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00:00They say, the harder the work, the greater the reward.
00:18This is our life's work.
00:21Good morning.
00:24It is 909, Wednesday, March 2nd.
00:27This is the TDN Writer's Room presented by Keeneland.
00:30My name is Joe Bianca.
00:31I'm the Associate Editor of the Thoroughbred Daily News.
00:34It's March, baby.
00:35Spring is right around the corner.
00:37Another sunny intro from your boy.
00:39There you go, Joe.
00:40Love those sunny intros.
00:42I'm Bill Finley, a correspondent for the Thoroughbred Daily News.
00:44I got today's Wordle Word in three guesses, and I'm pretty damn proud of myself.
00:49Brian DiNato, Franklin Avequin.
00:52I thought yesterday's Wordle Word was kind of ridiculous.
00:55Well, I guess now there are no spoilers, but it wasn't my favorite one.
00:59I did get it, but I think that should be a proper name.
01:02The TDN Writer's Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
01:04The Keeneland Spring Meet returns April 8th through the 29th.
01:07New Keeneland Select accounts that wager $300 in the first 30 days earn $100 back with their
01:13sign-up bonus.
01:14You can visit keenelandselect.com to sign up.
01:18So unfortunately, there was a lot of news on the Baffert front this week.
01:21We finally got the lawsuit that we were expecting.
01:25He sued Churchill Downs Incorporated and Bill Carstensian, who is the CEO, as well as Churchill
01:31Board Chair Alex Rankin, in order to try to stay in the Derby picture and be able to run
01:36in the Derby.
01:37Also, he made his appeal on the KHRC suspension to a Kentucky administrative law judge, saying,
01:45quote, without a stay of his suspension, the KHRC suspension will effectively put me out
01:51of business, which I have a lot to say about that.
01:54Bill, I'm curious what your response is to these expected but pretty important law proceedings.
02:01Yeah, absolutely.
02:02And everything was expected.
02:03And let me say one thing.
02:05Well, it's fresh on the hot burner.
02:07He said, it will put me out of business.
02:08No, it's not going to.
02:09None of this is going to come even close to putting him out of business because he can
02:12still run at most major racetracks in the country.
02:16And even if he does serve a lengthy suspension, owners will flock back to him when it's over.
02:21I understand hyperbole in these cases is common.
02:26But the problem for Baffert now is that obviously everything is focused on the short-term goal
02:33of getting into the Kentucky Derby.
02:36He's got Messier.
02:37We'll talk later about Newgrange, who kind of didn't run well in the Rebel.
02:42But it's Baffert.
02:43He's got four or five horses that are Derby bound.
02:46The problem that he has now is that he has to clear not one but two very big hurdles
02:53to be able to get into the Derby.
02:54So let's suppose he gets the judge in Kentucky.
02:58And by the way, as we are recording this, the hearing in Kentucky is ongoing.
03:03We don't expect a decision today.
03:05But our intrepid reporter, Katie Petruniak, is in the courthouse.
03:08And she'll be filling in all the TDN readers later today and, of course, tomorrow when
03:13they wake up and read their TDN.
03:16But he's got two hurdles to clear.
03:18If he wins in Kentucky court and gets a stay that prevents Churchill from banning him,
03:24he still has the Kentucky Racing Commission suspension, which runs from March 8 for three
03:30months and would take him out of the entire Triple Crown.
03:33If he gets a stay over that suspension from Kentucky, he could still potentially have
03:39the Churchill ban.
03:41So it's getting down to crunch time.
03:43There are two things he's dealing with at once, two different balls up in the air.
03:48And unless he gets a stay or an injunction or a temporary restraining order or whatever
03:52you want to say on not just one but both of these matters, he's not going to compete
03:58in the Kentucky Derby.
03:59And predicting this is obviously a little bit difficult, especially for guys like us
04:03who are not lawyers and want to set our hair on fire because all we talk about anymore
04:08is lawsuits and legal things.
04:09But I would have to say, based on the fact that he's got two very high hurdles to clear,
04:14I don't think Bob Baffert's competing in this year's Kentucky Derby.
04:17And that, again, raises the question that we've been asking for months and we have
04:22no answers to whatsoever what happens to his horses like Messier, et cetera.
04:27Yeah.
04:28I mean, like you said, it's a lot to happen in a short window.
04:30And we've kind of been waiting to see when these owners were going to blink and make
04:35a decision and make a change.
04:37And I mean, at this point, it seems like that's just not going to happen.
04:40And I guess they're just willing to forego the one race and figure they can win a lot
04:44of other races.
04:46But yeah, I mean, I mean, personally, I'm a little tired of talking about this.
04:52I don't know how you cover it, Bill.
04:54You do all these stories and TV, and it's just like I couldn't.
04:58I don't know how you write 2000 words about it every day.
05:01Not fun, Brian.
05:03I'm tired of talking about it on the show every week.
05:04That's for damn sure.
05:06Yeah, I mean, I just I get that.
05:09It's like Bill says, hyperbole.
05:11And it's you kind of have to exaggerate your arguments for the public and for the court.
05:16But I'm just I'm getting a little tired of the Bob Baffert's career is in your hands
05:23plea to every single judge.
05:25And it's just it's such a joke is like everything.
05:28Everything they say about the potential damage to his career from suspensions is just a farce.
05:33The idea that Bob Baffert is going to go out of business if he's suspended for 90 days.
05:37It's just so patently ridiculous.
05:39Like, I don't I don't really know what to say.
05:41But, you know, if nothing else, Bob Baffert's owners have shown that they're fiercely loyal
05:45to him.
05:46They have not moved any of their horses really out of his barn, despite it being two months,
05:50basically, to the Derby and having no points.
05:53So the idea that all these people aren't going to go running back to him, even if he has
05:57to test to serve the 90 days is pretty laughable to me.
06:00But, you know, and also he's not hurting for money, as you can tell by him paying his
06:04lawyers to file lawsuits every single day.
06:06You know, Craig Robertson's kids have probably gone through school over the past just from
06:10the past year of lawyer fees.
06:12And, you know, it's just it continues this kind of narrative for him.
06:15And I think that's what pisses people off more than anything.
06:18It's not even really the drug positives.
06:20It's that he just can never take responsibility for this.
06:24That's the big problem for me.
06:25It's always he's the victim.
06:27This is just something that's happening to him.
06:29You know, it's not the result of his actions.
06:31And that to me is really frustrating.
06:33It's just, you know, he just has this like this inability to just ever take responsibility
06:39and even serve a single day of a suspension.
06:42Like, I think if he took the 90 days and just said, you know, I screwed up, you know, I
06:46think the testing limits are too sensitive.
06:49But nevertheless, I broke the rules.
06:51I'm going to go away for a little bit.
06:52I'll be back.
06:53I think people would mostly be OK with that and would be more willing to welcome him back
06:57into the fold.
06:57But it's just this constant, constant obstinance and just refusal to ever face any consequences
07:03for his actions, I think rubs a lot of people the wrong way.
07:05But he's never going to change.
07:07You know, it's just that's why this this process goes on and on and on and on and on, because
07:12he just refuses to take responsibility.
07:14Don't you think, Bill?
07:15Yeah, I do.
07:17And that is I don't think obviously from the time that he started this, when he did those
07:21first press conferences and then went on the cancel culture tour, he has not done a good
07:27job handling this from a public relations standpoint.
07:29And basically, he shut up.
07:31I mean, his actions speak, but he doesn't speak literally in words.
07:35You know, for quite some time now, he has not had anything to say on this.
07:39And I'm sure the lawyers finally said to him that, you know, Bob, you're hurting yourself
07:43here.
07:43Let's keep quiet.
07:44I want to piggyback off something Brian said, though, and I would have thought, you know,
07:48he said his owners haven't blinked and they haven't.
07:51And I would have thought at this point, you know, that van from Bob Baffert's barn straight
07:55to Todd Fletcher's barn with about seven Kentucky Derby contenders would have already
07:59been rolling out of the gates of Santa Anita.
08:01But and I'm very surprised.
08:03And maybe this is just loyalty to Baffert.
08:07And, you know, loyalty is not such I mean, I would disagree with him, but, you know,
08:11there's something to be said for being loyal to a guy and sticking by him.
08:14But I don't think they have gotten to the point yet where they have to blink because
08:18we're dealing now.
08:19There's basically in the during the three year old season, three rounds of Derby preps
08:24and you go from, say, in California, you go from like the Robert B.
08:28Lewis is round one, San Felipe is round two, and then the Santa Anita Derby, the big preps
08:33Santa Anita Derby, Arkansas Derby, Bluegrass, Wood Memorial, etc.
08:37have yet to be run.
08:38You can run in just those races.
08:41And so far from a point standpoint, if you finish second or third, you're going to get
08:46enough points to get into the Derby.
08:48So I think, you know, Baffert has preached to his owners.
08:52Give me a chance here.
08:54I'm going to get this overturned and they're sticking by me because they don't have to
08:57blink yet.
08:58Now, it could be that they will just say the heck with the Kentucky Derby.
09:02We'll just run in the Preakness.
09:04And, you know, all you people in Kentucky that are going after our friend Baffert, you
09:07can go to hell.
09:09But that hasn't been determined yet.
09:12We'll see.
09:12And again, I don't think that they have to blink for the San Felipe, but the California
09:17contingent does have to blink before the Santa Anita Derby.
09:21The Arkansas contingent does have to blink before the Arkansas Derby.
09:25And if they don't and Baffert doesn't win all his legal lawsuits, then we are not going
09:30to see these horses in the Kentucky Derby.
09:31But I still think there's going to I still think they'll be there probably with another
09:36trainer.
09:37But we'll see.
09:38Now, Bill, what's the likelihood?
09:40I mean, you said before you're not a lawyer either.
09:42How likely do you think this is all to shake out in like the three weeks it needs to shake
09:47out in?
09:48You know, up to like this week, I would have said quite possibly.
09:53But now looking at it, like I said, was so much he's got to fight off so much.
09:57And, you know, the other thing, too, that we haven't talked about is that both the
10:01Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and Churchill Downs, they are like taking no crap here.
10:07And, you know, they suspended Baffert for 90 days.
10:10And I don't think any of us saw that coming.
10:12We thought it would be the typical 15 day now suspension.
10:15Now, they've made it the 90 days because they said it was the fourth violation and
10:22it's an escalating scale of of of things.
10:26Then they denied his stay of suspension, which I was really surprised there because, you
10:33know, I like his lawyer, Craig Robinson, said this is unprecedented.
10:38I don't know if it's unprecedented or not, but I can't recall a situation where a guy
10:42has appealed the suspension, particularly for a fairly innocuous drug.
10:47It's not a performance enhancing drug.
10:49And they haven't said, yeah, you get a stay, go on and train and we'll worry about this
10:53as it proceeds through the courts.
10:55And then Churchill, I mean, they put out a press release yesterday.
10:58I use the word scathing in my my writing in the Thoroughbred Daily News.
11:03I mean, this is not there.
11:05Nobody's playing nice here anymore.
11:07I mean, they are the comments are loud, bold.
11:10Their actions are bold.
11:12So neither the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission or Churchill Downs is going to showing any
11:17signs that they're going to roll over here.
11:18So, you know, again, everything could change and maybe it'll change by this afternoon when
11:23Katie writes her story out of Kentucky court.
11:25But right now, I think especially with with the time frame we're dealing with, I don't
11:30think things look good for him.
11:32Yeah, I mean, and that's why he has to make these arguments to try to persuade a judge
11:38that maybe is not as well versed in racing to to believe this idea that this is going
11:43to end his career, because if he says that to the KHRC or to Churchill Downs, you know,
11:48it's it's completely they know the sport and they know how ridiculous that is.
11:52They know that he has 30, 40 years, decades in the business built up that's not going
11:57to go away in just 90 days.
11:59So he has to have these hyperbolic arguments to try to convince maybe these not so well
12:03versed in racing judges to be on his side.
12:06But, you know, Bill mentioned the scathing statement.
12:08I'll read it.
12:09This is the response from Churchill Downs, Inc.
12:12after he read Bob Baffert finally filed suit against him, says the lawsuit filed by Bob
12:17Baffert is disappointing, but certainly not surprising.
12:20His claims are meritless and consistent with his pattern of failed drug tests, denials,
12:24excuses and attempts to blame others and identify loopholes in order to avoid taking responsibility
12:30for his actions.
12:31These actions have harmed the reputations of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs and
12:35the entire thoroughbred racing industry.
12:37Churchill Downs will fight this baseless lawsuit and defend our company's rights.
12:41What's at stake here is the integrity of our races, the safety of horses and the trust
12:45of the millions of fans and bettors who join us every year on the first Saturday of May.
12:50That says to me that they are ready.
12:52They are ready to take it.
12:53If Bob Baffert really wants to go this this route and take them to court, Churchill Downs,
12:58I'm sure, has just as good lawyers as Bob Baffert does, if not more.
13:03They've been preparing for this all along.
13:05The same thing with the KHRC.
13:07I'm sure that they have been preparing for his rebuttal all along.
13:11Maybe that's why it took them nine and a half months to make a ruling.
13:13I'm not going to speculate on that.
13:16Honestly, Bob Baffert, I think, has antagonized his way out of a lot of stuff in this industry
13:22for a long time.
13:23I don't know that he's going to be able to do it this time, especially because I don't
13:26think he has a leg to stand on.
13:28With the KHRC ruling, as far as I've read, it doesn't matter if the drug was in his blood
13:36because of an ointment or because of an injection.
13:38It doesn't matter.
13:39He tested positive.
13:40And with the Churchill Downs thing, they're a private company, and they can take him off
13:43the grounds if they want.
13:45They don't have to go through the whole governmental process that Naira did.
13:48And I just think he's kind of out of luck at this point.
13:52Joe, I want to add to that, and I want to focus in on the latest one, the lawsuit against
13:57Churchill Downs.
13:57And again, I have to preface this every time.
14:00I'm not a lawyer, and maybe lawyers would tell me that I'm dead wrong on this, but I
14:03don't think I am.
14:03It's like a little thing over your head.
14:07But the lawyer's contention was, OK, you can't ban him because you denied him his due process
14:14rights.
14:15And oh, by the way, only the Racing Commission can ban him.
14:18Again, from my layman's standpoint, but I'm getting an education on this.
14:24That's just wrong.
14:25I mean, there's no legal precedence that I can see that they back up these statements.
14:31In matter of fact, every single time, by and large, this has come before courts.
14:35They have said that a private racetrack can throw out anybody anytime they want, as long
14:39as it's not race, creed, color, religion, et cetera.
14:43And they don't have to give anybody due process.
14:45And to say that only the Racing Commission, which banned him anyways, by the way, can't
14:50ban him.
14:51Again, you know, that that goes against everything that has been tried in the courts over the
14:55year.
14:56So, you know, it's a little bit of a Hail Mary.
14:58But, you know, I guess that it is fourth and 40 for them.
15:02And then they're going to throw Hail Marys.
15:04Yeah, it's pretty funny.
15:06Well, the Racing Commission is the only people that could ban me.
15:09Well, what'd they do?
15:09Well, they just banned me for 90 days.
15:11Shouldn't have brought that up.
15:13Right.
15:14The TDN Writer's Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
15:16Nominations for this year's Toyota Bluegrass and Ashland Steaks on opening weekend of
15:20Keeneland Spring Meet have been posted.
15:22The Bluegrass, back to being a grade one this year, as it always should have been, attracted
15:26121 nominees, including the 1-2 finishers in the Risenstar, Epicenter, and Smile Happy.
15:32The race is scheduled for Saturday, April 10th, and will be televised on NBC.
15:36The Ashland drew 99 three-year-old Philly nominees, including champion Echo Zulu.
15:41Looking forward to seeing her back on the track.
15:42And grade two, Rachel Alexandra Steaks, winner Turner Loose.
15:46The Ashland will be run on opening day, Friday, April 9th.
15:49And we're super excited for the Keeneland meet.
15:51As always, it's right around the corner, probably four or five weeks away at this point.
15:56Can't wait to watch it.
15:57Can't wait to hopefully be there at some point during the meet.
16:00And as always, it's going to be a ton of great, high-quality racing.
16:03Looking forward to it.
16:04Be right back after this message from Keeneland.
16:07The Eclipse Awards are a recognition of greatness.
16:10An Eclipse Award goes to Cornish.
16:14Wow, how sweet it is.
16:16But Milo thought she was a rather fresh arrow.
16:19And a special thank you to Echo Zulu.
16:21Jackie's Warrior.
16:23I'm so grateful for them.
16:25They win Horse of the Year, Nixco 2021.
16:28It has been incredible, Johnny.
16:30Such an important award.
16:32Congratulations, each of you, on this amazing accomplishment.
16:37He was just put together like a machine, and he had a great mind.
16:41Everything about him was what you'd want.
16:43Tis the Law pops the cork and the champagne.
16:46Tis the Law is going to win the first leg of the Triple Crown.
16:50I've never seen him get tired.
16:51Respect the Law.
16:52Tis the Law.
16:54His structure is just perfect.
16:56His bone is perfect.
16:57He's left the others behind.
16:59He's going to win the Run Happy Traverse.
17:01He's everything you would look for in a horse.
17:07The TDN Writers Room is brought to you by Coolmore Classic Empire.
17:11It's 12th winner of the year last week when Classic State of Mind won an allowance optional
17:15claimer at Gulfstream by two and a half lengths.
17:17Classic Empire sits second only to Cupid, a number of winners in 2022 among second crop
17:24sires.
17:25It's also the sire of three stakes performers led by stakes winner Morello so far this year.
17:29And Coolmore America is off to a great start with their second crop sire's practical joke,
17:33Caravaggio.
17:35Classic Empire and Cupid, of course.
17:36But it's also an exciting time as they welcome the first foals from Tis the Law, Echo Town,
17:40and Maximum Security.
17:41A lot of big things going on with the sires down in Ashford.
17:45So the big racing over the weekend was at Oaklawn Park.
17:48We had the Rebel and the Honey Bee.
17:50It was two pretty different performances.
17:52We had one blowout win from a really nice, really heavily favored three-year-old filly.
17:57And then we had a close win by a 75 to one shot.
18:01The track changed a lot in between the races as well.
18:03So it's tough to compare those two races.
18:05A secret oath to filly I was referring to got a 92 buyer.
18:09Love, love seeing the Arrogate filly do well.
18:11Obviously a great story for D. Wayne Lucas.
18:14There's chatter about her maybe running in the Arkansas Derby,
18:16particularly since Un Ojo, the long shot who won the Rebel, only got an 84 buyer.
18:22Don't know how much you can really read into that.
18:23Well, let's get some first reactions from Bill and Brian.
18:27Well, I mean, the story obviously is Wayne Lucas.
18:30I mean, what a day for him.
18:31Secret oath.
18:32And then he almost pulls off a win in the Arkansas Derby as well.
18:35Um, you know, and then he can't help but not root for Lucas.
18:39You know, the guy has been an icon in this industry for so long.
18:43And, you know, it's not just him when he's 86 years old.
18:45And when trainers get into this neighborhood, um, the owners tended to just say, you know,
18:51I'm going to go find somebody younger and that sort of thing.
18:53And, you know, I, every week I, I, every time she's raced, I've tried to beat her.
18:57I think she's going to bounce and go backwards.
18:59And she just keeps going and going and going.
19:01And I don't know if she beat the very best field in that race, but she, you know,
19:05the way she did it, though, she really, it was, you know, as, as Vick's offering a
19:09little bit of hyperbole, he said, here is a superstar coming to the wire.
19:15I don't know if I would go that far, but nonetheless, she is really, really good.
19:19And, you know, the story becomes Ken and this, you know, one of the last hurrahs in his long,
19:24illustrious career, can Wayne Lucas pull off a win in the, um, uh, Kentucky Oaks.
19:30And then the story becomes a few hours later, and I'm sorry to do this.
19:35Please.
19:35Somebody help me.
19:36I don't remember the name of the horse of his that ran second.
19:38Um, Ethereal Road.
19:40Ethereal Road.
19:41Exactly.
19:41So then Ethereal Road looks like he's going to win the race and gets nipped on the wire
19:45by this impossible long shot Uno Ojo.
19:48Now, I think that the relevance there is that I think that Ethereal Road having run well
19:54was probably going to mean that Lucas is not going to run secret oath against the boys
19:59in the Arkansas Derby because he doesn't need to right now.
20:01Now, he has this history of running, uh, you know, back in the day of running fillies against
20:06boys, including one of the, uh, the, um, Arkansas Derby with Althea many moons ago, uh, a filly
20:13there.
20:13But, um, you know, she's really, really good.
20:15And we'll see what happens in her next start, which I assume will be the fantasy.
20:19And then we'll see what Lucas does with his three-year-old Colt as well as Ethereal Road.
20:23But, uh, you know, fascinating story.
20:25Like most people, um, I don't think the Rebel is going to produce, uh, a Kentucky Derby
20:31contender.
20:32I think the race really came up poor.
20:33New Grange, the big favorite, or our friend Bob Baffert did not run a step.
20:37And then, um, you know, you had some sort of impossible long shots, first and second
20:41on the wire, but a good story.
20:42The one-eyed horse from a little trainer out of Louisiana that nobody ever heard of, Uno
20:45Ojo will be following that.
20:48And not to heap more praise on you today, Bill, but I thought your D-Wayne story before
20:52the race was really good.
20:53Well, thank you.
20:53I think if anyone who hasn't read that, go back and check it out.
20:56Just some great quotes from D-Wayne.
20:58Um, I mean, Sigurdod is really good.
21:02I don't know why every time a filly wins a couple of races, we all of a sudden have to
21:06talk about, will she take on the boys?
21:08Um, I don't know.
21:09I mean, she's beaten some pretty lackluster fields in those two races.
21:13Obviously she's doing it in fast time and, you know, she can't control who she's beating,
21:16but, um, I'm not so sure against, you know, the, the best Colts, if she'd really stack
21:23up and win that kind of race.
21:25Um, I was a little surprised that they brought Newgrange back for that race.
21:29I know he won the previous race there, but he never looked comfortable over that track.
21:33And they even said after the race, you know, it didn't look like he was handling it.
21:36So I thought it was a little surprising to send him back to Oakland to run another prep.
21:40Um, and it, you know, he never really looked comfortable in this race either.
21:44It'll be interesting to see if and when and how he bounces back.
21:48Um, also we should mention, we talked to Ricky Corville, the, the trainer of Unojo.
21:53I'll start with him.
21:55It was just such an improbable win for a guy like him.
21:58Well, honestly, I, I hadn't heard of, uh, before on, before Saturday's race.
22:03Um, but he's, he's been training in, in Arkansas and kind of Texarkana area for,
22:08for since I think 2008, his last win prior to the rebel came October 28th.
22:15So basically four months since he had won a race.
22:17Uh, and his seven starts prior to the rebel, none of his horses ran better than six.
22:22Uh, he earned more money for the rebel purse than he had in any entire year since he began,
22:29began training.
22:29He never won $600,000 in earnings in a year before in 2020, just two years ago,
22:35stable earned less than 200,000 for the year.
22:38I don't, I'm not going to redboard here and say that I liked this horse,
22:41but I don't think he should have been 75 to one.
22:44You know, he was only 20, 12 to one on the morning line.
22:47And it's not as if he hadn't run well in stakes before they shipped the horse up to New York.
22:51And all he did was run second in a pair of stakes at 23 to one 28 to one.
22:55And I kind of want to mention that.
22:56Cause I think that's the other notable thing about this wind is that what it may say about
23:00the withers in which I think on, on this show, we all agreed that early voting looked really good
23:05visually, but he only got a 78 buyer for the race.
23:08We know who, you know, I was the only horse from the withers to run back so far.
23:12And he improved his buyer figure 13 points.
23:14And if you go back and look at the form of the horses behind him and early voting and
23:19the withers, a lot of horses, like an unbelievable amount ran below par,
23:23like sometimes lifetime low numbers.
23:25So I think that's a figure that we might see adjusted upward in the future.
23:29It was the only nine for a long race that run that day at aqueducts.
23:33Those are always kind of tricky figures to make.
23:35And I think the other horses out of that race will provide value overall.
23:40When they run back as for secret oath, she beat a really weak field in the honeybee and
23:44she had some tense moments on the far turn.
23:46She kind of got unnecessarily boxed in by her rider.
23:49I thought, but once the rail opened up, the race was over, which is, you know, why I'm
23:53not sure the jockey had to continue hitting her in the last 16th of a mile, but that's
23:57neither here nor there.
23:58She's obviously very nice.
23:59She's won her last three races by a combined 23 lengths.
24:02Now.
24:03Great story, as Bill said, being trained by the now 86 year old Wayne Lucas.
24:07I also love the fact that arrogate as a potential start three-year-old, as I mentioned before,
24:11I was so excited for him as a stallion and he died so young that it's super important
24:15for him to get some nice horses and first few crops to at least carry on his bloodline.
24:20You know, the caveat is she beat a nothing field and, you know, is the top of what looks
24:24like a pretty subpar three-year-old Philly class so far.
24:27But and she also looks like a totally different horse at Oklahoma for whatever that's worth
24:31in terms of going on to the Oaks or the Derby.
24:33I honestly think it makes sense to run her in the Arkansas Derby, considering what we've
24:36seen in the Arkansas prep races so far.
24:40And the other nice thing about having a horse like her obviously trained by Wayne is, you
24:43know, you're going to get to see her run.
24:45You know, he's not going to duck any races or tell you the horse only is going to run
24:49four or five times the entire year for no reason.
24:52So, you know, overall, it's it was it was a lot.
24:55It was a couple of nice stories on Saturday.
24:57You know, when there were some not so nice stories earlier in the day, we didn't even
25:01talk about about the the Saudi Cup.
25:03And we had I remember Zidane defending Bob Baffert on that telecast.
25:08But I think it was a little bit of a palate cleanser for a lot of people later in the
25:11day to see Wayne Lucas and this 75 to one one-eyed long shot when in Oklahoma Park kind
25:17of kind of reminds you, you know, who the good and bad guys in this game was.
25:22It was kind of on display, at least for me on Saturday, but looking forward to seeing
25:26what Secret Oath does next for sure.
25:28Lane's end stallion of the week this week is West Coast champion three-year-old and
25:32son of Flatter has his first two-year-olds this year stands for $15,000 at Lane's end.
25:37Our associate producer Katie Petruniak, who Bill mentioned, is our court reporter for
25:41the day.
25:41She was in Ocala last week and spoke with several consignors who were really impressed
25:46with their West Coast two-year-olds.
25:47I suggest you read that story.
25:48I think it's going to have several parts.
25:50It's the first impressions of these freshman sires from Katie and from some people down
25:55at OBS.
25:55Really good story.
25:56Eddie Woods, in particular, spoke highly of one West Coast called out of Kimono was
26:01going to the OBS March sale.
26:03I think we have footage of him and we look forward to seeing those West Coast hit the
26:07track this year.
26:08We'll be right back after this message from Lane's end.
26:11Accelerate a five-time grade one winner with over six million in earnings in 2018 alone.
26:18He won the Santa Anita Handicap, the Gold Cup, the Pacific Classic by a record setting
26:2412 and a half lengths.
26:25The awesome again and bested a world-class field in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
26:31A grandson of legendary Lane's End Stallion SmartStrike, Accelerate stands to continue
26:36his grand sire's legacy at Lane's End.
26:42With some of the fullest fields in the country and quality racing year round, there's never
26:48been a better time to reap the rewards of breeding and racing in Kentucky.
26:52Purse money in Kentucky is at an all-time high, as is average purse per race, outpacing
26:57California, Florida, and New York.
27:01Kentucky breads.
27:03Breed them.
27:04Raise them.
27:05Race them.
27:07We all win.
27:11The TDN Writers Room is brought to you by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders.
27:15It's a big day for Kentucky breads, as it always is on a big day anywhere across the
27:19world.
27:20At the Saudi Cup, Emblem Road led home a Kentucky bread trifecta in the world's richest
27:24race, $20 million on the line.
27:26It's Country Grammar and Midnight Bourbon coming in second and third, respectively.
27:30Then on the undercard, Kentucky bread Pinehurst won the $1.5 million grade group three Saudi
27:36Derby.
27:36You can find your next Kentucky bread at the upcoming two-year-old sales, starting with
27:40the OBS March sale, March 15th through the 16th.
27:45As I mentioned, we didn't really know that much about Ricky Corville, the winner of the
27:48Rebel with Uno-O, but he's an interesting guy.
27:51We talked to him yesterday, me, Bill, and John.
27:53Obviously a major, major seismic win for his career.
27:57We're really happy for him.
27:58Honestly, it's great to see these smaller trainers pop up and win these big races once
28:01in a while.
28:02So check out our interview with Ricky Corville.
28:06The Green Group Guest of the Week is sponsored by The Green Group, an accounting, tax, consulting,
28:09and advisory firm specializing in the thoroughbred industry.
28:12With over 500 clients in the horse business, they have proven strategies to help you get
28:16Learn more about how they can help you at www.greenco.com.
28:19So we're thrilled to bring on this week as The Green Group Guest of the Week, the winner
28:23of the Rebel Stakes on Saturday, Ricky Corville.
28:25Thanks so much for coming on.
28:26Thank you all for having me.
28:28So first of all, congratulations on the big win.
28:30It's an unbelievable accomplishment to win a race like that at Oaklawn Park.
28:34But I have to confess, I don't know that much about you and your background.
28:37So why don't you just give us the Cliff Notes version on how you ended up training a horse
28:41like Uno-O?
28:42Well, actually, I worked for the owners for 20 years off and on.
28:47I ran the farm down for the breeders, and I was a jockey for like 15 years from up until
28:562001, I quit riding and went to work for them.
29:00And I've always kind of broke the babies and trained some of the horses that didn't really
29:03cut it north.
29:06And they sent them back down to Louisiana.
29:08And then last year, I've been breaking all the babies for Mr. Moody again.
29:11Ricky, thanks for joining us.
29:13And at any point in your career, did you allow yourself to believe that you'd win a million
29:17dollar horse race with a horse that's probably on the way to Kentucky Derby?
29:20No, not to the last couple of years, having the babies from Mr. Moody, they were, you
29:25know, the caliber horses he has right now.
29:27You know, I didn't know I would have them, you know, we usually send them off.
29:31So I just got lucky to get him back.
29:33And one of the amazing things about the horseman, obviously, he's got one eye, which has captured
29:37the imagination of everybody.
29:39But what people don't realize also is that his first race out, he lost by 24 lanes.
29:44His next time out, he won by four and a half lanes.
29:47I mean, a 28 lane turnaround is a huge turnaround from one race to another.
29:52When did you start believing this horse had this kind of talent?
29:55Well, when you're, we always do this, you know, when you're, you know, when you're
29:59this horse had this kind of talent?
30:02Well, when you, we always knew he had talent, but then we sent him up to Keeneland on a
30:06trip with another horse and he wasn't a six for a long horse.
30:09It was kind of more or less as going for him, 14 hour band ride, went up there two days
30:15out, ran and he just not a six for a long horse.
30:18And then when we brought him back, we waited till they ran two turns at Delta and he just,
30:24he went easy that day.
30:25Question about the training schedule, because I know he went to Tony Dutrow when he was
30:30up north at Aqueduct.
30:32What's the plan going forward?
30:33Are you going to continue to train this horse or is it going to go back and forth between
30:36you and Tony?
30:36What's the plan?
30:38As of right now, it's kind of up in the air.
30:40You know, I think the horse is going to maybe stay down here, but it's not confirmed yet.
30:44And we're hoping to keep him.
30:49And Ricky, back to the situation with the one eye, does that affect him anyway when
30:53he runs?
30:54Is there anything you have to do a little bit differently with him that you might not
30:57do with other horses?
30:58I mean, he's fine, you know, and I handle him around the barns different, you know,
31:02you just got to watch it because it's on the side you handle him from on the left side.
31:08Actually, when he first came in, he was really, really timid and he would brush up on you
31:13on anything you did.
31:15He was, he put himself against you where he could feel you, you know, because he couldn't
31:19see.
31:20He wouldn't walk on the side.
31:21He wouldn't walk on the side.
31:22He'd walk behind you and nudge you with his nose all the way around the barn and stuff
31:26like that.
31:27But on the track, when he was first, he was, it took him a long time to really get comfortable.
31:32You know, he pooped from everything and he was mature and late.
31:38But once he started running, I don't see any problem.
31:40He'll go inside, outside, you know, it don't matter to him.
31:45So walk us through your thoughts and emotions as you're standing in the paddock for the
31:49rebel.
31:49You know, you got, Baffert's got a horse in there.
31:52Asmussen's got a couple of horses in there.
31:54D-Way Lucas has got a horse in there.
31:56And you look up at the board and you're 50, 60, 70 to one.
32:01What are you saying to yourself?
32:02And also, what are you saying to the jockey, you know, before the race?
32:05What instructions did you give him?
32:07Well, actually, I wasn't there.
32:08My son was there for the race.
32:10I was still in Louisiana.
32:12Wife got hurt, broke her leg.
32:14I had to get a boot sword.
32:16She was a jock.
32:17And then I was actually driving back for the race when the race was going on.
32:23And my son called like halfway.
32:25They had to have my phone.
32:26And he calls me and froze my phone.
32:29So I actually didn't watch the race.
32:31So like 10 o'clock at night, because my phone.
32:35Right, right.
32:37And what was your son's recap?
32:40Or was he announcing the race here?
32:42Or was he just going, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God.
32:44No, I had it.
32:45I had it on TVG on my phone.
32:46And he called me when it caught up.
32:49And he started.
32:49He said, it's raining.
32:50And I'm like, well, no, he likes the mud.
32:52Don't worry about it.
32:53Hang up.
32:53I said, I got to go.
32:54So I had to get the phone interrupted because every time somebody called, I'd have to reset
33:00it.
33:00And I was driving at the same time.
33:02And they kicked the gates.
33:06And when he got to the first turn, nobody came over.
33:08I was thinking that this is good for him because he won't get no kickback if everybody stays
33:12out in the middle of the track.
33:13And I watched the races all day.
33:14And everybody kept staying out off the rail.
33:17And Ramone just kept him down in there.
33:19I said, well, this is going to work out pretty good.
33:21And we get to the half mile pole.
33:22And Ramone's just sitting with a lot of horse.
33:24And then my son calls me.
33:25And I'm not realizing, you know, they're that far ahead of us.
33:28He's just screaming on the phone.
33:30Like, we just wouldn't a rebel, you know.
33:32He's just hollering at his friend.
33:34I closed my phone.
33:35And then I just started getting texts and phone calls like four hours after that.
33:40So I never got to watch the race till 10 o'clock that night.
33:44So then what was that night like?
33:47I can only imagine what it's like for someone like you to win that kind of race.
33:50How do you celebrate?
33:52I didn't.
33:52Ramone kept trying to respond to people.
33:56Did a couple of interviews.
33:57Called Tony, you know, congratulate him.
33:59And, you know, just on the phone with the owners, everybody else, friends.
34:04Even the next morning, I was still texting people back from the night before that.
34:09I didn't get to call or text back.
34:11So you got to take some kind of vacation.
34:15Something like, come on, you got to you got to live this up a little bit.
34:18Now, this is 24-7.
34:20We're never going to be true.
34:22That's true.
34:23Ricky, I just have another question for you.
34:25So if you were getting the horse back, does that automatically mean that the horse is
34:29going to the Arkansas Derby?
34:31Or do you think in the bluegrass?
34:32Because you said you've shipped horses to Keeneland before.
34:34But if it was up to you, what would what decision would you make?
34:38Well, I think they're leaning more toward the bluegrass because it gives them extra
34:42weight.
34:42I mean, he ran twice in 21 days.
34:44So he's a little knocked down right now.
34:46So he's at the barn here in Louisiana, just kind of freshening it up.
34:50I think we're going to end up, you know, going to the bluegrass with him.
34:54Ricky Corville, the winner of the Rebel Stakes.
34:56Thank you so much for coming on with us.
34:57Congratulations again and best of luck with him.
35:00All right.
35:00Thank you, Ricky.
35:01The Green Group guest of the week is sponsored by the Green Group, an accounting,
35:04tax, consulting and advisory firm specializing in the thoroughbred industry.
35:08With over 500 clients in the horse business, they have proven strategies to save you taxes.
35:12Learn more about how they can help you at www.greenco.com.
35:17We'll be right back after this message from the Green Group.
35:20Why do the most successful owners, breeders and horsemen select the Green Group as their
35:24tax advisor?
35:24We simply save them money and know how to make them more successful.
35:27Over the past 40 years, founder Leonard Green has owned and bred some of the best racehorses
35:32in the history of the sport.
35:33His in-depth, hands-on industry knowledge combined with cutting-edge tax-saving strategies
35:37has produced positive results for his clientele and has made the Green Group the top-rated
35:41accounting and tax firm in the business.
35:43For a confidential and complimentary consultation, contact us at 732-634-5100 or visit our website
35:50at www.greenco.com.
35:52The Green Group, proven strategies to save you taxes.
36:03So
36:26the TDN Writers Room is brought to you by XPTV.
36:28The XPTV Workout of the Week this week is Emmanuel, who we're going to talk about in
36:33a little bit.
36:33Worked in company with Graded Stakes winner Muda Sabek at Palm Beach Downs on Saturday,
36:38going four furlongs and 48.05.
36:41That's a bullet work.
36:42Best of 32 at the distance.
36:44Undefeated Todd Pletcher, trainee, who was the number one overall pick in our fantasy
36:49draft.
36:49Bit of an upset there by John, but he's obviously a major contender this Saturday in the Grade
36:542 Fountain.
36:55The Fuse Stakes, probably going to be the favorite in that race.
36:57So we're all looking forward to seeing him run and seeing him step into that Graded
37:01Stakes company.
37:03There's a little bit of a story in the past couple of months.
37:06Bill reported on Michael Sanchez, who's a jockey at parks.
37:11He was suspended for supposedly betting against his own horses.
37:15And then his lawyer said he had this gambling problem, and he wasn't trying to do anything
37:20nefarious.
37:21But Bill followed up on that and has some pretty interesting tidbits.
37:24Yeah, I'm scooping myself a little bit because I haven't written the story yet.
37:27Hopefully it'll be in tomorrow's paper.
37:28But I filed a freedom of information request to the Pennsylvania Racing Commission, and
37:32got a hold of his betting records.
37:35The lawyer said that he was on a gambling frenzy for December 23rd of last year to
37:45January 3rd.
37:45So it's a very small period of time.
37:49But what I learned from that, first of all, is that a couple of things.
37:53Number one, I mean, he was betting crazy amounts of money.
37:57His favorite bet was to bet like win in place on a horse.
38:02And it wasn't beyond him to bet $2,500 win in place.
38:07In one race, he bet $5,000 to win on a horse.
38:12So these are on the surface irrational bets, just betting crazy amounts of money, unless
38:20you're really a professional type of thing.
38:24So the lawyer had said that he was not at any point trying to stiff his own horses
38:30and cash bets by betting against him.
38:33By and large, he's right.
38:36There was 106, I believe, separate bets that were made during this period.
38:43Many of them on days and at places he wasn't even riding.
38:46I mean, one day he bet on Turf Paradise, which kind of tells you a little bit about what
38:51was going on there.
38:53But there were days where he was betting the card, betting lots of races that he was riding,
38:59primarily at Laurel and Parks.
39:01And I've got to take a second look at it.
39:03But I've come up right now with at least six races.
39:07Now, six out of 106 is not a lot.
39:09So I understand that where he did bet against himself, including a couple where he did cash
39:15fairly sizable bets.
39:18So you have to try to figure out and nobody knows other than Michael Sanchez himself.
39:23In those races, was he trying to win or did he realize, I want to win my bet here, I'm
39:29going to not try to win with so-and-so horse.
39:34It's a tough one.
39:34It's a gray area.
39:35Maybe you guys have firmer opinions on it.
39:38He got a 60-day suspension.
39:39I do think that was a little light when, you know, if the lawyer didn't do a very good
39:45job pleading the case that, you know, please be sympathetic.
39:47He was battling depression.
39:48He did this as an outlet.
39:50He probably should have been ruled off for life or even if he just one instance where
39:54he bet against his horses.
39:55But, you know, so we've learned a little bit more about this, answered some questions.
40:01And I guess the headline of my story was going to be something to affect Michael Sanchez
40:05bet heavily and sometimes against himself.
40:08Yeah, I was actually on last time, Bill, when we were talking about this.
40:11And I think at the time you had heard from the lawyer that he was only betting like a
40:15few hundred race, which is still a sizable amount.
40:17But thousands of a lot different than that, especially if he's cashing in some of those
40:21races.
40:21It's hard to not look at that with a pretty skeptical eye.
40:26Yeah, the lawyer, Alan Pincus, I asked how much he was betting if he could shed.
40:31This is a long time ago before I got any of this.
40:34And he just said, he just texted back, said he's a couple of hundred a race.
40:37Well, that's not at all true.
40:39I mean, occasionally he would make, you know, 25 win in place, something like that.
40:43But, you know, this is a guy who thought nothing of betting.
40:45He'd love to bet win place or win place and show.
40:48And, you know, would think of betting, would not hesitate to bet twenty five hundred across
40:54on his horse on a horse, not a horse that he necessarily wrote.
40:58And a couple of times he did actually bet on his own horse.
41:03Now, again, I have to go back.
41:04There was one race that I found where he bet horse a road horse B and he actually won the
41:12race and the horse he bet on finished second.
41:14Now, that's you know, that would tend to exonerate him or lend some credence to the
41:21lawyers there.
41:21But there was a problem with that in that race.
41:24He only bet a hundred win place and show a three hundred dollar bet.
41:27It was and he was perfectly capable of betting five, six thousand dollars on a race.
41:33So I don't know.
41:33Does that go through his mind that, OK, if I win the race, I'm only going to cash a
41:37little bit here on this horse, not a lot of money.
41:39So excuse me, if the other horse wins, you know, again, we can't read his mind.
41:44We don't know the answer.
41:45But this is a this is a tough one.
41:48I really do understand both sides of the story.
41:50The only thing I would say is I think maybe a six month suspension probably would have
41:53been a little bit more appropriate.
41:55And we also have the fact that he bet against his own horses in Maryland and in only Pennsylvania
42:02Racing Commission has done anything yet.
42:04The Maryland Racing Commission could still jump in on this and say, you know, OK, we
42:09don't care what Pennsylvania did.
42:11We're giving you an extra year or two years or something like that.
42:13So, you know, we may not have heard the end of this.
42:16Yeah, I mean, it's a little surprising that, like you said, he only got that suspension.
42:20Pete Rose got banned for life from baseball for supposedly betting against his own team.
42:26And he was just, you know, he was the manager.
42:29I know the manager has some kind of effect on the game in baseball, but the jockey has
42:33a very direct effect on the horse.
42:35I wonder, Bill, did you watch any of those replays?
42:37Could you see if he was?
42:39No, I haven't had a chance yet.
42:40I looked at some of the charts and I will watch him.
42:42Joe, I want to correct you on one thing.
42:43Pete Rose never bet against the Reds.
42:45He always bet on his own team, which goes to show you how much more seriously baseball
42:49took this than horse racing.
42:51You could not ever accuse Pete Rose of trying to lose because he always bet on the Reds.
42:58Have they proved that?
43:00Yes, I believe they have.
43:01So Michael Sanchez did the equivalent of betting against his own team in these races.
43:08Again, only six, maybe there'll be seven.
43:10I'll take a look.
43:11But only six races out of 106.
43:13They are right about this.
43:15He was not doing this thinking going into every day at every track thinking I'm going
43:20to hold all my horses.
43:21I'm going to bet against them.
43:22That didn't happen.
43:23It seems just as a lawyer said.
43:25Yeah, it seemed to me more like he just happened to be betting the races that he was riding,
43:29considering how much he's betting elsewhere.
43:33Joe, maybe you can get him on your new betting podcast.
43:35Yeah.
43:36Oh, don't spoil the next guest.
43:40Speaking of betting, always a good bet to get involved with a West Point Thoroughbreds
43:44partnership.
43:44Joining a West Point Thoroughbreds partnership can vault you into the world of instant camaraderie
43:49among people surrounding high class horses and stakes action for a fraction of the cost
43:53of trying to do it on your own.
43:54You can learn more at westpointtb.com.
43:57West Point enjoyed a big weekend with several winners led by greatest stakes winner.
44:01First captain is a TDN rising star.
44:03When his first start since last summer at Gulfstream on Sunday, it seems like he had
44:07a little bit too much to do, but he was able to get up at the wire.
44:10Very, very exciting horse.
44:11One of the Dwyer last year was really highly regarded last summer.
44:15Really interested to see what he does as a four year old.
44:17He also had a lector and unbridled Mary, both in the winner's circle at Santa Anita for
44:21John Sadler.
44:22Then QF75 broke his maiden at Gulfstream on Sunday for Christoph Clement.
44:26We'll be right back after this message from West Point Thoroughbreds.
44:32All the thrills.
44:36Fraction of the bills.
44:41Experience the power of the partnership.
44:46Change your life, make new friends, and compete at the highest level of thoroughbred racing.
44:53West Point Thoroughbreds, the gold standard in racing partnerships.
44:57Visit westpointtb.com.
45:00Being a small family business, I guess we're part of a dying breed.
45:04We're really grateful for the people that entrust us.
45:07We know it's a huge responsibility.
45:09We're always with your horse, every step of the way.
45:12When it comes to being at the sales ground, showing your horses, we are with your horse.
45:17Just driving up and down the road every day, there's not a time that I don't look out and
45:20feel a responsibility to the sport, the animal, the people that come to invest in the game.
45:25I want to see as many people enjoy this sport as they possibly can, because we do have the
45:28most beautiful sport in the world.
45:41The TDN Writers Room is brought to you by Legacy Bloodstock.
45:43If you think that 50 years combined experience in the horse business could benefit your program,
45:48give Tommy or Wendy a call.
45:49They personally advise on each horse as if they were their own.
45:52Legacy has two past graduates who are beginning their stud career this year.
45:56Capo Kane was bought out of the Keeneland January sale in 2019.
45:59It's now standing at Bonner Hill Farms in Pennsylvania.
46:02And Sleepy Eyes Todd, sold at the Keeneland November sale in 2016, stands this year at
46:07Swifty Farms in Indiana.
46:08We look forward to seeing Tommy and Wendy this summer as well at the Yearling sales.
46:13Brief update on the three-year-old fantasy contest.
46:17Sue Finley had a winner over the weekend, Pinehurst, and she was very excited in the
46:22group chat that she's gotten on the board in our contest.
46:26Yet, he got no points.
46:29Okay, first of all, Joe, I'm always listening.
46:33I already had five points, so I was already on the board.
46:36I've been totally hosed.
46:37I deserve 50 points for that win.
46:39We're going to the UAE Derby, and I'm going to crush you all with your leftovers.
46:43That's my plan.
46:45Well, I honestly, first of all, Bob Baffert's horses shouldn't get any points at all for
46:51our contest, but we're bending the rules for that.
46:54Then, yeah, you did kind of get screwed.
46:56I wonder how long that race has to stick around in order for it to be a Derby points race
47:00because the UAE Derby is a points race, right, guys?
47:02Absolutely, yeah.
47:04It's a big one, too.
47:05It's a 100-point race, isn't it?
47:06Oh, man.
47:07It's all me.
47:09Is Pinehurst staying in Saudi Arabia?
47:11Is he coming back?
47:11Do we know?
47:13I don't know, but I know that that's what he's targeting next.
47:16Okay.
47:17All right, Sue, don't worry.
47:17You're definitely going to beat us with the scraps team.
47:20I've already resigned myself to that fact.
47:22It's going to be glorious.
47:24Okay, so also this weekend, we have some great actions.
47:27There's going to be a lot more points up for grabs this weekend.
47:29We have three graded stakes for the three-year-olds.
47:32The Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream, the Gotham at Aqueduct, and then the San Felipe at Santa
47:38Anita.
47:38I think we also have the Bataglias this weekend as well at Turfwind.
47:41I think that has some points attached to it as well.
47:45I think the best race by far is the Fountain of Youth.
47:48Honestly, the whole card at Gulfstream on Saturday is absolutely incredible.
47:53They have eight graded stakes races, a few very live-looking maiden races as well,
47:59maiden special weight races.
48:01Santa Anita also has six graded stakes, but I think there's 15 stakes total between Santa
48:06Anita and Gulfstream.
48:08They're calling it First Saturday.
48:10It's the first racing that they race under that banner.
48:13But the Fountain of Youth is an incredible race, full field, six stakes winners.
48:17I think it's even better than the Risen Star.
48:19You've got Emmanuel, then you've got Rattle and Roll and High Oak making their three-year-old
48:23debuts.
48:24Moe Donegal in due time, simplification, howling time.
48:27Looks like he's been working up a storm for Dale Romans.
48:31Some thoughts from you guys on the Fountain of Youth and this big card on Saturday.
48:34Yeah, I totally agree.
48:35It's a better race than the San Felipe at Santa Anita.
48:38Definitely a very, very deep field.
48:40A couple of storylines.
48:42Moe Donegal post-12 at mile 16 at Gulfstream.
48:45That is going to be very, very difficult for him.
48:47And is John Green a genius picking Emmanuel first when he probably could have got him
48:53in the third round or something?
48:55That was when I kind of chided John about that.
48:57It wasn't that I don't like Emmanuel.
48:59It's like instead of taking Trevor Lawrence with the first pick, you take some offensive
49:03lineman from Wichita State because you're just that smart type of thing.
49:09But he's a very good horse.
49:11He's got to step it up a little bit in the speed figure range off an allowance win at
49:15Tampa Bay Downs.
49:16And Simplification ran a really good race in the Holy Bowl where he's a speed horse,
49:22didn't break well, and still finished second for trainer Antonio Sano.
49:27That's going to be big.
49:28And in due time, I know Brian is helping out the team at Edge Racing, and he's coming off
49:32a huge win last time out for Kelly Breen.
49:34Paco Lopez aboard, John Green's favorite jockey.
49:37Totally agree.
49:38Rattle and roll as well.
49:39First start since the Breeders Futurity.
49:41I think, Joe, you're right.
49:43We're going to learn more from this race than we've learned from any of the preps coming
49:48into it.
49:49And there's going to be two or three left standing after this, and then two or three
49:52top contenders.
49:53You can just put a big X through if they run seventh or eighth in this kind of spot.
49:56So very interesting.
49:58Out at Santa Anita, I'm interested in Forbidden Kingdom for Dick Mandela because I picked
50:03him in the rotisserie draft, in the fantasy draft.
50:07Yeah, back to the Florida race.
50:09I think there's some chance I think Moe Donegal might scratch.
50:12I guess we'll see.
50:14There have been some chatter about that with the post.
50:16There's a really short run up to the first turn, and they might wait for another race
50:21or maybe even just wait for the wood.
50:23Like Bill mentioned, I am working for Edge Racing.
50:25In due time is doing great.
50:29He kind of burst on the scene.
50:31The reports have been that he was training really well kind of leading up to this year,
50:36and then he just had that huge blowout win last time against those two Fletcher horses
50:40and kind of catapulted himself onto the derby trail and really hasn't missed a beat since
50:46then.
50:46I'm kind of just super excited to see what he can do.
50:49It seems like he might even have another step forward in him.
50:53It's going to be interesting to see who the favorite in this race is too.
50:55The morning line, Moe Donegal is a 3-1 favorite.
50:58I don't think that that would be the case even if he does run.
51:01I think it's going to be Emmanuel.
51:03I just think there's so much buzz behind him that I don't know if he's going to be a heavy
51:07favorite because it's a big enough field and there's enough other places to go.
51:11But I could see him at like 5-2 or 3-1, in which case I think he would be a pretty strong
51:16bet against.
51:17But yeah, lots of action.
51:18Actually, I have in due time in the contest.
51:20I believe Al has Simplification.
51:25John, I think, has Moe Donegal and Emmanuel.
51:28So there's a lot of action for the contest this weekend.
51:31And like I said, great, great card at Gold Street.
51:33You definitely should get involved and we'll be back next week to break it all down.
51:39Okay, so that's going to do it for this week's edition of the TDN Writer's Room,
51:42presented by Keeneland.
51:43A reminder about that Keeneland Spring Meet coming April 8th through the 29th.
51:47Make sure to log in and sign up at KeenelandSelect.com to get that bonus.
51:51I want to thank Bill Finley, Brian DiDonato, our Green Group Guest of the Week, Ricky Corville,
51:55our producer, Patty Wolf, our associate producer, Katie Petruniak, and our editors,
51:59Anthony LaRocca, Aliyah LaRocca, and Nathan Wilkinson.
52:03Thank you so much for watching.