ensign Stakes, and the rest of the week’s racing. They debate the three-year-old leaders, and look ahead to this weekend’s stakes racing.

The Incontri: A Magical Meeting in Siena

Sue Finley — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 18:16:53 +0000

The experience of sitting in a semi-darkened church overlooking the Val d’Orcia, one of Italy’s most beautiful vistas, with just around 200 other people and listening to this music is so profound, and such a rare chance to focus in today’s world full of distractions, that leads me to start thinking about all of the things I value and enjoy in life. Travel, certainly, and history. Family, tradition, art, great food and fine wine, friendship, landscape, scenery and beauty. And now, music. Listen to Sue Finley’s story on the Incontri in Terra di Siena, a music festival unlike any other.

Magic In Chile: Taking a Wine Tour on Horseback

Sue Finley — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 18:21:54 +0000

It is easy to think of ‘The Cowboy’ as an American entity, but plenty of other cultures have their own equivalent. As part of the celebration for the G1 Longines Gran Premio Latinoamericano—which was won by Ya Primo (Chi), who since ran second for Chad Brown in the GII July 27 Bowling Green at Saratoga-huasos came out on the track and put on a demonstration before the race in Santiago, Chile. Ride along with Amanda Duckworth and some huasos on a wine tour of Chile.

David Burke: A Celebrity Chef with Racing Connections

Sue Finley — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 18:28:59 +0000

Not unlike the rise of supertrainers in racing, the last decade has given birth to the rise of the super celebrity chef-restaurateurs who operate in multiple locations, compete in televised competitions, and have their own shows on the Food Network. David Burke currently operates 10 restaurants, has a line of cookware, has appeared on numerous t.v. programs, is developing his own reality series, has written two cookbooks, participates in numerous philanthropic endeavors, and serves as a consultant to a number of corporate organizations. Sue Finley visits with him at his restaurant near Monmouth Park, and discovers his many racing connections.

Serena’s Song: Still Going Strong at Denali at 27

Sue Finley — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:40:20 +0000

There were few people more visible in the highest echelons of the sport of horse racing in the 1990s than Bob and Beverly Lewis. The California couple spent large sums at the yearling sales and were rewarded with six champions-including two Kentucky Derby winners-in the span of 10 years. But it is likely they are most remembered for their copious volumes of grace and class. Bob and Beverly were married for 58 years before Bob’s passing in 2006, and they developed similarly loyal relationships with those they employed in the Thoroughbred industry. In a 2017 TDN story following Beverly’s death, trainer Bob Baffert said, “They may have been the only owners in racing who no one ever minded losing to. They were both so well-liked and such nice people.” Kelsey Riley visits with their most famous horse, Serena’s Song, who is still happy and healthy at Denali Stud at the age of 27.

Newmarket: A Place of Wonder for the Racehorse

Sue Finley — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 18:36:04 +0000

It has been 400 years since the first Spring Meeting was run at Newmarket, during the reign of James I, in 1619. While racing took place in different guises and at other locations around the world before that time, the formalised sport of horseracing as we now know it began in the small East Anglian town which remains a global focus for the ‘sport of kings’. Listen to Newmarket resident Emma Berry’s podcast on her hometown.

King Leatherbury

Sue Finley — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 18:55:48 +0000

King T. Leatherbury is a horse racing legend, but not in the manner of a Bob Baffert or a Wayne Lukas. Leatherbury has been grinding it out since with 1958, primarily with claiming horses. But the 85-year-old trainer has been so good at what he does that he’s the fifth-winningest trainer of all time in North America and is in the Hall of Fame. Leatherbury, who may be nearing retirement, is this week’s guest on the Thoroughbred Daily News podcast, brought to you by Taylor Made.

Chuck Zacney

Sue Finley — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 19:39:18 +0000

Owner Chuck Zacney had quite the run in 2005 when Afleet Alex (Afleet) won the GI Preakness and GI Belmont and was named champion 3-year-old male. He’s had a good horse here and there over the next many years, but nothing like the duo he’s ready to launch in the major races for 3-year-old fillies and colts next year. He’s the co-owner of both GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Jaywalk (Cross Traffic) and GII Remsen S. winner Maximus Mischief (Into Mischief) and, yes, he’s dreaming of a GI Kentucky Oaks-GI Kentucky Derby double. Can you blame him? Zacney is this week’s guest on the TDN Podcast, presented by Taylor Made.

John Gosden

Sue Finley — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 17:46:26 +0000

Not that anyone necessarily needed reminding, but John Gosden proved at this year’s Breeders’ Cup that not only is he one of most gifted trainers in the sport, he is among the most durable. Way back in 1984, the then-33-year-old trainer won a race at the inaugural Breeders’ Cup with Royal Heroine (Ire) (Lypheor {GB}). Fast forward to 2018 and the 35th Breeders’ Cup and there was John Gosden back in the winner’s circle with the phenomenal filly Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). A trainer who has won far more than his fair share of big races all over the world, John Gosden is our guest on this week’s Thoroughbred Daily News podcast, brought to you by Taylor Made.

John Sadler

Siara Spreen — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 20:16:38 +0000

After he won the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic with Accelerate (Lookin at Lucky) John Sadler said the story wasn’t about him. He wanted all the glory to go to the horse. But he was only partially right, as Sadler was widely admired for how he guided Accelerate’s year and for how he withstood the scrutiny that came with an 0 for 41 record coming into the Breeders’ Cup. Sadler is this week’s guest on the Thoroughbred Daily News podcast, brought to you by Taylor Made.

Oisin Murphy

Siara Spreen — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 17:11:15 +0000

It’s not the least bit uncommon for European jockeys to win a Breeders’ Cup race, but the names are usually familiar ones…like Frankie Dettori, or Ryan Moore. But this year it could be that the star among the European jockeys in the Breeders’ Cup is a 23-year-old baby-faced jockey from Ireland who you may not have heard of. His name is Oisin Murphy and on the other side of the Atlantic, there is no hotter rider. Murphy is this week’s guest on the Thoroughbred Daily podcast, brought to you by Taylor Made.

Jim McIngvale

Siara Spreen — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 14:10:08 +0000

Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale has been known for his innovative nature, his enthusiasm, his philanthropy and for owning some fast horses. Now, he’s about to make his mark as a stallion owner. Runhappy (Super Saver), the brilliant sprinter he owned who won the 2015 GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint and nominated for three Eclipse Awards that year, will be represented for the first time at this fall’s breeding stock sales as 23 of his weanlings will go through the ring. Runhappy broke records at Keeneland and Saratoga, while racing 100% medication free. Mattress Mack is our guest on this week’s TDN podcast, brought to you by Taylor Made.