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00:00:00For the love of the horse, for generations to come.
00:00:28It's March 8th at 12.06pm here on the East Coast and welcome to another edition of the
00:00:33TDN Writer's Room presented by Keeneland.
00:00:36My name is Bill Finlay and I'm a correspondent for the Thoroughbred Daily News and I also
00:00:39co-host the Down the Stretch Show on Sirius XM Radio.
00:00:42I am Randy Moss with NBC Sports.
00:00:47Zoe Cameron here with XBTV, Santa Anita and First Bed.
00:00:51Doodle in the back.
00:00:53I see Lucy.
00:00:56No other dogs.
00:00:57There she is.
00:00:58I just saw her move.
00:00:59There's proof in the pudding.
00:01:01All right, Sue's going to kill me if I don't do this.
00:01:04Hold on.
00:01:05We have to have equal representation.
00:01:06There she is.
00:01:07Hi Penny.
00:01:08All right.
00:01:09Enough of the dogs, folks.
00:01:10Let's talk about good horse racing and there was plenty of it last week and we're going
00:01:21to divide things up a little bit in the show.
00:01:23Let's start off this first segment with the Fountain of Youth, which is a top day just
00:01:27spectacular car to Gulfstream with nine stakes races.
00:01:30We're going to talk to Mike Rapoli, the co-owner of Forte, a little bit later on in the show.
00:01:35And what I said to Mike when I interviewed him, I'll repeat that.
00:01:39It was perfect.
00:01:40You know, what more could you want?
00:01:41The two year old champion doesn't miss a minute of training, works great coming into the race,
00:01:47wins the race authoritatively, but doesn't run off the screen and get some huge figure
00:01:51where you think he's going to bounce.
00:01:54I think now with everybody having a chance to digest this race, it's clear that Forte
00:01:58is the number one contender for the Kentucky Derby.
00:02:01A lot of people still are big Arabian night fans, which is justified.
00:02:05We'll see what happens to him.
00:02:06But one weird thing about him, 19 days without a workout before working out on Saturday at
00:02:11Santa Anita in 59.20.
00:02:14Maybe Zoe saw that work.
00:02:15We'll know.
00:02:16But Randy, I mean, Todd Pletcher, Mike Rapoli, Vinnie Viola, they have to be awful happy
00:02:21what they saw Saturday at Gulfstream.
00:02:23Oh, yeah.
00:02:24I mean, with all the things that can go wrong in horse racing and we all know what they
00:02:27are, Todd Pletcher had said going into the Fountain of Youth that everything had gone
00:02:33perfectly in the preparation for Forte.
00:02:36There hadn't been even a single hiccup along the way.
00:02:39And I think we saw that in the Fountain of Youth.
00:02:41I think the best way to put it is like a tennis analogy.
00:02:44He held serve, which at this time of year, first start as a three year old is kind of
00:02:49exactly what you're looking for.
00:02:51No massive improvement or anything like that.
00:02:53When Blazing Sevens was a complete no-show, Forte figured to be absolutely dominant over
00:02:59the field.
00:03:00And that's exactly what he was.
00:03:01He took a little bit of dirt on the first turn, swung out at the top of the stretch,
00:03:05went on just like he was supposed to, and it's all systems going out for the Florida
00:03:10Derby.
00:03:11I texted with Chad Brown this morning about Blazing Sevens.
00:03:14No huge excuse.
00:03:15He said the horse lost a front shoe during the running of the race.
00:03:19He theorizes that Blazing Sevens did not handle the track.
00:03:22He got beat 26 lengths and he will be seen next in the Wood Memorial.
00:03:28Yeah.
00:03:29Terrific race by Forte, basically.
00:03:33That's all you can say.
00:03:34And the thing that I really liked about it was you could see that he was at about 90%
00:03:39fitness.
00:03:40So, there is room for improvement and watching him physically, because I really like to watch
00:03:45and see how these horses have developed from two to three, not only in the performance,
00:03:50but how they physically look.
00:03:52And he has broadened through the chest, through the hind end, and definitely grown.
00:03:57And not to a point where you think, oh gosh, he's going to start growing right now.
00:04:02He's done his growing.
00:04:03He looked phenomenal.
00:04:05And I'm really, really looking forward to seeing.
00:04:07He may be the most exciting prospect that we've seen this far.
00:04:11Yeah.
00:04:12He certainly looks like it.
00:04:14And as I said, he's a clear number one.
00:04:15Rocket Can ran a good second, but I think he is what he is.
00:04:20He's a good horse.
00:04:21He's just not at this point as good as Forte, but he'll certainly move forward as well.
00:04:26Randy, the prospects of this horse winning the Kentucky Derby?
00:04:29It's a long way to go.
00:04:30We haven't had a Fountain of Youth winner win the Kentucky Derby since Orb in 2013.
00:04:35We all know the history of Breeders' Cup juvenile winners is not very good in the Kentucky Derby,
00:04:40but certainly if they were to run the race three weeks from now, he'd be a huge favorite.
00:04:44Yeah.
00:04:45I mean, he certainly, I think, deserves to be ranked number one right now.
00:04:49You pointed out Arabian Night, and I know there are a lot of Arabian Night fans out
00:04:52there, and rightfully so, the way he won the Southwest and the way he looked before that.
00:04:56He apparently did miss a workout at Santa Anita even before the weather hit, but he
00:05:02came back on Monday and worked really well.
00:05:04He's going to run, they say, either in the Santa Anita Derby or the Arkansas Derby.
00:05:10Those two right now would be at the top, but I think Forte, in my opinion, would be a pretty
00:05:15solid number one at this point.
00:05:17He definitely has the recency.
00:05:19I think that Arabian Night may have a touch of brilliance to him, and he certainly didn't
00:05:24look like he missed a beat in his last work, so really, really looking forward to seeing
00:05:29him show up next.
00:05:30A couple other things to talk about on the Gulfstream Charge.
00:05:33I was very disappointed in Chargid, who was second on the Gulfstream Mile.
00:05:36It wasn't a bad race from him, but I thought he was going to be, in time, declared the
00:05:42best older horse in the country, a division that's just been decimated by retirements.
00:05:46How about the Devon & Dales stakes?
00:05:49The road to the Kentucky Oaks has been, what a mess this has been.
00:05:52Okay, we've got two major contenders in here, and Red Carpet Ready and Leave No Trace.
00:05:57Red Carpet Ready is kind of a no-show third.
00:06:00Leave No Trace was eased.
00:06:02The winner is Dorth Vader at 46 to 1, first ever stakes win for trainer Michael Yates.
00:06:09How about this?
00:06:10The key race, the most important race on the road to the Kentucky Oaks this year so far
00:06:15has been the Gasparilla stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
00:06:19Dreaming of Snow was fourth in that, came back and beat none other than Wonder Wheel
00:06:23in the Suncoast stakes, and Dorth Vader was sixth in that in the Gasparilla.
00:06:28Randy, I know you're covering the race on NBC.
00:06:30To see the winning owner, Dorthy Yates, I've never seen something like that.
00:06:34She was so happy.
00:06:35She was literally shaking.
00:06:37It was kind of cool to see that.
00:06:39It was pretty cool.
00:06:40Dorthy, as in Dorth Vader, right?
00:06:42Right.
00:06:42Now, Dorth's got an 81 buyer speed figure, so I don't think you can really start declaring
00:06:48that Dorth Vader is a strong contender for the Kentucky Oaks.
00:06:52But hey, congratulations.
00:06:53They win the Devon & Dales.
00:06:54Look, I've got a printout here of about four pages of past performances of three-year-old
00:06:59Phillies.
00:06:59You talk about a division and complete disarray right now as we head to the Kentucky Oaks.
00:07:03I mean, Wonder Wheel comes back and loses.
00:07:06Hoosier Philly comes back and is very dull.
00:07:09Brad Cox has got like three or four top contenders.
00:07:13Wet Paint won the Honey Bee and looked good.
00:07:15He's got a three-year-old Philly named Punch Bowl who won an allowance race on Sunday at
00:07:20Oakline that looks even better than Wet Paint.
00:07:22He's got others.
00:07:23Todd Pletcher's got a couple.
00:07:24There's a whole long list of horses.
00:07:26Norm Cassie has got one that came out of the woodwork that won an allowance race at the
00:07:30fairgrounds.
00:07:31So there's still a lot left to be written about the Kentucky Oaks, and it'll be an
00:07:34interesting division to follow.
00:07:36Yeah, there most certainly is.
00:07:37And a big congratulations to trainer Michael Yates.
00:07:40It was his first graded stakes win.
00:07:42He's been training for 30 years.
00:07:44He's won numerous stakes, but that was his first graded stakes win.
00:07:47So kudos to him.
00:07:49One Philly, I don't think she's nominated and she certainly hasn't earned any points,
00:07:53but it would be Fazer.
00:07:55She's a perfect four for four now.
00:07:58She's not.
00:07:59She's not nominated.
00:08:00And because she didn't leave the Baffert Barn after that February 28th deadline, even
00:08:05if they wanted to supplement her or a late entry fee, she can't run.
00:08:10And, you know, again, how strange is this?
00:08:13I think right now you can make an argument that she's the best three-year-old Philly
00:08:15in the country.
00:08:16She's not even nominated for the Kentucky Oaks.
00:08:19As Randy said, the division is in disarray.
00:08:22And apparently the owner, Michael Lund-Peterson, who also owned Gamine, has no interest in
00:08:27running at Churchill Downs.
00:08:30So I thought that might be the case.
00:08:32Was not transferred to the Tim Yak Dean or any other party.
00:08:36So we'll see what happens to her.
00:08:38The TDN Racer's Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
00:08:42On Sunday, April the 30th, Keeneland will host an April Selected Horses of Racing Age
00:08:47sale beginning at 4 p.m.
00:08:49Entry deadline for the print version of the sale catalog is Monday, April the 3rd.
00:08:54Approved supplemental entries will be accepted right up to the sale.
00:08:58We'll be right back after these messages from Keeneland.
00:09:05If this place could talk.
00:09:09It would roar.
00:09:11It would say, this is a race.
00:09:15This beating heart in the heart of horse country.
00:09:20Steady and strong beneath the roar.
00:09:23Reminding us why.
00:09:26For the love of the horse.
00:09:28For generations to come.
00:09:32He was just put together like a machine and he had a great mind.
00:09:36Everything about him was what you'd want.
00:09:37Tis the law.
00:09:38Pops the cork and the champagne.
00:09:41Tis the law.
00:09:41Is gonna win the first leg of the Triple Crown.
00:09:45I've never seen him get tired.
00:09:46Respect the law.
00:09:47Tis the law.
00:09:48His structure is just perfect.
00:09:51His bone is perfect.
00:09:52He's left the others behind.
00:09:54He's gonna win the Run Happy Travers.
00:09:56He's everything you would look for in a horse.
00:10:02The TDN Racer's Room is brought to you by Coolmore.
00:10:05It was a Saturday Stakes Triple for Practical Joke.
00:10:09Peter Brandt's Sheeda Beauty won the Busher Stakes at Aqueduct
00:10:13to remain undefeated and earn 50 Kentucky Derby points.
00:10:17About two hours later on the same Aqueduct card,
00:10:20Little Vic won the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap.
00:10:23And finally, Practical Move won the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes
00:10:28to stamp himself as a serious Kentucky Derby candidate.
00:10:31And he picked up about 50 Derby points.
00:10:34Ironically, he was bred by Chad Brown, the trainer of Sheeda Beauty.
00:10:39And what a weekend it was for Justify.
00:10:41He was also the sire of three winners on Saturday,
00:10:45including the Grade 2 winner Learning to Fly in Australia.
00:10:48The undefeated Philly heads next to the Grade 1 Golden Slipper on March the 18th.
00:10:54Well, a very sad and tragic story hit horse racing last week
00:10:57with the death of Alex Cancheri, a young man at 29,
00:11:01was a rider in the Midwest Circuit, Canterbury Downs, Prairie Meadows,
00:11:04those places, of a suicide.
00:11:06This is the second suicide of a jockey in about a six-week period,
00:11:09as Avery Wissman unfortunately took his life earlier this year at the age of 23.
00:11:16I have a story in tomorrow's Thoroughbred Daily News,
00:11:18tomorrow being Thursday,
00:11:20that Cancheri's family believes he may have been suffering from CTE,
00:11:24which has been such a problem for the NFL
00:11:26and has led to suicides of many NFL players.
00:11:29But Zoe, I'm going to lean heavily on you on this.
00:11:31And we don't know what really was going on in the minds of these young men.
00:11:36And really, if the pressures of the job of being a jockey,
00:11:38how much they played a role in this.
00:11:40But obviously, having two of these examples happen within a short period of time,
00:11:45you know, people are calling on the industry to take more of a look from this.
00:11:48You, of course, are an ex-jockey.
00:11:50You know, can you speak to the mental health issues of being a jockey
00:11:53and your reflections on what happened here?
00:11:55I think that we really need to look at is most of what we're seeing
00:12:00is from jockeys that are not in action, that aren't doing very well,
00:12:05that have done very well before.
00:12:08Avery Wiseman had a very good bug year.
00:12:10He got injured.
00:12:12Alex Cancheri, he had some deaths in his family, wasn't riding at the time.
00:12:17And I think when it's kind of like out of sight, out of mind,
00:12:21we as an industry, when these jockeys aren't riding,
00:12:24I think personally, we need to try and reach out to these guys and see if they're OK.
00:12:29Now, most of the time, it's the happy-go-lucky guys.
00:12:32It's the guys you never think of that they're going to do it.
00:12:35The ones that are so desperate inwardly, they feel like this is their only, only way out.
00:12:42And it's impossible to understand unless you're in that situation.
00:12:46And if you're in that situation, you're liable not to be sitting here right now.
00:12:50So I can't speak for the families, but it's just a terrible thing to go through.
00:12:56And I think it goes through jockeys' minds a little bit more
00:13:01when things aren't going their way, when they're not riding,
00:13:03when they have a lot of time on their hands, when they're injured and they're thinking,
00:13:08gosh, you know, am I ever going to get back?
00:13:12And I'm fat and nothing's going my way.
00:13:15It's just an awful lot of pressure to put onto these young guys.
00:13:19And they're not going to reach out.
00:13:20If you knew Alex Cancheri, outwardly, he was the most happy-go-lucky,
00:13:25smiley, good-natured young man you ever saw.
00:13:29And I actually believe he had a baby on the way as well.
00:13:33So, you know, he leaves behind a whole family.
00:13:37It's incomprehensible to try and, for me, wrap my head around it, to be perfectly honest.
00:13:42But the CTE thing, I think, is very, very interesting.
00:13:46And I will be really looking forward to seeing what the results of that brain scan are.
00:13:52Before we go to Randy, let me explain that further.
00:13:54CTE comes from concussions, blows to the head.
00:13:57It's been a terrible problem for the NFL.
00:13:59They've sent his brain to Boston University CTE Center,
00:14:03which is the place where it has been finding the preponderance
00:14:06of these NFL players that they study.
00:14:07I think it was 91% did suffer from CTE.
00:14:11His sister, Ashley Cancheri, told me it would take several weeks,
00:14:15if not maybe a couple months, before they would get the results.
00:14:17It's not going to change anything, but it would add new insights into the story.
00:14:23She said, I've been having trouble, for obvious reasons,
00:14:26contacting her.
00:14:27But she told a television station in, I guess, the Minneapolis market,
00:14:31that he had complained to her and said, I've been hitting a lot of spills,
00:14:34a lot of knocks to my head, and I'm not feeling good.
00:14:37So, you know, they obviously picked up on this.
00:14:39And also, you know, concussions don't always equal CTE, but they can equal CTE.
00:14:45Studies have shown that jockeys are more prone to concussions
00:14:48than individuals in any other sport.
00:14:51So, you know, it's hard enough being a jockey and things that,
00:14:55Zoe, you talked about, and obviously trying to maintain weight
00:14:57without having to worry about concussions and blows to your head.
00:15:00Mandy, your thoughts on the subject?
00:15:01Yeah, well, I'd just like to ask Zoe, I mean, other than the obvious pressures with,
00:15:05you know, with the dangers of the sport and the weight and all that,
00:15:09did you ever perceive or did you ever hear jockeys talking about concussions
00:15:14or about the potential of brain issues while you were riding?
00:15:19No, I mean, no, because, I mean, I was riding 15, 20 years ago.
00:15:26So the CTE thing wasn't on the playing field then.
00:15:30It is a little bit more now.
00:15:33There was a jockey at Santa Anita, Emily Ellingwood,
00:15:35went down on a John Sadler horse last year,
00:15:39and she was out for three weeks with a concussion.
00:15:42And she said she felt sick.
00:15:44She was nauseous for three weeks.
00:15:46She tried to come back.
00:15:47She basically didn't pass the vet to get back and ride.
00:15:51And she was definitely out for three weeks.
00:15:53A horse ducked with her in the stretch and she came off and landed on her head.
00:15:56And she said it rung her bell and she was physically sick for three weeks.
00:16:01I honestly have never had a concussion.
00:16:03I touch wood.
00:16:04I don't know how.
00:16:07But yeah, she said it was awful.
00:16:10So to have multiple ones of those, I can't imagine.
00:16:14Zoe, another question for you.
00:16:15And again, by no means do we know if this had any,
00:16:18what I'm about to bring up has anything to do what happened to these jockeys.
00:16:22But isn't it time that we let these guys ride four or five pounds heavier?
00:16:26I mean, that may, again, have nothing to do with these suicides.
00:16:29But look, we're trying to make the lives of these jockeys easier.
00:16:32Shaking your head?
00:16:33OK, go ahead.
00:16:33Why?
00:16:34I mean, this is a problem I see.
00:16:36And I've argued with, you know, numerous jockeys about it.
00:16:39Mike Smith, like the guys that really watch their weight.
00:16:42Like Mike Smith, maybe it might help him.
00:16:44You're just going to have bigger guys come in.
00:16:46I mean, look at the jump jockeys.
00:16:48They can ride at 140.
00:16:49So you've got a guy's 160 struggling to make 140.
00:16:53It's going to be the same thing.
00:16:57It's heavy enough.
00:16:58I mean, yeah, if you want to call it 118, that's fine.
00:17:01But you're still going to have the same problems.
00:17:03It's not going to solve the problems.
00:17:05You're just going to have Randy getting out his jocks license.
00:17:09Exactly.
00:17:10You have, I disagree with the two of you, but I respect your opinion.
00:17:14Well, look, I mean, you're always going to have people
00:17:17reducing to try to get the money that a jockey can potentially make.
00:17:22And there's a much larger pool of individuals in the United States
00:17:27riding who naturally weighed, let's say, 140 pounds
00:17:30and would be tempted to try to reduce down to 120.
00:17:34Then there are 100 natural 130 pounders.
00:17:37So you're just expanding the pool of people who will be willing
00:17:41to sacrifice their health in order to lose weight.
00:17:44You're not really accomplishing anything.
00:17:46You're actually creating unintended consequences that will make the problem worse.
00:17:53Case in point, when I had the bug, I didn't eat, right?
00:17:56I didn't eat anything.
00:17:57I'm like, oh, it would be so great when I lose the bug.
00:18:00I got this five pounds to play with.
00:18:02Oh, no, that's the same thing.
00:18:04I immediately put on five pounds and was back to square one.
00:18:07I didn't eat.
00:18:08So, you know, it's not going to help.
00:18:13Randy, back to the possibilities of CTE and the concussion.
00:18:17One of your field of expertise is the NFL.
00:18:19And I think in the infancy of this, the NFL did a terrible job with this.
00:18:23Their feet were held to the fire, and most people believe
00:18:26that they're doing a lot better job now.
00:18:29What has the NFL done right?
00:18:30And is there anything horse racing can learn from that?
00:18:33Well, I think what the NFL has done more than anything
00:18:36is just an increased awareness of the issues of concussions.
00:18:40And I worked for NFL Network for 13 years and talked to, you know,
00:18:46countless numbers of NFL players about this particular issue.
00:18:50And even some of the veterans who were Hall of Famers
00:18:53who had retired long before concussions
00:18:55were really in the forefront of the conversation.
00:18:58And now players, it's changed so much.
00:19:01Players are so much more cognizant of the potential dangers of concussions
00:19:06that they don't necessarily always have a problem with going and being checked out.
00:19:11They'll sometimes ask to be checked out on the sideline
00:19:15if they feel something might be wrong.
00:19:16That's a big step in the right direction.
00:19:18I'm not saying that happens every time.
00:19:20Some players still, you know, fight against it.
00:19:23But having that kind of awareness in horse racing
00:19:26certainly wouldn't be a bad thing.
00:19:29Right.
00:19:29Just one more note on Alex Cancheri.
00:19:32You know, he's left behind his fiance, two little children,
00:19:35and the fiance is pregnant with another child on the way.
00:19:39There's because of when I don't believe there's any life insurance policies involved.
00:19:44They're in a tough situation.
00:19:45There is a GoFundMe page for them.
00:19:48I really hope that everyone listening to this will take a look at that.
00:19:51Just Google GoFundMe Alex Cancheri.
00:19:53And you'll see, like Joey said, the happiest,
00:19:55you see this beautiful picture of him with his fiance and his two small children.
00:20:00I'm just beaming.
00:20:01I can't imagine this is someone that a few months later took their own life.
00:20:05So please check that out.
00:20:06And it's a subject that we'll stay on top of.
00:20:10And let's find out what would be interesting to see
00:20:12what comes out of Boston University as far as the CTE.
00:20:15And we'll stay tuned on that.
00:20:18We really enjoy our new feature here on the Thoroughbred Daily News Writer's Room podcast.
00:20:21Zoe Cadman's First Things First at Santa Anita.
00:20:24Zoe, I know as soon as this is over, record this portion of the podcast.
00:20:27You're running out the door to do what?
00:20:29I am literally running out the door to go and meet Tim Yaktin at his barn
00:20:34and talk First Things First.
00:20:36And of course, we're going to be discussing the one and only practical move
00:20:40who was sensational in the San Felipe.
00:20:48Congratulations.
00:20:50First off, Tim, has it sunk in?
00:20:53Has it sunk in?
00:20:54No, it hasn't sunk in.
00:20:55It's been pretty exciting.
00:20:58Take me through the race and what you saw from practical move.
00:21:04We didn't leave there super clean.
00:21:06And missing the work sort of got him a little bit fresh.
00:21:09So he was up in the bridle a little bit more going into the first turn
00:21:12once we did get our footing underneath ourselves.
00:21:15And then I thought it was a great trip from there.
00:21:18The leaders had sort of drifted off the rail a little bit.
00:21:21I think we had a pretty nice trip.
00:21:23It was in Ramon's hands the whole time, which is always nice.
00:21:27Did you have any anxious moments when you saw him tap on the brakes?
00:21:31Nah.
00:21:32You know, because he was right there.
00:21:35Can you just give me an update on your other horses you had in the race?
00:21:38They've all come back in good shape.
00:21:40Yeah.
00:21:40What about National Treasure?
00:21:42He was scratched.
00:21:43Right.
00:21:43He's doing great.
00:21:44And so we'll get back on track with him.
00:21:48I was looking up the ownership group of Practical Move.
00:21:52Do they have quarter horses too?
00:21:54Can you talk to me about them?
00:21:57I've never trained for them.
00:21:58Really?
00:21:59None of their shorties, but I've been with them in the thoroughbreds.
00:22:03So I don't know anything about their quarter horse division.
00:22:06I know they've been very successful.
00:22:07They campaigned in the All-American.
00:22:09So I don't know how many owners have had an All-American starter.
00:22:13And potentially, you know, if we get there.
00:22:16Are they relatively new owners for you?
00:22:20Yeah, I've actually had...
00:22:22I've chatted with them for probably the last couple of years
00:22:25because they had another horse they were considering sending out.
00:22:28Things didn't work out.
00:22:31But this time they went down to OBS and bought a couple out of there.
00:22:36And this is one of them.
00:22:38They got derby fever?
00:22:39I think everybody's getting derby fever.
00:22:42How's your fever?
00:22:43My fevers?
00:22:44Right now, I think I'm still pretty grounded.
00:22:46We're still a little ways away, you know?
00:22:48So 60 days is still quite a ways.
00:22:52So, you know, but I wouldn't trade my position with anybody, right?
00:23:02Santa Anita and First Bet continue to offer exciting and innovative betting action.
00:23:07Every weekend, you can bet the Coast to Coast pick five,
00:23:10which is five races from Santa Anita and Goldstream Park.
00:23:14It's a dollar minimum bet with a low 15% takeout.
00:23:17Or you can try the $18,000 Santa Anita Pick'em Contest,
00:23:22an online contest mixing popular sports and horse racing
00:23:25with $500 in prize money to the top winner each day.
00:23:29And then there's the $7,500 Show Viva contest.
00:23:33Play in Santa Anita's free online game by selecting one horse a day
00:23:37to compete for prize money across six different categories.
00:23:41Play for free at santaanita.com slash contest.
00:23:45Now that's a whole lot of action at Santa Anita.
00:23:48Just a reminder, we are racing at Santa Anita on Thursday, 1230 post time,
00:23:52as well as Golden Gate Fields.
00:23:56The TDN Writer's Room is brought to you by
00:23:57the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, the PHBA,
00:24:01who says save the date for the 2022 Iroquois Awards Banquet.
00:24:07Six winners and individual category winners,
00:24:10Horse of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award winner,
00:24:12will be recognized on May the 12th at the beautiful Mendenhall Inn
00:24:16in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.
00:24:18For more information, watch this space.
00:24:21More information will be available shortly.
00:24:24Here in Pennsylvania, we're proud of our breeding program,
00:24:28the best in North America.
00:24:29But we're also proud to be leaders in this industry.
00:24:32The PA Horse Breeders Association is funding cutting edge research at Penn Vet
00:24:37to detect gene doping in thoroughbreds.
00:24:39And we endorsed the SAFE Act to help protect the most vulnerable horses.
00:24:44Plus, we're pleased to support the aftercare programs set up by our horseman's groups.
00:24:48Just a few of the reasons why you should join us in Pennsylvania,
00:24:52the premier place to breed and race.
00:24:57What makes Woodford special is the attention to detail.
00:25:01Everyone on the team is doing their job.
00:25:04They're well qualified.
00:25:06They show up to work and they work hard and they care about the horse.
00:25:09And I think that's a reflection on John Gleason's program.
00:25:14He gives me good information.
00:25:16He always has a very good understanding of the horse's well-being,
00:25:20where they're at physically and mentally.
00:25:24In equine nutrition, there's a triangle.
00:25:27Management, genetics, and nutrition.
00:25:29And John's criteria to accomplish that is at the highest pinnacle.
00:25:37I started breaking quarter horses for people when I was 15.
00:25:40You know, people send me quarter horses to break.
00:25:42That's all I've done.
00:25:43You know, I don't hunt, I don't fish.
00:25:45I focus on training the horse.
00:25:46I think about training the horse.
00:25:47It's on eating dinner, laying in bed before you go to sleep.
00:25:50And if you roll over in the middle of the night, I think about a horse.
00:25:53And it's, you know, it's all consuming.
00:25:54I think to be successful, it has to be.
00:26:00The TDN Writers Room is brought to you by Woodford Thoroughbreds.
00:26:04Discover the Woodford edge.
00:26:06Woodford is a 1,000-acre world-class facility in Reddick, Florida,
00:26:10breeding and selling their own stock,
00:26:12as well as breaking and training services to outside clients.
00:26:17It's setting up to be a big spring for Woodford.
00:26:19The Woodford-bred Mimi Kazushi, who won the UAE Guineas and the UAE Oaks,
00:26:24has been nominated to the Kentucky Oaks,
00:26:27along with the Woodford-trained Grade 2 Golden Rod winner, Hoosier Philly.
00:26:32Meanwhile, on the Derby Trail,
00:26:33the Woodford-bred Rocket Can was second to current Derby favorite,
00:26:37Forte, in the Fountain of Youth Stakes this weekend.
00:26:41And the Woodford-trained Iroquois Stakes winner,
00:26:44Curly Jack, will look to avenge his recent defeat in the Risen Star Stakes.
00:26:48Next week, we're going to play the Woodford drinking game,
00:26:51because that's a whole lot of Woodford.
00:26:55And now the fastest horse of the week, presented by the Fast Stallions at Windstar.
00:27:00This week spotlighted Sire as his first yearlings this year,
00:27:04and bred 329 mares in his first two seasons.
00:27:08More on that stallion later, but now in a week loaded.
00:27:12With 16 graded stakes from coast to coast,
00:27:14the fastest horse of the week actually emerged
00:27:16from a seven-furlong allowance Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
00:27:21White Abario earned a 103 buyer speed figure
00:27:25for a resounding four-and-a-half length victory in that allowance optional claimer.
00:27:28For non-winners of two other than maiden or claiming,
00:27:32or for horses that hadn't won since June the 4th, 2022.
00:27:37White Abario had previously taken a maiden and two graded stakes in an allowance,
00:27:41but he was eligible for the race
00:27:43because his last win actually came in the Florida Derby last April 2nd.
00:27:49So it was a perfect storm Saturday for White Abario,
00:27:51especially since his five career wins have all now come at Gulfstream Park.
00:27:57White Abario is a Kentucky-bred product of Spinthrift Farm,
00:28:00which raced his dam, catching diamonds,
00:28:03and stood his Sire race day,
00:28:05who was exported to Korea prior to the 2021 breeding season.
00:28:10This week's great races saw seven triple-digit buyer speed figures in all,
00:28:15but somewhat surprisingly, that allowance race made the top of the list.
00:28:19Now, who's that Sire at win start?
00:28:23Improbable was the winner of the grade one Cash Call Futurity as a two-year-old,
00:28:28and in his four-year-old year, closed out with four great races in a row.
00:28:33Three victories, the Hollywood Gold Cup, 105 buyer,
00:28:36the Whitney with a 106, the Awesome again with a 108 buyer,
00:28:40and then he duplicated that 108 buyer in the final race of his career,
00:28:44a second-place finish to Authentic in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
00:28:48Improbable stands at Winstar for a fee of $25,000.
00:28:56The Green Group is an accounting and tax consulting advisory firm
00:28:59specializing in the thoroughbred business with over 500 clients in the industry
00:29:04and proven strategies to save you money on your taxes.
00:29:07For more information, go to www.greenco.com.
00:29:12And welcome in now the Green Group Guest of the Week,
00:29:14the one and only Mike Rapoli.
00:29:16Mike, thanks for joining us.
00:29:17I'm going to make you one promise here.
00:29:19If your answers go beyond, say, two minutes or so,
00:29:21there'll be no violins or anything to worry about.
00:29:23How about that?
00:29:24We got a deal?
00:29:25That's good.
00:29:25What about, what if they go four minutes though?
00:29:27Then will there be one?
00:29:28Well, maybe we'll have to get the violinist guy back to deal with you.
00:29:32But anyways, well, Mike, congratulations on the win in the Fountain of Youth with Forte.
00:29:37So as we get into March, he's the two-year-old champion.
00:29:40He's trained by Todd Pletcher.
00:29:41He looks like he developed beautifully over the winter,
00:29:44worked great, had a comeback race where you win easily,
00:29:48but don't take too much out of the tank, got a good buyer figure, etc.
00:29:52As we speak on March 7th, could the script be written any better?
00:29:57The script I wrote wasn't even this good, to be honest with you.
00:30:00I mean, and you guys all know racing, Randy, Zoe, Bill.
00:30:05The script you write never works out.
00:30:07I mean, this was, you know, I couldn't, you couldn't script this.
00:30:12Like it just, we just got his rag number, which was a seven and three quarters,
00:30:16which was lowest, lower than his best of last year off a four-month layoff.
00:30:21So it's always a problem because of some sign and not knowing, you know,
00:30:25Mylon is 16th, first time back.
00:30:27You don't really know who the competition was in the race.
00:30:29Probably Randy would, and Zoe would give me a better opinion on that.
00:30:32But it was more, he didn't race in four months.
00:30:35And all those horses had starts either four weeks ago or eight weeks ago
00:30:39or their second start back.
00:30:40So everything you just said, Bill, was beyond our expectations.
00:30:45Really, really special.
00:30:48So, Mike, you talked about how the script never works out.
00:30:50I mean, so far, this is beginning eerily similar to a horse 12 years ago,
00:30:55you had named Uncle Mo, who made a comeback race at Gulfstream Park
00:30:58in a race called the Timely Rider.
00:31:00Looked sensational after the layoff, you know, and then the liver thing,
00:31:04we know what happened to him after that.
00:31:05So how much of the Uncle Mo experience has you kind of on pins and needles
00:31:10and never taking anything for granted between now and the first Saturday in May?
00:31:13Well, the good thing, Randy, is I only need one lesson in life
00:31:19and it will stay with me forever.
00:31:20So having that Uncle Mo experience, you know, really, you know,
00:31:24how blessed to have a horse that would have been the favorite in the derby
00:31:27that was two-year-old champ.
00:31:28I mean, that was like, you know, it was like new emotions
00:31:30of going through something for the first time
00:31:32and having the pressure, having the derby favorite.
00:31:36And, you know, obviously it didn't work out
00:31:39because after the Timely Rider, he just wasn't looking right.
00:31:42He looked good for that race and he was losing weight
00:31:44and his coat was off.
00:31:45So, you know, I did say back then,
00:31:49if you can scratch the favorite in the Kentucky Derby,
00:31:51anything else in this game can't be that tough.
00:31:53And, you know, I think mentally it's kind of prepared me.
00:31:57You know, you guys know how competitive I am
00:32:00and how much I want to win a $5,000 Klamer and a grade one.
00:32:04But let's remember we're in a sport where if an owner wins one out of four races,
00:32:08meaning you lose three out of four, you've done a great job.
00:32:11So the whole sport is designated for,
00:32:14if you're not used to losing or failure,
00:32:16then you shouldn't be in the sport.
00:32:18Mike, you jokingly said when we first came in,
00:32:21you alluded to the fact you bought the whole crop
00:32:23last year at the September sale.
00:32:25You're one of the leading buyers at the September sale.
00:32:29But Forte came out of the previous year's September sale
00:32:32and you didn't have to spend that much money.
00:32:34Jacob West plucked him out for $110,000.
00:32:37Does this make you rethink where you're going?
00:32:40Or you're just like, I'm just going to have them all now.
00:32:42Well, Zoe, if meaning buying 100 horses versus 75
00:32:47means I'm sticking to a different strategy.
00:32:49I mean, listen, we bought a bunch the year before also.
00:32:53You know, Jake West is, you know, he's the guy that,
00:32:57you know, not only goes out to look at the horses,
00:32:59but he's part of this amazing team.
00:33:00I mean, I love Jake.
00:33:02He gets to sign his name.
00:33:03So he has a lot of fun with that.
00:33:05But between Jake, we got Alex Solis,
00:33:08Ed Rosen with Pedigrees, Jim Martin, Daniel Bricker.
00:33:11I mean, Todd is there all week.
00:33:14I just show up to bid and write checks out and go to dinner.
00:33:17I'm in charge of the dinner plans,
00:33:19usually Jeff Rubies for five straight nights.
00:33:21But really, we have a great team.
00:33:24We really, really have a great team.
00:33:26And, you know, to me, you know, I got Jim Martin,
00:33:30who's 75 years old and Ed Rosen,
00:33:33who you guys know well, who's 77.
00:33:36I do joke that they have 150 years of experience,
00:33:41but it's just so much.
00:33:43I mean, I almost feel like these horses
00:33:45and me are winning for them.
00:33:47Ed's been in this his whole life.
00:33:48Jim has followed this his whole life.
00:33:50And it's just so much fun winning with these guys
00:33:54and winning with the team and everybody works so hard.
00:33:56So it's so great to win with everybody.
00:33:58Mike, what led to the addition of Alex Solis and Jason Lett?
00:34:03Because, you know, they've been behind the scenes
00:34:06for a couple of years,
00:34:07but you brought them to the forefront this year.
00:34:10You know, it's my theory my whole life.
00:34:13I mean, happy, but not content.
00:34:15You know, how do I get better tomorrow?
00:34:17How do I get better next year?
00:34:19What can I do better?
00:34:20What can I add?
00:34:21And I just have a very competitive personality
00:34:25on never thinking great is good enough.
00:34:29And you have all these successes
00:34:31and you win eight great ones,
00:34:32and then you add to the team.
00:34:33And, you know, if you're a sports franchise,
00:34:36you know, it's great to win one championship.
00:34:37It's very special.
00:34:39Winning back-to-back is really, you know, very rare.
00:34:42Then there's the three-peat.
00:34:43And, you know, listen, I'm looking to stay in the game.
00:34:47I said that 15 years ago.
00:34:49There's so many people that come into this game.
00:34:52They spend a lot of money first three years.
00:34:55And then they retire.
00:34:56You know, they retire because they spent $30 million
00:34:58and they got an overnight allowance win
00:35:01or an overnight state win as their best success.
00:35:03And, you know, I wish there was a little bit more teaching
00:35:05in the game.
00:35:07And it takes a lot of time.
00:35:09It takes patience.
00:35:10And there's a lot of tough questions
00:35:12and a lot of answers you need to find out to do this right.
00:35:15Mike, before we hit the record button,
00:35:17you were joking about how,
00:35:18well, here's how I'm going to win the Kentucky Derby every year.
00:35:20I'm going to buy the entire crop.
00:35:22You didn't quite go that far.
00:35:25But with this group that are now three-year-olds,
00:35:27I remember doing a story with you
00:35:28and your partner, Vinny Viola,
00:35:30and you bought 46 yearlings,
00:35:33I think 43 of them from Keeneland alone,
00:35:36which is just a staggering amount.
00:35:38Talk about that philosophy
00:35:40and why you're not just looking for quality,
00:35:42which everybody's looking for,
00:35:44but you think one of the reasons
00:35:45why you can get to the promised land is also quantity.
00:35:49You know, they actually go together, Bill.
00:35:51You know, Vinny and I,
00:35:53when we like the same horse or we're on,
00:35:55I mean, I'm partners with Vinny.
00:35:57Vinny will buy some on his own.
00:35:58I'll buy some on my own also,
00:36:00but I'll also go partners.
00:36:01I mean, I've gone partners with Eclipse.
00:36:04I've gone partners with Mo Donegal.
00:36:05I've gone partners with West Point.
00:36:08I've gone partners with other people also.
00:36:11To me, you know, I say this,
00:36:13especially to my nephews at the track.
00:36:15I like to get them, I like to make fun of them.
00:36:18Would you rather own 100 horses at 100%
00:36:21or 200 horses at 50%?
00:36:23You know, I don't go in for, you know, 5% or 2% or 3%.
00:36:28I might take a quarter and a third on a couple,
00:36:31you know, but mostly it's 50%.
00:36:33So for me, it's a quality with a quantity game.
00:36:38And the best way I see that formula working
00:36:41is buying 200 at 50% or owning 200 with 50% and 100 at 100%.
00:36:47So like a horse, like we have a horse named Dreamlight.
00:36:50He's going to be in a maiden on Saturday.
00:36:52I like him a lot.
00:36:53You know, he was 87 buyer first time,
00:36:56lost to a horse that ran a 90 buyer who's had three starts.
00:37:00If he wins that, he goes to whatever, Bluegrass, maybe.
00:37:03Maybe he goes to Lexington.
00:37:05Maybe he goes to the Wood Memorial.
00:37:06But that's a horse that costs a million dollars.
00:37:10Maybe if it's just me, you know,
00:37:12I'm using a million on that one.
00:37:15Maybe I'm a little gunshot.
00:37:16Maybe I stop at 750.
00:37:18Knowing I got a partner that's going to go half.
00:37:21I'm viewing that as a $500,000 purchase
00:37:23and not a million dollar purchase.
00:37:25So, and it just doesn't give you
00:37:27double the horses, Bill and Zoe and Randy.
00:37:30It kind of, you know, if you got 15 million to spend
00:37:34and you're going to go buy 50% of the horse,
00:37:36it's like you have 30 million to spend on 50% of the horses.
00:37:40So you get to play the game a little bit different.
00:37:42Horse doesn't pass a vet.
00:37:44I can buy them.
00:37:45Others might pass.
00:37:46Horses only goes to 75,000.
00:37:48I can buy it.
00:37:49A horse goes for 110,000 named Forte.
00:37:52Oh, wow.
00:37:52I'm there to pick him up also.
00:37:54So it's a strategy that I have of trying to stay longer.
00:37:59When people run out of money after the first and second book,
00:38:02I still got money for that third and fourth book.
00:38:04You know, people were begging me
00:38:06to leave Keeneland last time, last sale.
00:38:08They couldn't wait for me to go home.
00:38:09You know, so it's a strategy.
00:38:12They couldn't buy horses, you know.
00:38:14How did you meet Vinny Viola?
00:38:16You know, it's a great story already.
00:38:18I, in 2007, right after the Vitamortor,
00:38:23I wanted to look at purchasing a piece of the New Jersey Nets.
00:38:29And Vinny was the number two shareholder of the Nets,
00:38:32him and Bruce Ratner.
00:38:33So I basically had a meeting with Vinny on the Nets
00:38:38and we just got along really, really well.
00:38:41And Vinny wasn't horse racing yet.
00:38:43And then I got into horse racing earlier.
00:38:47And Vinny has said this before,
00:38:49when he decided he wanted to get into horse racing,
00:38:52he made one phone call.
00:38:53He called me and for four or five years,
00:38:56like, you know, honestly, I gave him,
00:38:57I said, use Todd Fletcher and hire Jim Croupie.
00:39:01Those are the two things you need to do.
00:39:03And at the time, you know, again,
00:39:06I don't know how other egos would do in the game.
00:39:08I was with Todd Fletcher and I was with Jimmy Croupie.
00:39:11And, you know, I want to see people have success.
00:39:14Like, you know, I mean, it's so important,
00:39:17like the game, you know, we, we compete too much
00:39:23outside the racetrack.
00:39:26If we all work together, whether it's, you know,
00:39:29Churchill and the Astronaut Group and Naira,
00:39:33if they were, if they were a little smart,
00:39:35they work together like this,
00:39:37what can be 10 times the size, you know?
00:39:39I mean, you know, the media does a great job
00:39:43of the half or little piece that they can show.
00:39:47There's so many great stories in this sport.
00:39:49We do it, you know, we do, do we do it a disservice?
00:39:52And, you know, listen, even when I started in this game,
00:39:56God forbid you, you cheer when your horse won that,
00:39:59you know, when, when, when I went to Saratoga
00:40:02and the floor shake with 50 people,
00:40:04I was frowned upon in 2010, 11 and 12.
00:40:07People looked at me with dirty looks
00:40:09and I smiled brightly and I didn't care.
00:40:13And you know what I do see now?
00:40:14I see more partnerships.
00:40:15I see more people cheering.
00:40:17I see more people rooting.
00:40:19I don't see the golf clap and walk there.
00:40:22You know, I mean, let's,
00:40:23let's loosen this up a little bit, man.
00:40:25It's horse racing.
00:40:26And, you know, we, we need more personalities.
00:40:30We need more fun.
00:40:31We need more education.
00:40:32We need more kids like Joya out there,
00:40:35loving the sport, cheering on,
00:40:37rooting for people.
00:40:39And, you know, people got to work together.
00:40:41And, you know, Churchill is a public company
00:40:43and Stronic is Stronic and Naira is owned by the state.
00:40:47And, you know, I mean, they just, they don't,
00:40:49they don't get it.
00:40:50And, and I'm not, you know,
00:40:52Jockey Club, they don't get it either.
00:40:54How's that sound?
00:40:55You know, and by the way, Vinny's on the Jockey Club.
00:40:57So I'm glad I just said that.
00:40:58So, all right.
00:40:59So is Bill Ferris.
00:41:00Who else you want me to shout out right now?
00:41:02So, but we, we need to do the right thing, man.
00:41:05We need to do the right thing.
00:41:06This sport has to evolve.
00:41:08I don't know if you guys know,
00:41:09but gambling is legal now in most states.
00:41:11Did you guys know?
00:41:12And you can gamble on horse racing, you know,
00:41:14and money's going up through the roof
00:41:16and we're growing by accident.
00:41:19But, I mean, instead of 10 billion,
00:41:21we could be doing 50 billion, you know,
00:41:23and Percy should be 250,000.
00:41:25And the Kentucky Derby should be for 10 million.
00:41:27You know, let me go to Saudi for 20 million.
00:41:29Let me go to Dubai for 10 million.
00:41:32Come on.
00:41:32I mean, it's just, it's, I mean,
00:41:35let's be honest.
00:41:36It's shameful, shameful.
00:41:38If I can buy all the horse racing, I would.
00:41:41I mean, I'd love to buy the sport, the entire sport.
00:41:44It'd be, it would be, it would be bigger
00:41:46than everything but the NFL.
00:41:48I mean, it's huge.
00:41:51So Mike, speaking of Forte again,
00:41:53the, you, you spent,
00:41:55you're talking about horses that cost seven figures,
00:41:57high six figures.
00:41:57He cost 110,000.
00:41:59One of the most inexpensive horses you bought.
00:42:02What does that say about the inexact science
00:42:05that the yearling sales are?
00:42:07Well, I always say horses don't know how much they cost
00:42:10when they go to a barn or they go to the track.
00:42:12When they sit next in the gate,
00:42:14they don't say how much are you worth?
00:42:16How much am I worth?
00:42:16They don't talk like that.
00:42:18They don't have any social media
00:42:19like the kids do nowadays
00:42:21where they have to show off their winnings
00:42:22and stuff like that.
00:42:23So they're all normal.
00:42:25The difference between a $5,000 horse
00:42:27and a million dollar horse,
00:42:28the bills are the same.
00:42:29They eat the same amount.
00:42:30They have the same vet bills.
00:42:32You know, there isn't an exact size.
00:42:34I mean, when you're buying these horses
00:42:35and you guys are experts more than me,
00:42:37you're buying a yearling.
00:42:38What do you, do you equate that to a 12 year old kid?
00:42:40Do you equate that to a 13 year old?
00:42:42I mean, the freshman basketball player
00:42:45doesn't always become the college superstar
00:42:47or the NBA player.
00:42:49So there's a development of over a year
00:42:51or six months that happens.
00:42:53And they change from one to two.
00:42:56They change from two to the track
00:42:57and they change from the two to three, you know,
00:43:00and you know, curlings are more three and four year olds
00:43:02and other horses are more cautious two and three.
00:43:05And then there's some horses
00:43:06that are meant to be four year olds.
00:43:07So it also gives us the patience.
00:43:11You know, I guess there's a horse named Overstep
00:43:13who's had three starts, I think three.
00:43:15He'll be in the grade one quarter.
00:43:17He's at intermission.
00:43:18He was okay at two, very good at two, had some issues.
00:43:22We didn't even try to bring him back.
00:43:24Well, why even waste our time?
00:43:26Let's get him right.
00:43:27Comes back.
00:43:28He's two for two and now he'll be in the corner.
00:43:31So I just, you know, listen,
00:43:34I don't want to criticize other programs or owners
00:43:36because this is a incredibly tough game.
00:43:40You could have the greatest business plan in the world.
00:43:42It's only going to work 20% of the time,
00:43:45but you have to have a business plan here
00:43:48because if you don't, you're just going to lose 30 million
00:43:51in three years and never be back in it.
00:43:53So it's a very, you know, listen, I look at it.
00:43:57I'm really involved in the vision
00:43:59and the strategy of the stable
00:44:01from whether it's IRAD, Johnny or Jose Ortiz,
00:44:05whether, you know, this is a horse for Todd
00:44:07or it's a horse for somebody else,
00:44:09whether, you know, whether this farm, you know,
00:44:11horse should go, we have six farms in Kentucky or six here,
00:44:13but everybody on their team really is in charge
00:44:16of the strategy and the tactics and that's it.
00:44:19So, I mean, I empower people to make decisions.
00:44:22These guys really, they really do an amazing job.
00:44:25And, you know, it's, you know, Jose is going to be
00:44:28on Dreamlike on Saturday, you know,
00:44:31because if he's got a derby shot,
00:44:33he better get used to riding him
00:44:34because IRAD might have another horse called Forte.
00:44:37So there's some thinking around that.
00:44:38He worked on the last two weeks.
00:44:40You know, there's a reason why he worked
00:44:42on the last two weeks, every single detail.
00:44:44And again, I got a CEO called Todd Pletcher
00:44:48who's meticulous, who's got everything here, there, there.
00:44:53You know, and then my mind takes his mind.
00:44:56Like, you know, we talk about things that,
00:44:58like, why are these guys talking
00:44:59about this little simple thing?
00:45:01You know, but because it's not for us, you know,
00:45:03whether the horse worked inside or outside
00:45:05or Gallant that, who the exercise rider was.
00:45:08And we get to great conversations about that.
00:45:09It's a lot of fun.
00:45:11So you mentioned overall business plan and strategy.
00:45:14I mean, you and Vinny Viola have set the curve
00:45:17at Keeneland the last two years
00:45:18with 75 yearling purchases for $30 million.
00:45:23You're bidding a lot of times
00:45:25against the SF Racing Avengers Partnership.
00:45:28You're bidding against the new Spin Thrift Partnership
00:45:31that includes a whole lot of people.
00:45:35And they say, like the SF Racing people say
00:45:37that the only way to really make these numbers work
00:45:40is if you can hit on a stallion prospect or two
00:45:44that you can then resell to the Kentucky farms
00:45:47for big money.
00:45:48How much of that is part of your business plan?
00:45:51And how close are we to hearing
00:45:53about a potential stallion deal for Forte?
00:45:56I mean, Randy, it's a huge part of it,
00:45:58especially when you see the prices
00:46:01for horses like Flightline,
00:46:02the prices for horses like Life is Good.
00:46:05You know, I kind of look at it the same way.
00:46:08When you buy a hundred horses,
00:46:10if you can get 2% of them to be grade ones,
00:46:13you're going to pay for the whole crop.
00:46:15Now, it sounds easy, but you need two.
00:46:17You need a nest and you need a Forte.
00:46:20You need a Forte and you need a Vito.
00:46:22Like, you need two of them.
00:46:23And, you know, so it is very difficult.
00:46:29But I think I play at all different levels.
00:46:33And listen, I don't want to give away a secret here,
00:46:36but I'm aggressive.
00:46:39But you want to outbid me?
00:46:42I have no ego.
00:46:43Go outbid me.
00:46:44I have no problem.
00:46:46I'll stop at 1.2 if you want to go to 1.3.
00:46:48I'll stop at 1.5 if you want to go to 1.6.
00:46:51And then I'll just put that back in my pocket
00:46:53and give it back out there, you know?
00:46:55So, but if you stop at 1.4 and I'm at 1.5,
00:46:58I'm not going to be upset that I got a 4.5.
00:47:01So, you know, we're playing chicken here,
00:47:03except I don't mind losing.
00:47:05If they think they beat me at 1.7, good.
00:47:08I don't care.
00:47:09I just got more.
00:47:10I got 1.6 to play with.
00:47:12So, you know, I think a lot of people don't know,
00:47:15is he going to stop or is he going to keep going?
00:47:18And you know why they don't know?
00:47:19Because I really don't know until I decide to stop or keep going.
00:47:23But I'm there.
00:47:24And when I'm there, I want the horse.
00:47:27Are stallion rights percolating right now as we speak?
00:47:31If you have a stallion farm, Randy,
00:47:33you should be calling me right now
00:47:35because you'd be the only one that has.
00:47:36I mean, listen, it's part of the game.
00:47:41You know, I mean, he's a violence cult.
00:47:43You know, can he get the distance?
00:47:45Oh, he's out of a blame Philly.
00:47:46Oh, he's a two-year-old champ.
00:47:48Oh, wow.
00:47:48Look what he did now.
00:47:51I mean, it's, you know, I mean, it's, listen,
00:47:56the goal in any stallion farm I make a deal with,
00:48:00you know, I have to have an option to run him at four.
00:48:04Now, whether we do or not,
00:48:07but it has to be an option that I get to choose
00:48:09whether I run him at four.
00:48:11So that will always be an option
00:48:13and everybody knows that's the option,
00:48:16you know, whether he does or not for certain.
00:48:19I mean, we don't even know if he's going to,
00:48:20let's be honest, we don't even know
00:48:21if he's going to have a next thought.
00:48:22You know, we know how this game is.
00:48:23So I'm not there, but I just need the option.
00:48:28And listen, he's special.
00:48:32And, you know, I think Todd and I knew
00:48:37he was very, very, very good.
00:48:40And violences are usually precocious a little bit.
00:48:44And, you know, will he make the distance?
00:48:46Sometimes they get a mile and a 16th at two,
00:48:49but that's, a mile and eight is not,
00:48:52you know, Todd and I, I don't think
00:48:56we even envisioned what we saw on Saturday.
00:48:59And that's pretty strong.
00:49:01Nerve wracking, but pretty, pretty strong.
00:49:04It's super exciting and it's an enviable position to be in.
00:49:09You've got a lot of horses.
00:49:11I've got two questions.
00:49:12Does Todd Pletcher have enough room
00:49:15for all of the horses that you're going to have
00:49:18in training the next few years?
00:49:20And are you coming to Southern California?
00:49:23You got one horse out here with Michael McCarthy
00:49:25by the name of Uncontrollable.
00:49:27Is there a chance that we can lure the Ripoli stable
00:49:31out to Southern California?
00:49:33Well, Zoe, I live in Florida.
00:49:34I mean, if you want to see the sun out here,
00:49:36it's beautiful here.
00:49:37And just so you know, the taxes are much better here too.
00:49:40If you just, if you wanted to know that.
00:49:42So, but, but, but no, but the, I actually bought three Calverts.
00:49:48So we know three more are coming.
00:49:49So I got three Calverts, three year olds.
00:49:51So we know three more of those are coming.
00:49:53I ran with their last year, you know, so I think, you know,
00:49:59you know, watching a grade two, three
00:50:03with four Bob Baffert entries is kind of concerning
00:50:07to be honest with you.
00:50:08You know, me and Todd have talked about stabling there,
00:50:14maybe with 10 or 15 horses, but it's, you know,
00:50:17Todd is just such a micromanager.
00:50:19He has to get to Monmouth.
00:50:20He has to get to Belmont.
00:50:21He has to get to Saratoga.
00:50:22He has to get the Palm Beach Downs.
00:50:24He has to get to, you know,
00:50:26I think we're moving West, you know, I won more races
00:50:31at Keeneland last, you know, March or April and May
00:50:35than I did in, in, at Aqueduct.
00:50:37So that's saying something, you know, with the quality,
00:50:41you want to go with the quality races too.
00:50:43So we're moving West.
00:50:44And I think that as you see some stake races
00:50:47and some more Calvert entries,
00:50:49I think we're moving West.
00:50:50I think we're moving West.
00:50:51I think we're moving West.
00:50:52I think we're moving West.
00:50:53And as you see some stake races
00:50:55and some more California breads,
00:50:56or I think I'll, I'll have a bigger presence,
00:51:01but you know, do I think I'm going to have
00:51:0345 horses out there?
00:51:04You know what?
00:51:05Maybe when I have 400, maybe.
00:51:07So maybe in a year or two.
00:51:08So, so give me a couple more years.
00:51:12So Mike, give us an update on Nest.
00:51:14What's she up to?
00:51:15You know, she, she's doing great.
00:51:16She came in, I mean, you know, in a feeling like that,
00:51:20you know, what, what early races
00:51:23do you really have to run?
00:51:24You know, she's so good.
00:51:26You know, Todd and I've been talking,
00:51:28I mean, running her Oaks Day in, in the grade,
00:51:34grade one, I can't think of the race,
00:51:36Zoe Bill or Randy should know it,
00:51:38but there's a race on Oaks Day for older fillies.
00:51:41And I think right now, what is it?
00:51:46La Trianne.
00:51:47Yeah, La Trianne.
00:51:49And that's the spot that we're looking at.
00:51:51And then, you know, obviously Belmont Day,
00:51:54maybe in Saratoga, or maybe Breeders' Cup,
00:51:57if it works out perfect.
00:51:58But, you know, we gave her time off,
00:52:01you know, she's grown up, she's developed.
00:52:05She's, you know, we all know about curling,
00:52:07what happens between three and four usually, right?
00:52:10So, you know, it's hard to think
00:52:12that she might even be better,
00:52:13but, you know, Malathot was pretty good,
00:52:15her four year old, and unfortunately she beat me
00:52:18and Todd was the trainer,
00:52:19so I didn't talk to him for a while,
00:52:20but that's another story.
00:52:22Yeah, you never disappoint, my friend.
00:52:24I appreciate it, guys,
00:52:26and I appreciate what you guys do,
00:52:27and I wish there was more people
00:52:29that helped you guys out.
00:52:30Thanks, Mike, you're the best.
00:52:32As this week's entertaining
00:52:33and loquacious guest of the week,
00:52:35Mike Rapoli will receive a free one hour
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00:53:50With some of the fullest fields in the country
00:53:53and quality racing year-round,
00:53:55there's never been a better time
00:53:57to reap the rewards of breeding and racing in Kentucky.
00:54:02Purse money in Kentucky is at an all-time high,
00:54:05as is average purse per race,
00:54:07outpacing California, Florida, and New York.
00:54:10Kentucky breads.
00:54:12Breed them, raise them, race them.
00:54:16We all win.
00:54:20The TD and Writers Room is brought to you by the KTOB,
00:54:23the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders.
00:54:26Let's talk money.
00:54:27Purse money in Kentucky, an all-time high.
00:54:29More than $165 million paid out to horsemen in 2022.
00:54:35Kentucky's average purse per race,
00:54:38more than $77,000.
00:54:41That's more than Arkansas, New York, California, and Florida.
00:54:45More than any other racing jurisdiction.
00:54:47And the average field size, 8.4 starters per race
00:54:51in Kentucky, higher than Florida, New York, and California.
00:54:55Registering your horse
00:54:56with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund ensures
00:54:59that you'll be racing for the maximum purse amounts available
00:55:02for registered Kentucky breads.
00:55:04Breed them, race them, raise them.
00:55:06We all win.
00:55:08So the big news at San Anita
00:55:10over the weekend was the San Felipe and the Big Cap.
00:55:12Let's start with the San Felipe,
00:55:14has been on the subject of three-year-olds.
00:55:16And what an interesting afternoon,
00:55:18both good and bad for Tim Yaktin.
00:55:20He's got all these horses in the race
00:55:21and he's got all this attention on him
00:55:24because he's got the Baffert horses
00:55:26and he's got Hijazi and National Treasure
00:55:28and he's gonna take all these Baffert horses
00:55:30to the Kentucky Derby, et cetera.
00:55:32Then lo and behold, he wins the race,
00:55:35but with a horse that's been in his barn all along.
00:55:37Practical move, who got a 100 buyer.
00:55:40So, but based on the buyer figure,
00:55:42a very legitimate effort.
00:55:44As far as the former Baffert horses,
00:55:47not a good afternoon for them.
00:55:48National Treasure was the morning line favorite,
00:55:50was scratched.
00:55:51We don't know what's gonna become of him now.
00:55:53Then Hijazi, who was one among the favorites.
00:55:56Again, he looks like he probably is just a sprinter,
00:55:59though a fast one, he ran fourth.
00:56:01But Randy, I gotta imagine if you're a fly
00:56:03on the wall in Tim Yaktin's barn,
00:56:06he probably had a smile from ear to ear.
00:56:09It's gotta feel better to win with your own horse.
00:56:11Oh, sure.
00:56:12And the way he won too was very impressive.
00:56:14Now, granted, he did get an absolutely perfect trip
00:56:18because Jockey Ramon Vazquez was sitting inside
00:56:21all the way around the track, essentially,
00:56:23behind Hijazi, not in any hurry to get out
00:56:26because he could see that the right rein
00:56:28was dangling on Hijazi and he was drifting.
00:56:30When he went into the backstretch,
00:56:32he drifted pretty substantially.
00:56:33So I think Vazquez knew that when they turned for home,
00:56:36he was gonna have plenty of room to get through inside.
00:56:38And that's exactly what happened.
00:56:40But practical move made the best of it.
00:56:43And he very quickly, he showed a nice turn of foot
00:56:45by very quickly running up into that opening
00:56:47and taking over and winning in pretty commanding fashion.
00:56:51And the gallop out was pretty impressive as well.
00:56:53So the 100 buyer definitely points him out
00:56:55as a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby.
00:56:58Right now, I'd put him just behind Forte
00:57:01and Arabian Knight.
00:57:02And maybe he'll have a showdown with Arabian Knight
00:57:05in the Santa Anita Derby.
00:57:06But all systems go for practical moves.
00:57:08Zoe, I thought he looked really good.
00:57:10He did.
00:57:11I believe someone liked him last week.
00:57:14Would that be myself?
00:57:17Yeah, he was terrific.
00:57:19Sat in the pocket.
00:57:21I mean, it looked from the pan
00:57:22that he squeezed through an opening,
00:57:23but you could have driven a Mack truck
00:57:25through the opening and the rail
00:57:27because Hijazi was lugging out the whole way.
00:57:30Practical move the best.
00:57:31You know who ran terrific?
00:57:33Was the runner up.
00:57:34Go Rocket Ride.
00:57:35His second lifetime start up on a hot pace.
00:57:39He dropped back at the three eights pole.
00:57:41I thought he was going to be last.
00:57:43Flavian was riding him.
00:57:45He ate a little bit of dirt
00:57:46and then he cut down to the inside.
00:57:48And he was running at the end and he galloped out in front.
00:57:51I mean, didn't gallop out in front of practical move,
00:57:53but he was way ahead of the rest of the field.
00:57:55He ran terrifically.
00:57:57And Dick Mandela was absolutely beaming after the race.
00:58:00They're very, very excited about Go Rocket Ride.
00:58:03But for Tim, absolutely delighted for Tim
00:58:06to win with practical move.
00:58:08And it's kind of a good situation for Tim
00:58:11because he gets the baffled horses in his barn
00:58:15the week before this race.
00:58:16So essentially they're running off of Bob's training.
00:58:19Now the only way is up or I mean,
00:58:21or not at all for those horses
00:58:23that just got moved into Tim's barn.
00:58:25I'm just delighted for him
00:58:27and the connections to win that race.
00:58:29Yeah, Skinner ran pretty well too, finishing third.
00:58:31He lugged in a little bit at the top of the stretch,
00:58:33but once he got his lead straightened out,
00:58:35he really surged there the last 16th of a mile
00:58:38as if he's a horse that could appreciate longer distances.
00:58:40And as I pointed out on NBC,
00:58:42when you look at these races,
00:58:43the Fountain of Youth and the San Felipe,
00:58:44it's not always about who wins.
00:58:4619 horses historically have won either of the two races
00:58:50and then gone on to win either the Derby
00:58:52or the Preakness or sometimes both.
00:58:55But 31 horses who were beaten in the San Felipe
00:58:59and the Fountain of Youth
00:59:00came back to win the Derby or the Preakness.
00:59:02So you can't, certainly can't count out
00:59:04Go Rocket Ride and Skinner at this point either.
00:59:07The next Giacomo.
00:59:09I mean, mile and a quarter for Skinner?
00:59:11Write it on the wall.
00:59:13Well, before we get onto the Sanita Handicap,
00:59:15we're on the subject of three-year-olds.
00:59:16Raze Kane won the Gotham.
00:59:18Big long shot winner,
00:59:19didn't get a particularly good field.
00:59:21Congratulations to the connections,
00:59:23but guys, probably not a major threat
00:59:25for the Kentucky Derby.
00:59:26He looked very visually impressive,
00:59:29but the Gotham was a muddy race
00:59:31in more ways than one, right?
00:59:33I mean, the track condition made it very difficult,
00:59:36for example, to do a speed figure on the race
00:59:38because the speed of the racetrack
00:59:41seemingly changed from race to race
00:59:42as the day progressed.
00:59:44It was run sort of in upside down fashion
00:59:46with a very fast pace,
00:59:48despite the demanding track surface.
00:59:50And therefore the horses that were way back in the back,
00:59:52like Slip Mahoney,
00:59:53who showed zero early speed and Raze Kane,
00:59:56finished one, two, three.
00:59:57So it's a very difficult race to get a line on.
00:59:59And maybe we'll learn a little bit more
01:00:01about these horses
01:00:01if you get a fast track in the Wood Memorial.
01:00:04How about Ben Colbrook?
01:00:05He put the saddle on Raze Kane,
01:00:08watched the race on his way to the airport,
01:00:10on the phone,
01:00:11got to Turfway in time to saddle
01:00:14Scooby Kwando in the John Battaglia.
01:00:17That horse ran second.
01:00:18So he was in both places at once.
01:00:20Congratulations to Antonio Sano
01:00:22for the win with Congruent,
01:00:23by the way, in the John Battaglia.
01:00:25But yeah, a good day for Ben Colbrook.
01:00:28And the John Battaglia won by Sonny Leone.
01:00:31Yeah.
01:00:31So we may have a Sonny Leone 2.0 story
01:00:34in this year's Kentucky Derby.
01:00:35We'll see about that.
01:00:36Okay, so now back to Santa Anita.
01:00:38The other big race of the day, of course,
01:00:39was the Big Cap.
01:00:40And Stiletto boys, you know,
01:00:42he's an easy horse to root for.
01:00:44And, you know, trained by Ed Moger Jr.
01:00:47You know, we'd like to see,
01:00:49it doesn't always have to be Bob Baffert,
01:00:51Todd Pletcher, Brad Cox,
01:00:52Chad Brown and Steve Asmussen.
01:00:54We'd like to see these little guys get in there.
01:00:56I mean, he's no star,
01:00:57but he shows up in all these races.
01:00:59He runs hard and he ran the race of his life to win.
01:01:02Kent DiZarmo was aboard.
01:01:04We all know his story
01:01:05and all the off-track problems he's had.
01:01:07It was his third Big Cap win,
01:01:08but his first since 2002.
01:01:10So a little bit of a feel-good story
01:01:12for Stiletto boy, Randy.
01:01:14Yeah, it was nice to see someone else
01:01:16win for a change.
01:01:19And Stiletto boy did, you know,
01:01:21nail, defunded right before the wire
01:01:23and Proxy was rallying with him to finish second.
01:01:25Look, I don't think Stiletto boy really,
01:01:27really wants to go a mile and a quarter.
01:01:30I don't think defunded really wants
01:01:31to go a mile and a quarter.
01:01:32I don't think Hopper, the fourth place horse,
01:01:35really wants to go a mile and a quarter.
01:01:36Proxy did the Proxy thing.
01:01:39He's won for 11 in his career
01:01:41in graded stakes races,
01:01:42but he's always coming.
01:01:44He's always gaining ground in the stretch.
01:01:45He always looks like next time
01:01:47is going to be the time.
01:01:48He has no problem with a mile and a quarter.
01:01:50He probably would like a mile and a half,
01:01:52but he ran well to be beaten only a neck.
01:01:54It was a good race,
01:01:55not in your upper echelon
01:01:57of big caps historically,
01:02:01but cool to see a horse like Stiletto boy
01:02:03win it, I agree.
01:02:05It was a terrific race to be there in person,
01:02:07to be honest.
01:02:07To watch those three come to the wire,
01:02:09Proxy was on the outside fence.
01:02:11I thought he was going to make a right hand turn
01:02:13and come right in the winner's circle
01:02:14where I was standing,
01:02:16but a terrific race.
01:02:17The crowd went nuts.
01:02:18Good for Kent DeSormo
01:02:20and good for the Moja brothers.
01:02:22I mean, when was the last time
01:02:24we saw a brother as a trainer and an owner?
01:02:26I mean, we've seen it with DeSormo brothers,
01:02:28but these are two brothers
01:02:29taking down one of the most historic races
01:02:32in big cap history.
01:02:34So that was really cool to me.
01:02:36Steven, Ed Moja, well done, boys.
01:02:39All right, let's turn our attention
01:02:41to what's going on this weekend.
01:02:42And so far as the three-year-old front goes,
01:02:44the big race will be the Tampa Bay Derby.
01:02:46Randy, have we figured out this horse's name yet?
01:02:48Tappett-Trice, Trice?
01:02:50You're kind of a resident expert on this.
01:02:53I actually just texted Vandy Pope this morning
01:02:55because I knew we were going to be talking
01:02:56about the horse.
01:02:57So have you decided what the pronunciation is going to be?
01:03:00It's, as the stewards would say, as is.
01:03:03She's not going to change it for Tappett-Trice.
01:03:05So I think it's Tappett-Trice.
01:03:07Is that the way he's been pronounced?
01:03:08I believe so, yes.
01:03:09Tappett-Trice is the owner.
01:03:13So again, it is official.
01:03:14You can go to the windows,
01:03:15cash your tickets if you bet on Tappett-Trice
01:03:18being the official name of this horse.
01:03:19But his name aside, he's a very good horse,
01:03:22trained by Todd Pletcher,
01:03:23who's won this race five times,
01:03:25looking for his sixth win in the Tampa Bay Derby.
01:03:29It looks to me, I mean, again,
01:03:30now we also have to say this,
01:03:31we have this discussion for many of these races
01:03:34before the entries come out.
01:03:35So if there's a last minute curveball,
01:03:37we apologize for that.
01:03:39But he's going to be odds on in this race, Randy.
01:03:41And I would expect that he would win
01:03:43and join Forte as a top four or five type horse
01:03:47in Pletcher's Barn for Kentucky Derby,
01:03:50his Kentucky Derby arsenal.
01:03:52Yeah, I mean, Tappett-Trice is a legitimate
01:03:56heavy, heavy, heavy favor,
01:03:58whatever you want to call him.
01:03:59He's going to be four to five or even money.
01:04:02And especially when you consider
01:04:03that in the field of 10
01:04:07that Tampa Bay Downs is expecting,
01:04:09and they're pretty good historically
01:04:11at nailing who's going to enter
01:04:12in these races at Tampa and who's not.
01:04:15The second favorite could actually wind up being Shesterkin,
01:04:19who was also trained by Todd Pletcher,
01:04:22who was second to Tappett-Trice
01:04:23in the allowance race at Gulfstream,
01:04:25beating eight lengths.
01:04:26That goes to show you how dominant Tappett-Trice
01:04:29looks on paper against some of these other horses.
01:04:32The Sam Davis winner of Litigate,
01:04:34who also comes from the Pletcher Barn,
01:04:37is rerouted from the Tampa Bay Derby
01:04:39to the Louisiana Derby.
01:04:41So Pletcher's got his bases covered here
01:04:43on several different fronts going forward.
01:04:46What's wrong with Groveland?
01:04:48He seems to be a rapidly improving horse
01:04:51for trainer Owen Harty,
01:04:52a son of Streetsense,
01:04:54who won the Tampa Bay Derby
01:04:55and went on to win the Kentucky Derby.
01:04:57Streetsense is sired by Street Cry,
01:05:01who Owen Harty trained as well.
01:05:03So I'm going full circle here for Owen Harty.
01:05:06Go back and watch the replay of his last race.
01:05:08He got stopped cold at the three eights pole.
01:05:11I think there is a lot more to Groveland
01:05:13than meets the eye,
01:05:14and he was 20 to one last time.
01:05:16He's going to be a long shot.
01:05:17I'm not saying he can beat Tappett-Trice.
01:05:19I'm just going to say
01:05:20he's going to be in the running at the end.
01:05:23All right.
01:05:23So the Tampa Bay Derby tops the action
01:05:25at Oak Lawn, the Azeri Stakes.
01:05:27So the entries are already out for that.
01:05:28So we know Secret Oath,
01:05:30last year's Kentucky Oaks winner,
01:05:31will be making her four-year-old debut
01:05:33for Wayne Lucas.
01:05:34Clairier is in that field as well.
01:05:35And Zoe, the Beholder Mile on San Carlos
01:05:38at Santa Anita this weekend.
01:05:39Tell us a little bit about those races.
01:05:41Yeah, grade one Beholder Mile.
01:05:42I have the probables right here.
01:05:44It looks like it's going to be
01:05:45perhaps Pauline's Pearl coming in for Asmussen.
01:05:48Midnight Memories, Kirsten Bosch for John Sadler.
01:05:51Adair Manor, she's going to love the distance
01:05:54for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.
01:05:56Amo Ray is coming in for trainer Brad Cox.
01:05:59Fun2Dream, who's a really cool Calbred filly
01:06:03of Bob Baffert's.
01:06:05Those are going to be the main contenders
01:06:07in the grade one Beholder Mile.
01:06:09And then the grade two San Carlos,
01:06:11I think it may be a smaller field,
01:06:12but it looks like we're going to see
01:06:13Forbidden Kingdom in there,
01:06:15who is training lights out for Dick Mandela.
01:06:17His table's really heating up a play.
01:06:21The TDA Writer's Room is brought to you by XBTV.
01:06:24The XBTV Workout of the Week is Prosper.
01:06:27Prosper is a $1.7 million Keeneland September purchase
01:06:31for Woodford Racing, Taller Racing,
01:06:34and West Point Thoroughbreds.
01:06:35He works a sharp five furlongs
01:06:37for trainer John Sadler on Sunday
01:06:39in a minute and change.
01:06:41That's a minute point three fifth seconds
01:06:43for his very first start.
01:06:45Looks like Terry Finley will say this horse will start
01:06:48in just a couple of weeks.
01:06:49He looks a very, very nice prospect
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01:07:54The TDN Writer's Room is brought to you
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01:08:06It's two-year-old season in Ocala, Florida,
01:08:09and West Point Thoroughbreds will be active at the sales.
01:08:12We'll be starting with the OBS March sale
01:08:14of two-year-olds in training,
01:08:16March 20th through the 22nd.
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01:08:20in a West Point partnership
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01:08:26contact Debbie at westpointthoroughbreds.com.
01:08:30This week's Remy Block cartoon is in.
01:08:31It appears every Friday in the Thoroughbred Daily News,
01:08:34and he's got two horses in stalls
01:08:36with an elevator in between the two of them,
01:08:38and it's going up to the penthouse or down to the barn.
01:08:42Which way are they gonna go?
01:08:43Up the ladder, let's hope that Remy's horses
01:08:45go up the elevator to the penthouse
01:08:48and they become, hey, the next flight line
01:08:50or something like that.
01:08:51And that's a wrap for this week's show
01:08:53here on the Thoroughbred Writers Room Podcast.
01:08:55Thanks for joining us.
01:08:55I want to thank Mike Rapoli,
01:08:57our Green Group Guest of the Week.
01:08:58I want to thank Patty Wolf, our producer,
01:09:00Katie Petruniak, our associate producer,
01:09:02my co-host, Zoe Cadman,
01:09:04and of course, Randy Moss.
01:09:06Hi, Lucy.
01:09:08Hi, Lucy.
01:09:08I feel compelled to prove that Lucy is actually alive.
01:09:12She is indeed.
01:09:13Boy, she's cute, Randy.
01:09:14Also, our editors, Anthony LaRocca,
01:09:16Aliyah LaRocca, and Nathan Wilkinson.
01:09:18Thanks for tuning us in.
01:09:19We'll catch up with you next week.