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Transcript
00:00:00For the love of the horse, for generations to come.
00:00:26Welcome you to another edition of the TDN Writer's Room podcast.
00:00:31My name is Bill Finley.
00:00:32I'm a correspondent for the Thoroughbred Daily News and also
00:00:35co-host of the Down the Stretch radio show on Sirius XM radio.
00:00:38How y'all doing?
00:00:40I'm Randy Moss with NBC Sports.
00:00:42Since we last spoke, I have worked out extensively, but
00:00:48unfortunately, I'm going to have to abandon my idea of playing
00:00:51quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.
00:00:53As it turns out, I've lost quite a bit of arm strength over the
00:00:57last 40 years.
00:00:59Who knew?
00:01:02I'm Zoe Capman with First Racing and XBTV.
00:01:06Right now, it looks like I've got the worst hair in horse racing.
00:01:09Bill's hair actually looks good for a change.
00:01:12For a change?
00:01:14Well, it's usually looking like mine.
00:01:16Mine's definitely the I-just-woke-up look, which is not true.
00:01:20You've got that Kramer look going right now, though.
00:01:23That's okay.
00:01:24I know.
00:01:25Yeah.
00:01:26All right.
00:01:28Zoe, I think you look terrific.
00:01:30Yeah.
00:01:31Well, guys, let's talk about a lot of big races this weekend,
00:01:34particularly at the fairgrounds and at Turfway Park.
00:01:36We have some major derby preps.
00:01:38But let's go back to last week and the news out of Santa Anita.
00:01:42Not so much in the racing, but Bob Baffert revealed, and Randy,
00:01:46you hinted at this on last week's show, that there was indeed a
00:01:50quote-unquote minor problem with Nysos.
00:01:53He has not worked since February 25th,
00:01:56and he is going to miss a month of training.
00:01:59Obviously, a big setback for the Baffert stable.
00:02:03And I was really bummed to read this,
00:02:05because even though he wasn't going to run in the derby,
00:02:07I consider him and still do one of those really special horses that comes
00:02:12around maybe once every four or five years.
00:02:14But let me start with Zoe on this, because, Zoe,
00:02:17you'll have a better feel for that.
00:02:18If a horse is out of training for a month and the issue is only minor,
00:02:24when can we expect him back?
00:02:26I know you're just kind of guessing because Bob Baffert hasn't said,
00:02:28but, you know, look into your crystal ball.
00:02:30What's ahead for this horse?
00:02:32Well, I can tell you one thing, which is a very good sign indeed,
00:02:34that he is still at the Bob Baffert barn,
00:02:37because I was wandering around there with Bob actually looking for a filly,
00:02:42a Speedway filly that they own.
00:02:44And Bob's like, oh yeah, there's a nice horse.
00:02:46I'm like, oh, he's fine.
00:02:48He's absolutely fine.
00:02:49He's just going to need some time.
00:02:51He kind of almost joked he's the Bob Baffert version of Flightline.
00:02:55So too fast for his own good.
00:02:57So he is in the barn, which is always a good sign, you know,
00:03:00when you don't really know what's going on.
00:03:02The fact that he's still there, he's just going to have some time.
00:03:05I don't know what the issue is,
00:03:06but it's very good news that he is still based at Santa Anita.
00:03:12Yeah, that's a very good sign.
00:03:15There are a lot of parallels between Nysos and Life is Good, right?
00:03:22Life is Good in 2021 started off with Bob Baffert.
00:03:25Just like Nysos, he won his first three starts by a combined 19 length margin,
00:03:30right?
00:03:31One at Del Mar and two at Santa Anita.
00:03:34And then Life is Good, after demolishing Medina Spirit in the San Felipe,
00:03:40had one workout, came out of the workout with a hind end problem.
00:03:44Baffert announced that he was going to be off the derby trail.
00:03:47He didn't get into too much detail.
00:03:49But as opposed to Nysos,
00:03:51they sent Life is Good to Root and Riddle in Kentucky to be checked out.
00:03:56And as it turned out,
00:03:57he had a chip in a hind ankle that kept him out until the Allen Jerkins at
00:04:04Saratoga in the summer.
00:04:06Of course, by then he was trained by Todd Pletcher because of the Medina
00:04:09Spirit situation.
00:04:10But yeah, a lot of similarities between those two horses.
00:04:13And I agree that it's very good news so far that Nysos has remained in the
00:04:18Baffert barn.
00:04:19I've got to be very diplomatic when I say this because I don't want to
00:04:24suggest in any way that Churchill Downs would be rooting for misfortune for
00:04:28any particular racehorse.
00:04:30But if Nysos had stayed healthy and if he had dominated the Santa Anita
00:04:36Derby, the reality was going to be that for the 150th Kentucky Derby,
00:04:42it was going to be just as big a story who wasn't there with Nysos as the
00:04:48fact that Churchill Downs is celebrating that huge anniversary, right?
00:04:51It was going to be a colossal distraction.
00:04:54Now, if Nysos wasn't going to make the Kentucky Derby anyway,
00:04:59that particular narrative kind of drops by the wayside.
00:05:04You've still got Kenza in the Kentucky Oaks.
00:05:06If she stays healthy, who would have been a big favorite in the Oaks.
00:05:10But as far as Nysos, that's one narrative that we probably won't have to talk
00:05:16about nearly as much.
00:05:18Randy, I think you're being too polite to Churchill Downs.
00:05:21I think when they read this story, they were popping open champagne bottles
00:05:24because, like you said, this had the potential to really be,
00:05:30use the right word, a distraction from the Derby.
00:05:32I mean, again, I'm not suggesting that anybody in horse racing roots for
00:05:36somebody's horse to get hurt.
00:05:38But having said that, this really puts Churchill Downs,
00:05:42kind of takes him off the hook a little bit here.
00:05:44We have the other baffled horses that are still pointing for the Kentucky
00:05:48Derby like Muth, Imagination, Maimon, but they're not Nysos.
00:05:52Nysos was the real deal.
00:05:54So the Kentucky Derby doesn't have to worry about that.
00:05:57So another story that broke during the week, it wasn't a surprise,
00:06:00as we knew that they were heading in this direction.
00:06:03But First Racing slash the Stornette Group has agreed to donate the
00:06:09Pimlico to the state of Maryland.
00:06:11And what's going to happen now is the domino,
00:06:13this is one of the first dominoes to fall.
00:06:15You're going to see the state of Maryland in the beginning of January
00:06:182025 take over racing at the Maryland tracks.
00:06:22They're looking at a setup that's going to be a lot like New York
00:06:25Racing Association set up.
00:06:27Pimlico will be torn down.
00:06:29They're going to use their 400 million allotted to build a new Pimlico.
00:06:32And eventually Laurel will be just like Aqueduct.
00:06:37A lot of similarities with New York.
00:06:39Laurel will be closed and shut down.
00:06:41I think this is a win-win for everybody.
00:06:43I mean,
00:06:44the Stornette Group made it clear that running the Maryland racetracks was
00:06:48not financially something that was doing them much good.
00:06:52If not a financial drain on them,
00:06:54the horsemen benefit because they now have,
00:06:58will have a solid future in Maryland.
00:07:01I don't think anybody's going to worry about the state closing these
00:07:03tracks down and the Preakness will go on and will eventually be not at
00:07:07that dump.
00:07:08That was place.
00:07:09It's been decrepit for the last 40 years,
00:07:11but at a bright new shiny racetrack in the future.
00:07:14So I think good news for Maryland.
00:07:16Good news for the horsemen.
00:07:17And good news race.
00:07:18And one thing I was a little surprised about and Randy,
00:07:20you can maybe talk about this.
00:07:21Originally we thought the Stornette Group was going to hold the rights to
00:07:24Preakness in perpetuity,
00:07:26but it looks now that one in 2026,
00:07:30the Preakness will be transferred to the state of Maryland as well.
00:07:34So I was a little surprised to see that.
00:07:36But you know,
00:07:37when we see so many racetracks going out of business,
00:07:39it's a good thing.
00:07:40It's a good thing.
00:07:41It looks like it's,
00:07:42this is going to come to pass,
00:07:43but this is horse racing.
00:07:44This is politics.
00:07:45So until the governor actually signs it on the dotted line,
00:07:47I wouldn't count the proverbial chickens.
00:07:48Just kidding.
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00:09:07They're maybe a little bit over eager on some of the plans for Pimlico.
00:09:13The $400 million, okay, you're going to have to rebuild the racetrack.
00:09:18They're talking about building a hotel next to Pimlico.
00:09:23I kind of wonder if any racing fans are really going to want to, other than the Preakness
00:09:30and even the Preakness itself, to be staying at the hotel next to Baltimore?
00:09:36I think most, next to Pimlico,
00:09:38I think most people would prefer to stay down
00:09:40in the Inner Harbor.
00:09:41So that might be a little ambitious,
00:09:43but if they can pull it off, more power to them,
00:09:48if it helps Maryland Racing.
00:09:50Well, listen, should it all go through?
00:09:52Not only is it going to be good for horse racing,
00:09:55it's gonna be great for that Park Heights area.
00:09:58They're desperately lacking all these amenities
00:10:00that they are promising.
00:10:02They're promising football fields, buildings,
00:10:04parks, recreation.
00:10:06This is a very urban area with,
00:10:08as you mentioned, Randy, high crime.
00:10:11And I think it can just bring the neighborhood up.
00:10:14And if they build a hotel,
00:10:15like you wouldn't believe the change.
00:10:18And this is a whole different parallel to Ocala.
00:10:21Ocala now has the World Equestrian Center.
00:10:24And if you've never been to it, it is absolutely amazing.
00:10:27It is like a Vegas style, huge hotel.
00:10:30The whole area of Slowcala has now people coming
00:10:35from Wellington and moving into Ocala
00:10:38just because it's just gone up in leaps and bounds.
00:10:42It's almost impossible to buy a house there.
00:10:44So if this all comes to fruition,
00:10:46it can only mean good things
00:10:48for the Park Heights neighborhood
00:10:50and all the people it encompasses
00:10:52with the fact that they're trying to put some outreach
00:10:54into the local community.
00:10:56Like if that happens, I give it a big thumbs up.
00:11:00And it's really a politically correct decision
00:11:02as much as anything else on two parts.
00:11:05Number one, the city of Baltimore takes great pride
00:11:08in the Preakness being in Baltimore.
00:11:12Just the thought of it moving to Laurel
00:11:14had legislators just all up in arms
00:11:16that Baltimore City was going to lose the Preakness.
00:11:20And then abandoning Pimlico
00:11:22and moving all the racing to Laurel
00:11:24was seen by a lot of politicians
00:11:26as just basically sticking the knife in
00:11:29and twisting it to the Park Heights neighborhood
00:11:31that's already economically depressed.
00:11:34So on both counts, I think this is a very PC decision
00:11:39by the legislators in Baltimore.
00:11:41And hopefully it works out for the better for everybody.
00:11:45And we'll all still have our memories of Pimlico.
00:11:47One of my fondest ones when Elliott Walden
00:11:50was still a trainer, he'd had Menifee in the Preakness.
00:11:52I'm interviewing him and just a few feet apart
00:11:57and a rat about the size of Zoe
00:12:00ran right between the two of us.
00:12:03I was, welcome to Pimlico.
00:12:05So, but anyways, he died.
00:12:09Part of the plan as well that I found interesting
00:12:12is they're going to rotate the racetrack.
00:12:14They're going to basically plow it up and rotate it.
00:12:17So maybe this will drive a stake through the heart
00:12:20of all those people who still believe
00:12:22in the tight turns at Pimlico.
00:12:24Maybe the new racetrack will put an end to that.
00:12:28Once and for all.
00:12:29Yeah, that myth still lives on.
00:12:30All right, I've already called him previously
00:12:33the coolest horse in horse racing.
00:12:35He's even cooler now.
00:12:37You know, it's the chosen Vron wins the San Carlos.
00:12:41You know, does that make him the fastest horse in racing?
00:12:44No, does it make him the best horse in racing?
00:12:46No, but he should be the most popular horse in racing
00:12:49because we don't get this anymore.
00:12:51A gelding, California bred,
00:12:53competing at the top of his game,
00:12:5516 wins from 21 career starts.
00:12:59He's just an amazing horse.
00:13:00He's not just a good cow bred.
00:13:02He's a very fast horse.
00:13:04Now, I was a little bit dismayed
00:13:07to read from Eric Kroljak saying
00:13:08he's really only concentrating on the Bing Crosby
00:13:11and might run one more time between then.
00:13:14Come on, let's not pull this nonsense with a gelding.
00:13:18Come on, run them every month.
00:13:19But I know I sound like a broken record on that.
00:13:23But, you know, some of these awards that we have,
00:13:26like, you know, we need an award for a horse like this,
00:13:30not an Eclipse Award,
00:13:31but maybe it's a special award for recognizing the horse,
00:13:34like, you know, the blue collar hero of horse racing.
00:13:37I absolutely, Zoe, love this horse.
00:13:40Well, he's got a couple of awards,
00:13:41champion sprinter, horse of the year,
00:13:44cow bred horse of the year,
00:13:45dual cow bred horse of the year.
00:13:47He is just a really, really cool little horse to be around.
00:13:51Now, Eric Kroljak has tried that,
00:13:54I'll run him once a month and it worked for a while.
00:13:58And then he won by a nose and he's like,
00:14:01all right, let's take a little break.
00:14:03And when he gave the horse the break
00:14:04and the time he needed,
00:14:06because I can remember seeing him in the paddock one day
00:14:09and I'm like, he doesn't look good at all.
00:14:11And he won by a nose in spite of it.
00:14:14Eric gave him the time off he needed.
00:14:15And now he's taking a bit more of a conservative approach
00:14:19to this cow bred who certainly does owe nobody a damn thing.
00:14:24He is just such a cool horse.
00:14:26He looks great.
00:14:27Hector Barrios, since the addition of him,
00:14:29he just knows how much he always has in the tank.
00:14:33It looked like the other horse was going to him,
00:14:35but he just never even squeezed him at all.
00:14:38So, very happy for John Sondraker.
00:14:42He is a cool little horse.
00:14:45Yeah, great job by Eric Kroljak and the ownership team
00:14:48throughout this horse's career,
00:14:49giving him time when he needed it.
00:14:51I don't think this is ever going to happen.
00:14:53I hope it never does.
00:14:55If it does, if the Chosen Vron
00:14:57ever winds up running against Senor Buscador,
00:15:00I don't know who I would root for.
00:15:01Yeah, and what if two Phil's were in that race too?
00:15:09Then you'd really have a problem, aren't you?
00:15:11I would, you're right.
00:15:14Right, all right.
00:15:15So, we will see what happens next with the Chosen Vron,
00:15:20but he's circled Nobeng Crosby
00:15:21to try to win that back-to-back.
00:15:23That, of course, is the great one run at Del Mar.
00:15:27All right, well, we do need to remind you
00:15:29that the TDN Writers' Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
00:15:32Keeneland is taking entries
00:15:33for its 2024 Horses of Racing Age sale.
00:15:37The sale will be held Friday, April the 26th,
00:15:40after the races on the closing day of the spring meet.
00:15:43Entry deadline for the print catalog is April the 1st.
00:15:47However, supplements will continue to be considered
00:15:50until the sales date.
00:15:51We'll be right back after this message from Keeneland.
00:15:55At Keeneland, a horse will always be measured in hands.
00:16:05Hands that see, that sense, that speak.
00:16:13Hands that hold our sport to a higher standard.
00:16:17Not for our sake, but for theirs.
00:16:21For the love of the horse, for generations to come.
00:16:26This week's Fastest Horse of the Week
00:16:27is brought to you by Global Campaign,
00:16:30one of the fast sires at Windstar Farm, and he was fast.
00:16:35He won the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga at age four,
00:16:38just like his sire, Kerlin.
00:16:40He did it in wire-to-wire fashion
00:16:42with a 104 buyer speed figure,
00:16:43one of four triple-digit buyers
00:16:46during Global Campaign's career.
00:16:47Another one of those was the Peter Pan,
00:16:50in which he ran mile and an eighth at 146.71,
00:16:53the second-fastest Peter Pan at the nine-for-long distance.
00:16:56Last week, now as a stallion,
00:16:58Global Campaign's first two-year-olds
00:17:00went on sale at OBS March.
00:17:01He had six six-figure sales,
00:17:04which tied for first among all first crop sires.
00:17:08Windstar bred Global Campaign.
00:17:10They co-owned him during his racing career,
00:17:13and now Global Campaign stands at Windstar
00:17:16for a fee of only $12,500.
00:17:20Fastest Horse of the Week,
00:17:21a six-year-old gelding by the name of Mr. Wireless,
00:17:25who came back from a 10-month layoff Thursday
00:17:29in an open allowance sprint at the fairgrounds
00:17:31and won it by four and a quarter lengths,
00:17:33running six furlongs in 108.55 seconds.
00:17:37Mr. Wireless is a three-year-old,
00:17:39won the Indiana Derby, the West Virginia Derby,
00:17:42second in the Texas Derby.
00:17:43He had already made a million dollars,
00:17:45very well handled by trainer Brett Calhoun
00:17:48for owners John Lepzinski and J.I.L. Stable.
00:17:51He decided, Calhoun, after the layoff,
00:17:53to cut the source back in distance
00:17:55and run in six furlongs for the first time
00:17:57since his career debut back in March of 2021,
00:18:01and it paid off in spades.
00:18:03Buyer speed figure, career high for Mr. Wireless, 102,
00:18:07making him the Fastest Horse of the Week.
00:18:13All right, interesting that we got a horse
00:18:15out of a race like that for Fastest Horse of the Week.
00:18:18But I got a feeling the fastest horse of this week
00:18:20is going to come out of the fairgrounds
00:18:23because this is obviously the top card in racing,
00:18:27bunch of stakes races topped by the Louisiana Derby.
00:18:30And, you know, they have not,
00:18:34a Louisiana Derby winner hasn't won the Kentucky Derby
00:18:37since Grindstone in 1996,
00:18:39but this race seems to get stronger every year.
00:18:42And, you know, I think people like the distance,
00:18:44they like the spacing,
00:18:45nothing wrong with the purse, $1 million.
00:18:48So, but this year,
00:18:50I don't know that the Kentucky Derby winner
00:18:52is necessarily in this field.
00:18:55Like most people,
00:18:56I believe that Track Phantom is the best horse in the race.
00:19:00He's coming off a second place finish
00:19:01behind Sierra Leone in the Risen Star.
00:19:04But how about that outside post, Randy?
00:19:07Do you think that's going to be a problem for him
00:19:09or do they have enough time to maneuver him
00:19:11over Joel Rosario to get a decent trip?
00:19:14Because he's starting out in the parking lot.
00:19:16I think it'll be zero problem
00:19:18just because he looks like, as usual,
00:19:21the controlling speed in the race.
00:19:22So from post 12,
00:19:23if he was a horse that ran mid-pack in a 12-horse field
00:19:27with a group of horses right inside of him,
00:19:29he would have the potential to be caught very wide.
00:19:33But I don't think there's going to be any horses
00:19:35between Track Phantom and the rail
00:19:36by the time he's navigating the first turn.
00:19:38So I don't think it's going to be any problem for him at all.
00:19:41It's an excellent field in here.
00:19:43You know, that you don't have obviously Sierra Leone
00:19:46who won the Risen Star,
00:19:48who's being pointed for the Bluegrass.
00:19:51But you've got some pretty interesting horses
00:19:53other than Track Phantom.
00:19:54For example, I'm kind of interested in Honor Marie
00:19:58who came back with a fifth place finish
00:20:01in the Risen Star coming off the layoff on a sloppy track.
00:20:06You know, how much did the sloppy track impact that race
00:20:09and the slow pace as well?
00:20:10Hall of Fame was very well supported in the Risen Star.
00:20:14It was his first time ever in a stakes race
00:20:16and on a sloppy racetrack.
00:20:17He took a lot of kickback, didn't handle it all that well.
00:20:21If the track is fast on Saturday at Fairgrounds,
00:20:23will Hall of Fame bounce back with a performance
00:20:26similar to what he did when he broke his maiden?
00:20:27Very impressively.
00:20:29You know, there are a lot of options in here
00:20:30besides Track Phantom,
00:20:31but I do think definitely that Track Phantom
00:20:34is the horse to beat.
00:20:35One other note about this race.
00:20:38It's interesting.
00:20:39No, you know, no horse, no Louisiana Derby winner
00:20:45has won the Kentucky Derby since Grindstone in 1996.
00:20:48But interestingly enough, two of the last three,
00:20:52I think that's right, two of the last three winners,
00:20:54maybe two of the last four of the Kentucky Derby
00:20:57were graduates of the Louisiana Derby,
00:21:00Mandaloon and Country House,
00:21:02won the Kentucky Derby via disqualification.
00:21:07So there is that.
00:21:08And then Funnyside also ran in the Louisiana Derby in 2003,
00:21:12didn't win it and then went on
00:21:14to run in the Wood Memorial subsequently,
00:21:16but he also came from the Louisiana Derby to Kentucky.
00:21:21Halfway down the rabbit hole.
00:21:22That was a nice little tidbit.
00:21:25As far as the post positions are concerned,
00:21:28it doesn't matter.
00:21:29I mean, you need to hand in your jocks license
00:21:32if you can't figure out a trip.
00:21:33They're going a mile and three 16th.
00:21:35They start at the head of the lane.
00:21:37That's like one of the longest stretches in horse racing.
00:21:41So the break really shouldn't garner a problem
00:21:44for anyone in this field as far as I'm concerned.
00:21:47I really like Agate Road in here.
00:21:49He's only run twice on dirt and he's been second both times.
00:21:53He was getting to no more time in the Sam F. Davis,
00:21:57no more time of course,
00:21:58came back just to get mugged in the shadow of the wire
00:22:02in the Tampa Bay Derby.
00:22:03So that form holds up.
00:22:05He's gonna get ridden by Erad Ortiz.
00:22:08I believe he is the best horse in the race.
00:22:11I really, really like him.
00:22:12Now numbers wise, he doesn't own
00:22:14like career high bias speed figures.
00:22:17The horse right to his inside, Antiquarian,
00:22:19is probably one of the most interesting horses in the race.
00:22:21Just two lifetime starts.
00:22:23He's gonna be battling up there on the front end,
00:22:25already owns a win at the fairgrounds
00:22:27and he'll get Johnny V aboard.
00:22:29And one thing about Johnny V is he's very, very tactical.
00:22:33He's gonna send that horse from the get-go.
00:22:35So those would be my two as well, of course,
00:22:38as the Asmussen horse in there.
00:22:40So it's gonna be a good race.
00:22:41Is the Kentucky Derby winner in here?
00:22:43I don't think so, but I do like Agate Road.
00:22:47All right, so the Phillies will get ready
00:22:49for the Kentucky Oaks in the fairgrounds Oaks.
00:22:52That's the 11th race on the card.
00:22:54And the horse that I have number one
00:22:56in my road to the Kentucky Oaks poll
00:22:58that I do for the TDN, Tarifa, is in this race.
00:23:02Brad Kosk, a dolphin by Bernardini,
00:23:05is on a two race winning streak.
00:23:07Looked really good winning the Rachel Alexander
00:23:09over Intricate, who she'll face again on Saturday.
00:23:12Intricate trained by Brendan Walsh.
00:23:15Now this is a race, again, that just comes up strong
00:23:19year after year after year.
00:23:21I think the best Philly in the country,
00:23:23other than Kinza, which, as Randy mentioned,
00:23:26is not going to run in the Kentucky Oaks
00:23:29because of the Baffert situation.
00:23:31But I can easily see Tarifa winning this race
00:23:34and then going on to winning the Kentucky Oaks.
00:23:36And think, Brad Koks is a very good trainer
00:23:39all across the board.
00:23:40He can do everything, but boy, is he good
00:23:43with three-year-old Phillies and young Phillies.
00:23:45I mean, it seems like every year
00:23:46he's got 10 of these things.
00:23:48And, you know, starting with Monomoy, girl.
00:23:50So Randy, what do you think of the fairgrounds Oaks?
00:23:54Let me give you a different opinion here.
00:23:56I agree that Kinza would be the favorite
00:23:59in the Kentucky Oaks.
00:24:00She looks like the best three-year-old Philly
00:24:02in the country.
00:24:03I agree that Tarifa is the horse to beat
00:24:05in the fairgrounds Oaks.
00:24:07I don't think Tarifa is the best Kentucky Oaks contender
00:24:11in the Brad Koks barn.
00:24:13That, in my opinion, would be Impel,
00:24:16who I believe is going to run in either the Ashland
00:24:19or the Fantasy Stakes.
00:24:20She's never run in the Stakes yet.
00:24:22She's two for two lifetime owned by Judd Mott Farm.
00:24:26She was just sensational in an allowance race at Oakland.
00:24:30But Tarifa is obviously in with a hell of a shot as well.
00:24:33I mean, she looked good in the Rachel Alexandra,
00:24:35the race before and the allowance race at the fairground.
00:24:37She had a really wide trip and won anyway.
00:24:40She'll be rematched against Intricate,
00:24:42who was a good second place finisher
00:24:45in her first start of the year.
00:24:47There are a couple of others in there
00:24:48that are, you know, kind of interesting.
00:24:52VV's Dream, for example, post position number one,
00:24:55has had back to back dull efforts,
00:24:58one at Churchill and one at the fairgrounds,
00:25:01but both on sloppy racetracks.
00:25:03If you can say that those poor efforts
00:25:06were the result of the racetrack and just say,
00:25:09maybe she doesn't like the slop.
00:25:10Her earlier races are good enough
00:25:12to be very competitive in here.
00:25:14Now she's by Mottole, so she may not want to,
00:25:16you know, this may not be her best distance.
00:25:19But yeah, I agree, Tarifa's the horse to beat,
00:25:21but it's an interesting race.
00:25:23Do you think Florent Giroux wishes
00:25:25he could get back on Tarifa after a dull effort
00:25:28from Alpine Princess last time?
00:25:31Well, Alpine Princess is, Giroux will be at Oaklawn
00:25:37on Saturday to ride a couple of horses
00:25:40for Brad Cox's first mission in Nash.
00:25:43Alpine Princess is going to run
00:25:45in the Bourbonette at Turfway as opposed to this race.
00:25:50She was entered in both races.
00:25:52So yeah, but I agree, Giroux probably wishes
00:25:55that he was on Tarifa, yeah.
00:25:59Then it's Tarifa all the way for me.
00:26:01She's the best filly in the race as far as I'm concerned.
00:26:04The New Orleans Classic is also on the card
00:26:06at the fairgrounds, and we will have an interview
00:26:09coming up in our Green Group Guest of the Week
00:26:11is Jake DeLonge.
00:26:13Football fans know him as an NFL quarterback,
00:26:16horse racing fans know him as the owner
00:26:17of that Louisiana-bred terror, Touch Upon a Star,
00:26:21who is going to be a very interesting horse
00:26:24this weekend at fairgrounds.
00:26:26We also have the Mervyn Muniz on the card,
00:26:28so a terrific card on Saturday
00:26:30at the Big Easy NOLA, the fairgrounds.
00:26:34TDN Rider's Room is also brought to you by the PHBA.
00:26:37If you haven't been watching the podcast,
00:26:39that stands for Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.
00:26:43Butch Reed has three three-year-olds
00:26:46that he's going to be running at Aqueduct
00:26:49on the Wood Memorial card or under card, right?
00:26:52All three of them Pennsylvania-breds.
00:26:54First of all, there's his woodrunner himself,
00:26:57that's Uncle Heavy, who's got a shot.
00:26:59He had a workout on Saturday at Parks,
00:27:01his first official work since he won
00:27:03the Withers at Aqueduct back on Feb 3.
00:27:06Reed will also run Pennsylvania-bred Carmelita,
00:27:08co-owned by Cassius King and LC Racing.
00:27:11She was second in the Busher at Aqueduct,
00:27:14and she's going to run in the Withers
00:27:16on the Wood under card.
00:27:17And then there's Maximus Meridius,
00:27:19who was fourth in the Gotham,
00:27:21who will run in the Bay Shore at Seven Fur Long.
00:27:26So that's three Pennsylvania-breds
00:27:28to keep your eye on on Wood Memorial Day at Aqueduct.
00:27:32The state of Pennsylvania has the best breeders program
00:27:35in the entire United States.
00:27:37When you buy a yearling,
00:27:38it's a little bit like buying a lottery ticket.
00:27:40And we are trying to provide the lottery ticket
00:27:42that the likelihood is to hit the jackpot.
00:27:45Angel of Empire wins the Arkansas Derby
00:27:48and wins it clear.
00:27:49Uncle Heavy late, it's a photo finish!
00:27:53Pennsylvania and the PHBA have the best state-bred program
00:27:56in the country bar none.
00:27:58The winner, Uncle Heavy.
00:27:59He's a three-year-old bred in Pennsylvania.
00:28:02Every sire hopes to have a son to follow in his footsteps.
00:28:06An impressive debut!
00:28:08Jack Christopher.
00:28:09Jack Christopher to win the champagne!
00:28:12Unbeaten grade one winner at two.
00:28:15Dual grade one winner at three.
00:28:17And he is pouring it on here!
00:28:20It is Jack Christopher winning the grade one
00:28:23H. Alan Jerkins Memorial.
00:28:25Jack Christopher.
00:28:31Well, it's time for the Coolmore Stallion of the Week.
00:28:33And this week it is Jack Christopher.
00:28:35Jack Christopher, his first folds are on the ground
00:28:38and they are cracker jacks indeed.
00:28:41Here's a look at some of them.
00:28:43And we're gonna start off with a colt out of Laurel Canyon
00:28:47bred by I Hope Farms, LLC.
00:28:50Now let's take a look at a colt out of,
00:28:53not by, out of Wise Strike,
00:28:56who is bred by Black Ridge Stables.
00:28:59And finally, we're gonna take a look at a filly
00:29:01out of My Sugar Bear bred by Alan Poindexter.
00:29:04Zoe, you have talked a lot on this podcast
00:29:07about how much you like Jack Christopher,
00:29:09what a good mover he is, what a good racehorse he was.
00:29:12What do you think about his folds?
00:29:14What have you seen?
00:29:15Cracker jack.
00:29:15Did you just make that up, Bill?
00:29:17I kind of like that.
00:29:18No, somebody above my pay grade came up with that.
00:29:23Well, I'm gonna agree with them.
00:29:24Cracker jack is a very apt word.
00:29:27Listen, Jack Christopher is a son of munnings.
00:29:30And the one thing that's really surprised me
00:29:32by all the foals that we've seen thus far,
00:29:34obviously they're all very cute
00:29:36and I've never seen a really uncute foal,
00:29:38but he's throwing foals with a lot of leg,
00:29:41which is really what I wanna see from Jack Christopher,
00:29:44because he was more of a blocky son of munnings.
00:29:47And the fact that he's able to throw these babies
00:29:50with a good bit of leg, they look very athletic,
00:29:52and there are some beautiful pictures of these foals
00:29:55dancing and bouncing around the paddocks.
00:29:57I like what I've seen so far, I really do.
00:30:00So in the human world, there are ugly babies.
00:30:02You've never seen an uncute foal?
00:30:06No, and I've seen plenty of ugly babies.
00:30:08You are correct, but there is no such thing
00:30:11as an ugly foal, other than I mentioned before,
00:30:14one that I have bred that looks like a foal.
00:30:17But no, foals are very cute.
00:30:20I obviously have no children.
00:30:25Jack Christopher, a three-time grade one winner by munnings,
00:30:28stands at Coolmore.
00:30:30It's that time of the show again.
00:30:32The TD and Writer's Room is brought to you
00:30:33by the Green Group, a tax accounting and advisory firm
00:30:37specializing in the thoroughbred industry
00:30:39and designed to save you money on taxes,
00:30:42and this one should be fun.
00:30:44You ready?
00:30:45Green 18, Green 18, Omaha, Omaha!
00:30:49And welcoming now the Green Group guest of the week,
00:30:51it's Jake DeLong.
00:30:53If you're a football fan, you remember him as a quarterback
00:30:55for the Carolina Panthers for many years.
00:30:57If you're a horse racing fan, you know him as the owner
00:30:59of Touch Upon a Star and several other thoroughbreds.
00:31:02Jake, thanks so much for joining us here on our podcast.
00:31:05And first of all, let's get right to the first question.
00:31:08Where is he gonna run this weekend?
00:31:10You're entered in the New Orleans Classic
00:31:11and then cross-entered the next day
00:31:13in the Star Guitar Stakes.
00:31:15What's, let's break some news.
00:31:17Well, I'm not sure exactly yet.
00:31:20The only thing I wanna tell you is this.
00:31:22He's doing extremely, extremely well.
00:31:24And, you know, if ever there was an opportunity
00:31:29to take a shot, maybe it could be this weekend.
00:31:31But I'll just tell you,
00:31:32he's doing really, really well right now, so we'll see.
00:31:35So before we get into your background in horse racing
00:31:38and even some football questions,
00:31:39about this particular horse.
00:31:41I mean, this is a winning machine.
00:31:4411 wins and 14 starts.
00:31:46You bought him for 15 grand.
00:31:49He's knocked out 700 grand.
00:31:52What has his success meant to your family operation?
00:31:56Listen, Randy, it's been,
00:31:58he's been a dream come true, to be quite honest.
00:32:00I'm third generation, okay?
00:32:02And third race horse owner and breeder.
00:32:05And it's just, I've bought many horses
00:32:09that I think were some good horses.
00:32:11I bought some that were not so good,
00:32:12but we loved them all the same.
00:32:13I mean, and just, I was lucky enough
00:32:15to purchase him at the Texas Yearling Sale.
00:32:19He was one that, I followed him along.
00:32:22The breeders, Coteau Grove Farm.
00:32:23They've done a marvelous job of breeding some fine animals.
00:32:26And I know Andrew Carey is their bloodstock advisor.
00:32:30And I've been knowing Andrew since 2007.
00:32:33The first time I went to Keeneland
00:32:34and bought my first mare there off of Hillandale Farms.
00:32:37He was the director of sales then.
00:32:39And so we developed a friendship over the years.
00:32:42And so when he comes in, he'll stay at the house.
00:32:44We'll go to Coteau Grove and see the horses.
00:32:47And there was something about this horse
00:32:49I always liked, watch him grow up.
00:32:51He looked very much like his sire, Star Guitar,
00:32:54who was a great regional race horse here in Louisiana.
00:32:57Fantastic horse by a great owner, Ms. Evelyn Benoit.
00:33:01And he was a legendary horse here.
00:33:04And you know, it was one I had my eye on.
00:33:06And I try to buy a couple of yearlings every year.
00:33:09Try to breed a couple and things like that.
00:33:11We're a fairly small stable, eight to 10 horses.
00:33:14And so he went to the Texas Sale
00:33:16and I'll be honest with you, I bid one time.
00:33:18I was kind of watching the action
00:33:20and I was prepared to go a lot higher.
00:33:23And it's just one of those deals.
00:33:24I think the COVID situation could have had something
00:33:26to do with it at that moment in time.
00:33:29And I was lucky enough to get him.
00:33:30And to think he would be this type of race horse,
00:33:33I don't think anybody ever thought that.
00:33:36But he's a horse that was broken by Al Pike.
00:33:40And then we gave him the summer off.
00:33:42He was this big horse and we brought him back.
00:33:44And a matter of fact, I had him in the first week
00:33:47of the fairgrounds of his two-year-old year.
00:33:49And his shins got a little hot on us
00:33:53right before the week prior to the race.
00:33:55I had him in, worked him the next morning
00:33:56and shins were a little hot
00:33:58and we thought he was a pretty nice horse.
00:33:59He was showing it.
00:34:01And so we did some things, you know, gave him his time
00:34:04and really and truly rushed back
00:34:06to get him to his first start.
00:34:09A couple of summers ago, the purse differential
00:34:13from the fairgrounds to the racing
00:34:14in the summertime in Louisiana was significant.
00:34:17You're running for a $50,000 main special weight
00:34:20by the end of March at the fairgrounds.
00:34:22And two weeks later, you're running out of Vangelin down
00:34:24for a $25,000 pot.
00:34:26That's a big difference.
00:34:27They've kind of rectified that.
00:34:29They've done some reduction in dates
00:34:30due to the horse population here in the summer.
00:34:32It's a little bit less than it is in the winter.
00:34:35And to be honest, we probably rushed him
00:34:38to get to that race, to be quite honest.
00:34:40And sure enough, as fate may have it,
00:34:43he doesn't break for whatever reason
00:34:44the first time he never broke
00:34:46and got rushed up in the traffic.
00:34:48It was a tough task, but he still came to run second.
00:34:50And we knew, you know, that we had a good one
00:34:53and we've just tried to manage him
00:34:54and do the right thing with him from here on out.
00:34:57Well, Jake, you speak like a horse trainer.
00:35:00You're a football player,
00:35:01but you've always been a horseman first.
00:35:04Like I spent a long time in Louisiana.
00:35:06I think we probably know the same people.
00:35:08You grew up with Robbie Alvarado.
00:35:11Did you want to be a jockey first before a football player?
00:35:15Yeah, you know, there's pictures of me
00:35:16riding a Shetland pony named Snowball that we had.
00:35:20There's pictures of me at two years old
00:35:23in a saddle working on my seat.
00:35:26But I was going to be too big
00:35:28by the time kindergarten came around to be a jockey.
00:35:31But I would ride, this is no lie.
00:35:35They always, they still tease me to this day.
00:35:38I would ride the couch in the house, the sofa.
00:35:41I would get on it, a retired jockey.
00:35:43I gave my dad helmet and all that stuff.
00:35:46And I would ride, I would ride my bike up and down
00:35:49the driveway of the house with a whip.
00:35:51And yeah, I loved it.
00:35:52I didn't grow up hunting, fishing, golfing.
00:35:55I grew up and went to school.
00:35:56We played sports and we had the race horses.
00:35:59And we had the quarter horses until 93
00:36:01till we made the switch over.
00:36:02And that was my love.
00:36:04And I think we all know, as we can all attest
00:36:07on this site right now,
00:36:08that once it gets in your system,
00:36:11you just can't get rid of it.
00:36:13So did you actually ride
00:36:15in any of those famous Bush League match race?
00:36:18No, no, I didn't.
00:36:21I went to the Bush tracks growing up.
00:36:22I absolutely did.
00:36:24You know, the horse movie, Casey's Shadow,
00:36:27it's one of my favorite movies of all time.
00:36:29And Walter Matthau's the star in there.
00:36:31And it was about a Louisiana quarter horse.
00:36:33And there's a scene at the Karen Crow Raceways
00:36:36of Walter Matthau ordering a beer.
00:36:38And my grandfather is the one that gives him the beer
00:36:40and they're playing cards.
00:36:41And my grandfather is speaking to him in Cajun French.
00:36:44So it's a, our history runs deep
00:36:47with the thoroughbred industry,
00:36:48especially with the horse industry,
00:36:51especially in Louisiana.
00:36:52And I'm very proud of that.
00:36:54And I love it.
00:36:56Jake, it's not just you.
00:36:57This is a family operation.
00:36:59Your brother, Jeff, is listed as the trainer
00:37:01and your father, Jerry, is also involved in this.
00:37:04But I take it you're a lot more than just an owner,
00:37:07that you're really hands-on.
00:37:09Tell me what your role is in Set Hut Stable.
00:37:12Pretty much any and everything.
00:37:14You know, we're a,
00:37:15I'd like to think we're a selfless stable,
00:37:17to be quite honest.
00:37:18Set Hut is the owner and dad and Jeff both train.
00:37:22And, but I'll be honest, it's all of us.
00:37:26We're there every day.
00:37:26You know, I have a big Joe Gallion.
00:37:29Big Joe's been our groom for well over a decade.
00:37:32And we have another guy, Philippe, that's with us.
00:37:34And so it's a, it's a family affair.
00:37:37And needless to say, it's a,
00:37:39Jeff and I were raised in following what we learned
00:37:42from our father, from dad.
00:37:44And certainly had I not played sports,
00:37:48I have a pretty good inclination that if the racing
00:37:50is what I wanted to do,
00:37:52I would have liked to have think maybe I would have gone
00:37:54to work with some other trainers.
00:37:57I'm one, I just kind of believe you need to surround
00:37:59yourself with people smarter than you.
00:38:01But lucky enough, you know, with football,
00:38:04that world, it led me down a wonderful life
00:38:08to be quite honest.
00:38:09And that's given me a chance to expand on the,
00:38:11the racing industry of a part of it,
00:38:13especially when I was done.
00:38:14And so I'm there every day and we work hard at it.
00:38:19We enjoy it.
00:38:21You know, to say there's always an agreement.
00:38:24No, but for the most part,
00:38:25we were always raised the right way
00:38:27and doing what's right by the horse
00:38:29and being a small stable.
00:38:30Everything's individualized per horse.
00:38:32And we just try to enjoy it.
00:38:34And I don't have to answer to anybody.
00:38:36I think that's the, that's the greatest thing.
00:38:38I don't have to answer to an owner.
00:38:39I don't have to rush to try to run here or run there.
00:38:43And listen, I pay all the bills.
00:38:45Two nights ago, I paid all the bills.
00:38:47So I know what goes in and out every month.
00:38:50So if I'm not mistaken from what I've read, Jake,
00:38:53your entire family lives essentially in adjoining houses,
00:38:58right there in Breaux Bridge,
00:38:59all right there together, right?
00:39:01We don't live, mom and dad live on 10 acres next to me.
00:39:04I live on five.
00:39:05My brother lives down the road.
00:39:07Yeah, so you're all right there.
00:39:08Yeah, it used to be the country when I grew up,
00:39:11when I was growing up, but not anymore, man.
00:39:13Lafayette's kind of growing.
00:39:15Lafayette's a city probably about two miles from here,
00:39:18from where I'm sitting at.
00:39:19And so it's a, it's terrible and yet good
00:39:23in the same sentence.
00:39:25You know, I like having that peace and quiet.
00:39:27So when you were playing in the NFL,
00:39:29when you're in the Superbowl
00:39:30and you're very nearly beating Tom Brady, right?
00:39:33And in a great Superbowl performance,
00:39:36did you always know that when you hung up your cleats,
00:39:38you'd go back to Breaux Bridge
00:39:39and this is what you'd be doing?
00:39:41I always knew we'd probably come home
00:39:43because my wife and I, Carrie,
00:39:45we're high school sweethearts and her family's from here.
00:39:47And listen, we love Charlotte.
00:39:50Probably move back tonight and enjoy it.
00:39:52My girls, both my daughters loved it.
00:39:54And I still get to go back a lot.
00:39:56I do the radio for the Panthers during the season.
00:39:58And so that's our second home.
00:40:01Had an inkling we'd be moving back home
00:40:03and doing the horses.
00:40:04Listen, football gave me a chance to land on it.
00:40:07And I love it.
00:40:08And it helps fill that competitive void.
00:40:11I mean, I retired, I was what, 37 or 38 years old,
00:40:14but I'm retired from football, not from real life.
00:40:17You're just kind of getting started, so to speak.
00:40:19And so that's given me that avenue.
00:40:21And I've never looked for anything to do
00:40:24once I finished playing.
00:40:25I've talked to many guys
00:40:27that it might've worked out well for them.
00:40:29They need something to do
00:40:31because you're used to just this lifestyle
00:40:32of work, work, work, work.
00:40:33And I think anyone can attest being in the horses
00:40:37that it's work, work, work, work.
00:40:39It's all the time.
00:40:41Wow, it's really been interesting
00:40:44watching your progression over the years
00:40:47and now coming back to Bowbridge.
00:40:49I've been to Bowbridge.
00:40:50I've been to Cairncrow, if you can believe that or not.
00:40:53You married into the Melanson clan
00:40:55and there are an awful lot of them
00:40:57around Louisiana.
00:40:58Every time you turn around, guys,
00:41:00if you don't believe me,
00:41:01there is a Melanson in here.
00:41:02There is one-
00:41:03It's like Smith.
00:41:04Yeah, exactly.
00:41:05You walk in the jocks room, there is a Melanson.
00:41:07Can you regale any stories
00:41:09that you could perhaps tell on this podcast,
00:41:12some Cajun funny stories about you growing up?
00:41:16Well, I just think the racetrack
00:41:19is such a tight-knit community.
00:41:20And certainly I think everyone knows
00:41:22all the jockeys from this area and things like that.
00:41:24And so, to say there's funny stories,
00:41:28I was gone for so long.
00:41:29And so I guess the time when you really
00:41:31and truly are a knucklehead,
00:41:33the 18, 19, 20 year olds,
00:41:35when I was playing college football and then I left.
00:41:38And so I wasn't, it was probably a good thing.
00:41:42I was able to go and learn, get my way through life.
00:41:45But one thing that we still get a chuckle sometimes,
00:41:49certainly people from Louisiana are very proud people.
00:41:52And everybody in this area was very proud of me,
00:41:54just like we were all the jockeys from my area,
00:41:58from Robbie and good friends of Ray Sebille,
00:42:00Eddie De La Husie, good friends with all those people.
00:42:02And like when B.J. Hernandez,
00:42:04when he won the Breeders' Cup Classic
00:42:06and then listening to B.J.
00:42:07getting interviewed on horseback after.
00:42:09I mean, that was a great moment for everyone in this area.
00:42:11We're proud people.
00:42:12But we were at the old Evangeline Downs,
00:42:15which is in Caring Crow at the time.
00:42:17And there was a jockey by the name of James Avant
00:42:21and he wanted me to throw him a football.
00:42:23And it was during the break on a Saturday morning.
00:42:26Obviously I was home at that time.
00:42:28It must've been the off season.
00:42:30And so, I was gonna throw him the football
00:42:32and he's not a big guy.
00:42:34And I never forget some of the people,
00:42:36like I said, their characters,
00:42:37they were like, hey, light him up.
00:42:39Like throw him up this tall.
00:42:41So I went back and I was able to kind of
00:42:44just put a little something on it
00:42:46where the ball just right through his hands,
00:42:48went all the way up, he kind of fell down
00:42:50and it made for a good laugh.
00:42:52So I appreciated what they did.
00:42:54I think they appreciated what I did.
00:42:56Yeah, things like that.
00:42:58The one thing that I always thought about the track
00:43:01and the backside of the track, it's a locker room.
00:43:03It truly is the locker room.
00:43:05And that's what guys miss when they finish playing sports.
00:43:07You miss that camaraderie that you have with,
00:43:10and there's a lot of smack talking to say the least.
00:43:14And so that's always fun.
00:43:15I always love that.
00:43:17And I have a really good story.
00:43:18I just wanna tell really quickly on Ray Sebille.
00:43:21Cause you know, Ray, we all know Ray and we all love Ray.
00:43:25So I just started riding at Arlington Park.
00:43:28I was in the jocks room and I'd lived in Louisiana.
00:43:31I lived in New Orleans and I knew Ray outside of the track
00:43:34and met him and him and his wife
00:43:36for a couple of beers and everything.
00:43:37So I walk in the jocks room the first day
00:43:40and Ray starts talking to me and he's like,
00:43:42Zoe, can you come over?
00:43:45I'm like, Ray, are you okay?
00:43:48I'm like, what's wrong with you?
00:43:50Cause I had no idea he had a stutter
00:43:52and everyone started laughing.
00:43:54And Ray was like, it's okay, Zoe.
00:43:56Cause if I have a beer, I don't stutter.
00:43:58He said so.
00:44:01He goes, if I'm ever in the jocks room and I'm stuttering,
00:44:03don't ride with me that day.
00:44:04It was just like the funniest thing.
00:44:07Yeah, Ray's a character, man.
00:44:08And he's still around and I still see him fairly often.
00:44:11And you know, it's such a tight knit community, you know?
00:44:15And, you know, even going back to, you know,
00:44:17Touch Upon a Storm, once he started running, you know,
00:44:19you get the text after a big performance
00:44:22and people are truly happy for each other, you know?
00:44:25And I can't really say, I think that's,
00:44:28it's that way everywhere.
00:44:29But I just, people down here, we're very proud
00:44:31when somebody, when there's a good horse
00:44:33that can go on and do nice things.
00:44:36Zoe, you don't sound like you spent a whole hell
00:44:38of a lot of time in Cairn Crow.
00:44:40I had to go there.
00:44:42I went with a couple of the outriders
00:44:43cause I'm like, I have to get to Cairn Crow.
00:44:45We went to Lafayette, it was awesome.
00:44:49Yeah, I did a lot of really cool stuff in New Orleans.
00:44:54I love New Orleans.
00:44:55That's a fun time.
00:44:56You know, I was with the Saints my first six years.
00:44:58And so on Mondays, they used to run on Mondays
00:45:02at the fairgrounds.
00:45:03And I know one of my, I would always go after meetings
00:45:06on Monday or whatnot,
00:45:07cause Tuesday was our so-called off day.
00:45:10But Brian Cox, the former linebacker, Brian and I,
00:45:13his last year was in New Orleans
00:45:15and he and I became extremely close
00:45:17and there was nothing greater that I enjoyed.
00:45:19Brian and I, as soon as we finished meetings on Monday,
00:45:22we'd head down to the fairgrounds and watch some races
00:45:24and things like that.
00:45:26Jake, you were born and raised in Louisiana.
00:45:28You played college football in Louisiana.
00:45:30You race in Louisiana.
00:45:32And those are all great, great places for everything.
00:45:36The racing in Louisiana is really good.
00:45:38But do you ever think about going, you know, more national,
00:45:41maybe having a string in Kentucky
00:45:42or are you just Louisiana through and through?
00:45:45Yeah, listen, we'll never have a string.
00:45:47Home is home and we're pretty grounded.
00:45:49We're pretty rooted down here.
00:45:52Yeah, would I like to have something
00:45:54to run in those big days?
00:45:55Sure, I think so.
00:45:56But I'm a member of our
00:45:58Louisiana Third Red Breeders Board.
00:46:00I think we have a phenomenal program here in Louisiana.
00:46:02We have four racetracks that run year round
00:46:06and we have a great product, in my opinion.
00:46:08I think they're getting better and better each year.
00:46:10I do breed a few in Kentucky yearly.
00:46:13They stay out at Goodwin Farm in Paris, Kentucky.
00:46:17And so I do dabble.
00:46:18I've done some pin booking that I enjoy.
00:46:20I enjoy every facet of the game.
00:46:22And so who's to say, you know,
00:46:25there might be one that maybe I could breed
00:46:26to go on and do some good things
00:46:28or if we could get a Louisiana bred
00:46:30that could possibly be on the derby trail at one point.
00:46:32I mean, we'll see.
00:46:34We'll see where it goes.
00:46:36But I'm a big proponent of our Louisiana racing.
00:46:41I will have a couple of straight football questions
00:46:44to ask you when we get done
00:46:45with the horse racing part of this.
00:46:46But I got one more thing.
00:46:48Your football career was punctuated
00:46:52by just sheer determination and willpower
00:46:56and overcoming the odds, right?
00:46:58You weren't that heavily recruited out of high school.
00:47:00You wound up breaking all the records
00:47:02for the Ragin' Cajuns at Southwest Louisiana.
00:47:05Then you weren't drafted in the NFL.
00:47:07You wound up having to go to NFL Europe
00:47:09for a couple of years, playing over there.
00:47:12And you finally got your foot in the door at Carolina
00:47:14and boy, you made the best of it.
00:47:15Have any of those lessons,
00:47:18do they apply at all to what you're doing right now?
00:47:22Well, I think it does.
00:47:23Listen, I always go back to the 20% rule
00:47:27and guys that I played with, I'll never forget.
00:47:30We always had our first mini camp,
00:47:32mandatory mini camp in the off season
00:47:34was always the weekend after the NFL draft,
00:47:37which is the last weekend in April.
00:47:39Well, that's the first weekend in May.
00:47:41So that's the Kentucky Derby.
00:47:42So it's the Saturday afternoon.
00:47:44You have two practices on, you know,
00:47:47Friday on Saturday and one Sunday.
00:47:49What I'd run in from the afternoon practice
00:47:51on Saturday afternoon,
00:47:53hurry up getting the training room
00:47:54to try to watch the Derby.
00:47:56And all the players would come in and they were watching.
00:47:58And I'd get the question,
00:48:00you have one running in there?
00:48:01And I'm like,
00:48:02you think I would be sitting right here
00:48:04if I had one running?
00:48:06Well, there's been one.
00:48:07I'm like, it's kind of hard just to get one.
00:48:10There's some of the richest people in the world
00:48:11haven't conquered the Derby.
00:48:12And so it just teaches you that,
00:48:16listen, would I love to win every game in the NFL?
00:48:19Absolutely.
00:48:20But that's not realistic.
00:48:21And the same thing with the horses.
00:48:22I mean, you are 20% success rate in the horse industry.
00:48:25You're doing well.
00:48:26Find me an NFL quarterback with a 20% win rate.
00:48:29Well, you're getting traded.
00:48:30You're getting cut.
00:48:32I mean, that's so,
00:48:32I think it just keeps you grounded
00:48:34and I'm a big believer.
00:48:36I just think I love buying at a yearling sale
00:48:38or raising a baby
00:48:40and there's kind of going through
00:48:41that whole process with them.
00:48:42There's just something about it
00:48:43and like watching them grow.
00:48:45It's like a team, watching them grow,
00:48:47you know, and just kind of this,
00:48:49the development of them
00:48:51and where can you point to a certain race
00:48:53or point to a game?
00:48:54And yes, we're going to get to this point,
00:48:56but you got to go through this process.
00:48:57So I just, I think that's what I love about it.
00:49:00Just the similarities of not,
00:49:03sports, they teach you failure.
00:49:05They teach you perseverance.
00:49:07I mean, and this game is difficult, man.
00:49:09This game is hard.
00:49:12Yeah, and you just got to,
00:49:13you got to enjoy the good times.
00:49:14And that's something that I have trouble with.
00:49:15I'm not one that,
00:49:17that likes to like relive great moments.
00:49:20I hate to be that way.
00:49:21I was just always at the mold.
00:49:23Okay, what's next?
00:49:24Got to grind.
00:49:24And you know, it's,
00:49:25I'm trying to truly enjoy this horse
00:49:28and enjoy all the horses we have,
00:49:30but that's just kind of the mindset that you had.
00:49:32I know that I had when I played,
00:49:33you just got to work and grind.
00:49:35And the most successful people
00:49:37were the ones who kind of put in all that work.
00:49:40And yeah, it didn't work out for me draft wise
00:49:43and things of that nature,
00:49:44but you know, college was a great experience for me.
00:49:46That was awesome.
00:49:47I started four years.
00:49:48It took a while in the NFL,
00:49:50but that was okay because I wasn't ready.
00:49:52Had I been thrown into the fire,
00:49:54like some of these guys,
00:49:55you know, we want instant success right away.
00:49:58It's ridiculous what we asked
00:49:59some of these college quarterbacks to come in to do,
00:50:01but I was lucky.
00:50:02I went to the NFL Europe twice.
00:50:03I backed up a guy.
00:50:05Oh yeah, his name was Kurt Warner.
00:50:06He was 26.
00:50:08You know, he was three years removed
00:50:09from being in an NFL camp because he struggled.
00:50:12He couldn't make it.
00:50:13Went to arena football, established himself,
00:50:15became the MVP.
00:50:16And then lo and behold,
00:50:18he goes on and had that career.
00:50:19So I'm with him and I'm like, man, talent wise,
00:50:23we're the same exact measurables.
00:50:25It'd be 6'2", 220.
00:50:26And that's what we are and all that.
00:50:29But he was more mature and ready at the time.
00:50:31And then watching him have that success,
00:50:33it gave me the confidence just to keep going
00:50:35and never stop.
00:50:37You know, I just think that's what it is sometimes.
00:50:38You have to be in the right place at the right time.
00:50:40And lucky enough, I was able to get in the right place
00:50:43at the right time in Carolina and it worked out.
00:50:45We had a good run.
00:50:46We had a real good run.
00:50:47So your 20% rule, right?
00:50:49It kind of applied to the Panthers last year.
00:50:51Unfortunately, two and 15,
00:50:55Bryce Young spent too much time on his back.
00:50:58Right.
00:50:58Give the Panthers fans some encouragement now
00:51:01looking forward.
00:51:02Well, I don't think we'll be two and 15 this year.
00:51:04I'll say that.
00:51:05Listen, last year was tough.
00:51:07I don't think there's anybody on the planet,
00:51:09including myself.
00:51:10And yeah, do I try to look at things
00:51:13through a Panther lens or a Panther tilt?
00:51:15Absolutely.
00:51:16But I try to be as realistic as possible.
00:51:18I thought we were a six-win team,
00:51:19hopefully seven, you never know.
00:51:21Rookie quarterback.
00:51:23But listen, it was just rough and we struggled.
00:51:25We had injuries, especially offensive line-wise.
00:51:27I think we had, gosh,
00:51:3115 different combinations at the guard position for us.
00:51:34And that just didn't work.
00:51:36Listen, Bryce, I give this kid so much credit.
00:51:39I think he'll learn more from his rookie year
00:51:41than he will the rest of his career in the NFL.
00:51:43It was tough duty.
00:51:44And certainly the whole CJ Stroud and the Texans,
00:51:48them playing extremely well, CJ playing very well.
00:51:51And the national media and the narrative around it,
00:51:54did the Panthers make the right decision
00:51:56or the wrong decision?
00:51:58Look, we don't know.
00:51:59But I just know this,
00:52:00you'll see Bryce have a true opportunity this year.
00:52:03Not saying he didn't have the right opportunity last year.
00:52:05It was just difficult.
00:52:06It's just bad circumstances, man.
00:52:09And I go back to one of the greatest ever play
00:52:13in Peyton Manning.
00:52:13And we go back, our friendship goes back to high school.
00:52:16And to watch him have the record for interceptions,
00:52:20winning three games as a rookie in the NFL,
00:52:23it just goes to show you it's hard.
00:52:25But I like what we're doing free agency-wise.
00:52:28We're gonna protect Bryce.
00:52:29We're getting some pieces
00:52:31for him to be able to throw the football.
00:52:32And so, anxious to see some progress this year.
00:52:34But one thing I'll tell you, he's tough.
00:52:37You know, people can talk about his size all you want,
00:52:39but he's tough.
00:52:40He got sacked I think 62 times last year,
00:52:43not counting the many times he got hit.
00:52:44He's tough.
00:52:46So one more quick question.
00:52:47You just kind of led into it.
00:52:48You've known Peyton since high school.
00:52:50Apparently you've known Eli since elementary school.
00:52:54When you watch Monday Night Football,
00:52:56do you watch the regular broadcast
00:52:58or do you watch the Manning cast?
00:53:00Well, I kind of do both.
00:53:01But I usually, honestly,
00:53:03I'm a huge Troy Aikman fan and Joe Buck.
00:53:06I just think Troy was always, to me,
00:53:09he was always the standard
00:53:10what an announcer should sound like.
00:53:11I think he does a fantastic job.
00:53:13So I try to do both,
00:53:14but I love watching Peyton and Eli.
00:53:17Eli was in high school when I got to know them,
00:53:19started to work in the Manning camp
00:53:20when we were all in college.
00:53:22And Eli was still in high school.
00:53:23So it's a deep history with that family
00:53:25and just great family.
00:53:28And Archie, probably know Archie better
00:53:29than the two boys.
00:53:32It's always fun and I'll always kind of
00:53:35send Peyton a nugget or so
00:53:36if there's a team they're playing and things like that.
00:53:40And you gotta remember,
00:53:42Peyton's best friend in the world
00:53:43is a guy by the name of Brandon Stokely,
00:53:45who played wide receiver for 15 years in the NFL.
00:53:48Brandon was my college receiver
00:53:50and Brandon's dad was our college coach.
00:53:53So there's a deep, deep history.
00:53:56Needless to say, there's some thick skin
00:53:58that might go through some text messaging
00:53:59and things like that.
00:54:01But I do enjoy watching them on Monday nights.
00:54:05They do a great job.
00:54:06And I think the thing I enjoy more than anything
00:54:08is the reaction to the plays.
00:54:10When you see like, timeout, timeout, call a timeout,
00:54:13you know, just like, that's something that
00:54:17it just, you'll never go away from you.
00:54:19Luke Kinkley and I do the radio in Carolina
00:54:21and I can, the eight games a year we do together
00:54:25because there's some, we do a part.
00:54:28Like I am bruised up on this side of my body
00:54:31and he's bruised up on his left side of his body.
00:54:33Because we hit each other, we get so mad or so aggravated
00:54:36and we see something coming.
00:54:37It's just, you know, we're kids and we love it.
00:54:40We just played a, we played a child's game for a long time.
00:54:44Terrific.
00:54:45Well, Jake, you've been tremendous with us.
00:54:46I appreciate you spending some time with us.
00:54:49Good luck with Touch Upon a Star.
00:54:51If it's in the New Orleans Classic
00:54:53or the Star Guitar Stakes,
00:54:55I'm sure you'll be very competitive.
00:54:57If not-
00:54:58Yeah, listen, I'm so guarded
00:54:59when it comes to questions.
00:55:01But that was my life.
00:55:02You know, like you never gave the opponent anything.
00:55:05You know, like it was all-
00:55:06I get teased a lot by a lot of my friends.
00:55:08A matter of fact, a couple hours ago,
00:55:10I had one asking me, which day you running?
00:55:13And I said, I'll be running this weekend.
00:55:14And he said, you gotta be kidding me, right?
00:55:16I said, well, Saturday or Sunday is this weekend.
00:55:18I just don't know.
00:55:19But no, we're excited about this weekend.
00:55:21And listen, it's an honor to be in races like this
00:55:24and to have a horse that hopefully shows up.
00:55:27You know, he's doing great.
00:55:27Let's just hope we don't screw it up.
00:55:30Well, like Randy said, he's a wind machine.
00:55:32So I'm sure that no matter where you wind up,
00:55:34he'll give a good account of himself.
00:55:35Once again, thanks so much, Jake,
00:55:36for spending some time with us.
00:55:38All right.
00:55:39And best of luck this weekend.
00:55:39Thanks a lot.
00:55:40I appreciate everything you guys do.
00:55:42Thanks, Jake.
00:55:44As the Green Group Guest of the Week,
00:55:45Jake DeLome will receive a free one-hour tax consultation
00:55:49with the Green Group.
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00:55:51can save you money, www.greenco.com
00:55:57is where you want to go.
00:55:58We'll be right back after this message
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00:57:04On this week's edition of First Things First,
00:57:06as a very smart lady, Sue Finley once told me,
00:57:09you can't have enough Frankie.
00:57:12I caught up with Frankie Dettori
00:57:14and basically just wanted his plan moving forward
00:57:18for the rest of the year and asked him,
00:57:20where did that suntan come from?
00:57:28Well, morning, love.
00:57:29How are you?
00:57:30Morning, Zoe.
00:57:31I'm good.
00:57:32Look at my office.
00:57:33It's fabulous, isn't it?
00:57:34What's not to like, right?
00:57:35You're looking pretty tan.
00:57:36Where have you been?
00:57:37I've been to Cabo in Mexico for my wife's 50th birthday.
00:57:44Three of my kids came over from England,
00:57:46so we had a couple of days.
00:57:49Beautiful.
00:57:50We played in style and yeah, what a lovely place.
00:57:52So life's treating you good.
00:57:53So what are your plans for the future?
00:57:55Everyone wants to know where Frankie's going.
00:57:57I gather you're going to Dubai.
00:57:59We just saw Newgate work.
00:58:00You look really good.
00:58:01Yeah.
00:58:03Bob keeps me well away from him.
00:58:04I don't think I never rode him in the mornings.
00:58:08You know, he fulfilled one of my ambitions
00:58:10to win the big caps, so I love those dearly.
00:58:14Last year, I thought it could have been my Kentucky Derby
00:58:16or I unfortunately had an injury,
00:58:18but our system go, he's going to Dubai
00:58:20and yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
00:58:24Yeah, I'm going to go next week.
00:58:27And then what are your plans for the summer?
00:58:30Then I come back here.
00:58:32It's the Santa Anita Derby, early April.
00:58:36Then I think we have a little bit of a break here,
00:58:37so possibly Ron Anderson, my agent,
00:58:40said that I could end up in Keyland
00:58:43and you know, try to, really,
00:58:45I'm really trying to find those for the first Saturday of May.
00:58:49That's my main ambition.
00:58:52You know, a lot more racing coming up,
00:58:56good key pointers for the race.
00:58:59So I got to keep my eyes well peeled for that.
00:59:02And then we'll see in the summer,
00:59:06could be Denmark or could be Saratoga.
00:59:10I'll leave that up to Ron Anderson, my agent,
00:59:12but you know, I'm fully committed to do the full season here.
00:59:17So if you had a choice, Saratoga, Del Mar.
00:59:21I've never been to Del Mar.
00:59:22You've never been to Del Mar?
00:59:23No, I've been to Del Mar for the British Cup,
00:59:24but that's not different.
00:59:26So, you know, I'm very flexible.
00:59:29I traveled all my life and now it's just me and my wife.
00:59:33So we don't have the kids to worry about.
00:59:35So I'm whatever my agent sends me, I go.
00:59:39So I'm looking forward to explore
00:59:41and enjoy myself, really, I'm really enjoying it.
00:59:46So far, it's going so really well
00:59:48and may long continue, Zoe.
00:59:50No regrets?
00:59:52No.
00:59:53This winter, can we expect you back here this winter?
00:59:55I mean, are we planning another two or three tours
00:59:58of Frankie in Southern California?
01:00:01At the moment, I'm committed here.
01:00:02Here, when I say here, it's in the US.
01:00:05I have a three-year visa.
01:00:07So it depends, you know, how my legs are keeping up.
01:00:12I have no plan to retire.
01:00:14I'm enjoying it and, you know, I can't see so far ahead
01:00:18at the moment, you know, my plan for this year.
01:00:20And, you know, if things are going well,
01:00:22I'm gonna carry on.
01:00:24Could you imagine even riding in the Derby,
01:00:26the Kentucky Derby?
01:00:27I did once in 2000.
01:00:30It was an amazing experience.
01:00:32And yeah, look, it is the race.
01:00:37It's the race that even people not in the sport
01:00:42are familiar with.
01:00:43So, you know, being in the lineup
01:00:46is like being a winner already.
01:00:50Then to have a horse with a chance, be even better.
01:00:53Yeah, that's my main goal at the moment.
01:00:56Has anyone called you from Europe, from England
01:00:58to try and get you to maybe go back
01:01:00for some of the big races there?
01:01:02At the moment, I can't see past Dubai
01:01:06or, you know, this summer here.
01:01:09So I have, you know, I'm focusing 100% in the U.S.
01:01:17I wanna show everybody that I'm committed.
01:01:19I'm not gonna start going back and forward.
01:01:21I'm happy here.
01:01:22And yes, I don't wanna lose the business.
01:01:24So I wanna mainly stay and do the best I can here.
01:01:28Brilliant, thanks Frankie.
01:01:30Ciao.
01:01:36Always great to catch up with Frankie DeTore
01:01:39and he'll be back in action here this Friday
01:01:42at Santa Anita, one o'clock post time,
01:01:44Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
01:01:46Our fancy highlight race for this weekend
01:01:49is one of my favorite races.
01:01:50And that will be the San Luis Rey
01:01:53on Saturday at the Great Race Place.
01:01:56All right, let's head to Turfway Park,
01:01:57the other racetrack this weekend that has a big card
01:02:01highlighted by the Jeff Ruby Steaks.
01:02:03And that's a grade three event, $700,000 purse.
01:02:07Last winner of the Jeff Ruby,
01:02:10wasn't called the Jeff Ruby in 2011.
01:02:12I don't remember what it was then
01:02:13because the race's name has changed so many times.
01:02:15It was Animal Kingdom.
01:02:17He came back to win the Kentucky Derby,
01:02:18but how do we not remember Rich Strike
01:02:22who was third in this race
01:02:24before he pulled off the upset of the century
01:02:28in the 2022 Kentucky Derby.
01:02:31Handicapping this race,
01:02:34I think it's a very difficult puzzle
01:02:37for the simple fact that you've got a lot
01:02:39of really good horses that have never run
01:02:40on synthetic surfaces.
01:02:42So, what do you do with them?
01:02:44How are they gonna perform on the synthetic?
01:02:47I don't really know.
01:02:48That's why I'm leaning toward Endlessly,
01:02:50the winner of the El Camino Real.
01:02:52One start on synthetic for trainer Michael McCarthy
01:02:55and one got an 87 buyer in that race.
01:02:58But again, there are so many other horses in here
01:03:01that are just sort of mystery horses.
01:03:04And the Agate Road,
01:03:06does anyone know if Agate Road's running in this race
01:03:08or the Louisiana Derby, Randy?
01:03:10Todd has apparently not yet decided.
01:03:13Okay, so we're gonna wait.
01:03:15We're talking on Tuesday.
01:03:16By the time this actually airs, so to speak,
01:03:20I'm sure he will have a decision already made.
01:03:22Okay, and Wayne Lucas has seized the gray in there.
01:03:27Not the best form in the race,
01:03:28but you know Wayne,
01:03:29if he can get him into the Kentucky Derby,
01:03:31he's certainly gonna be in there
01:03:32and it would always be fun to have Mr. Lucas
01:03:34as the 88 year old trainer extraordinaire be in the race.
01:03:40Randy, your thoughts on the Jeff Rubin race?
01:03:43Let me mention a couple of things right off the top.
01:03:45First of all, I can't let you get away
01:03:47with talking about Rich Strike
01:03:49as it relates to the Kentucky Derby
01:03:51and not mentioning two Phils who won the race last year
01:03:55and should have won the Kentucky Derby, but didn't.
01:03:59And who was the best three-year-old in the country last year
01:04:01and unfortunately never got a chance
01:04:02to actually prove that as an ironclad fact.
01:04:06Secondly, we've already talked about Frankie DeTorre.
01:04:08You know, it's not Barry the lead here.
01:04:10He's riding in the Jeff Ruby at Turfway Park.
01:04:14Frankie DeTorre at Turfway in Florence, Kentucky
01:04:16for the very first time in his career.
01:04:18Talk about a culture change.
01:04:19How about that?
01:04:22He has never ridden at Turfway Park.
01:04:23I double checked that.
01:04:24He is right now scheduled to ride Dancing Groom
01:04:29for Antonio Sano, who was the fifth place finisher
01:04:33in the Fountain of Youth.
01:04:35Frankie DeTorre knew when he signed up
01:04:37with Ron Anderson as his agent,
01:04:39Ron will put you on a plane
01:04:41and will fly you around the country
01:04:43to wherever you might have a chance to make money.
01:04:45And Frankie DeTorre finds himself
01:04:47in suburban Cincinnati basically on Saturday.
01:04:50Now I agree with you.
01:04:52I think endlessly is the horse to beat.
01:04:55Northern Flame, I thought ran a very good race
01:04:59in the Rebel, finishing third behind Timberlake
01:05:01in common defense.
01:05:02He's never been on Synthetic.
01:05:04It's a wide open race, really.
01:05:06Lucky Jeremy was a nice third place finisher
01:05:09in the Sunland Derby.
01:05:11He's never run on Synthetic.
01:05:13It's a real turnaround for this race.
01:05:16Normally when you look at success
01:05:19in the Jeff Ruby historically, right?
01:05:23The big majority of the horses that have won this race
01:05:26since it was moved to Synthetic
01:05:29had never won a race on dirt previously.
01:05:33And quite a few of them never won on dirt ever
01:05:36in their entire racing careers.
01:05:38Most of them prepped on the turf.
01:05:40But what's unusual this year is that for whatever reason,
01:05:44Turfway Park decided to move the prep, the Bataglia,
01:05:48which has been the traditional prep race for this
01:05:53to the point that the Bataglia is now run three weeks
01:05:57before the Jeff Ruby.
01:05:58And as we know from the Triple Crown especially,
01:06:00trainers do not like to run their horses back that quickly.
01:06:04And as a result, the one, two finishers from the Bataglia
01:06:07are both skipping the Jeff Ruby
01:06:10and they're running elsewhere.
01:06:11And some of the other Bataglia horses
01:06:12are running in the rush away instead of the Jeff Ruby.
01:06:15So you get far more horses than usual
01:06:19that have zero Synthetic form.
01:06:21And I agree, it really kind of makes this race
01:06:23into a crap shoot.
01:06:25It's a good betting race, that is for sure.
01:06:27But for me, endlessly is definitely the horse to beat.
01:06:30He brings his jockey, Umbi Rispoli, with him
01:06:32for trainer Michael McCarthy,
01:06:34who's had an awful lot of success at Turfway already.
01:06:37And let's just not forget, this is $700,000.
01:06:41They're not running for 200, $700,000.
01:06:45Frankie Dettori, like he mentioned in First Things First,
01:06:49all he wants to do is win the Kentucky Derby.
01:06:51He's already running it once,
01:06:53but that is his main goal leading up to the Derby
01:06:57is to find that Derby horse.
01:06:59So him and his agent, Ron Anderson,
01:07:02are gonna search hell and high water
01:07:04to try and find that horse.
01:07:05And it starts right here with Dancing Groom.
01:07:08If he wins the Kentucky Derby with Dancing Groom,
01:07:11I will bow a thousand times on the Frankie Dettori shrine.
01:07:17Yes, not exactly the best mount for the Kentucky Derby,
01:07:22but we will see how he fares
01:07:24in the Jeff Ruby stakes on Saturday.
01:07:27Okay, the prep for the Kentucky Oaks
01:07:29is called the Bourbonette Oaks.
01:07:30That's the 11th race on the card.
01:07:32And some interesting horses in here.
01:07:35Again, no real standouts.
01:07:37Again, same factor.
01:07:38You have some that have never run on the synthetic surface,
01:07:42like Alpine Princess, she's cross-centered in this race.
01:07:47Randy, you said she's running at the fairgrounds
01:07:49so far as you understand?
01:07:50No, she's running a turf way.
01:07:51She's running a turf way.
01:07:53So she's never been on synthetic.
01:07:55She's got a rebound off a kind of a dull effort
01:07:58in the Rachel Alexander
01:07:59where she was beaten nine lengths by Tarifa.
01:08:01An interesting horse in here is,
01:08:03how about Pink Polka Dots in here?
01:08:06Has run twice in its career, in her career,
01:08:09both times on the grass.
01:08:10Should transfer that form to the synthetic.
01:08:13And Randy, from a buyer figure standpoint,
01:08:17even though she's coming out of allowance race,
01:08:18she's two for two.
01:08:19That 81 buyer, last time out,
01:08:21puts her right in the thick of things.
01:08:23That's one of the better buyer numbers in the entire field.
01:08:26Only Alpine Princess has a faster number,
01:08:29which she got in the untappable.
01:08:30But much like the Jeff Ruby stakes,
01:08:33there's not a lot of A-listers in here,
01:08:35but somebody's gonna come out of this
01:08:36with a big win on their resume
01:08:38and head to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Oaks.
01:08:41Yeah, I would imagine Alpine Princess would be the favorite.
01:08:44I think she may be the kind of favorite
01:08:46to take a shot against.
01:08:48The untappable, you mentioned,
01:08:49is sort of her signature win.
01:08:51But that was at the fairgrounds.
01:08:53It was on dirt, obviously.
01:08:55It was a very easy pace that day.
01:08:58She controlled the pace on a clear lead.
01:09:01And as we know, synthetic plays closer to turf
01:09:05than it does to dirt,
01:09:05and it's not nearly as big of an advantage
01:09:08to set the pace on a synthetic surface
01:09:10as it is on a dirt surface.
01:09:12And they'll have to go with her.
01:09:13Louise Saez is aboard.
01:09:15She breaks from post position number one.
01:09:17Her best race was on the lead,
01:09:18so you can expect that that's what they're gonna try
01:09:22to do with Alpine Princess.
01:09:23But I think she is a bet against,
01:09:25and I have no idea who the bet on would be
01:09:28because I don't have a strong feeling.
01:09:31Pink Polka Dots looks as good or better
01:09:33than anything else in there.
01:09:35Yeah, it's between, I believe, Pink Polka Dots.
01:09:38For Jo Sharp, she's two for two.
01:09:40Comes out of some very, very live racings,
01:09:43including that maiden race at the fairgrounds.
01:09:45Lots of next out winners in that.
01:09:47And then the Philly Ride to her outside,
01:09:49you know nothing for trainer Christophe Clement.
01:09:52There's a lot more there beneath the bonnet
01:09:54than meets the eye.
01:09:55She does already have a win over the synthetic down there,
01:09:59the Topita at Goldstein Park,
01:10:01which is certainly gonna help her case.
01:10:03Two Dots is a candy ride.
01:10:04I'm gonna do a candy ride exactor.
01:10:07And one other thing I wanna mention,
01:10:10to me, the best race on the card
01:10:12is the Kentucky Cup Classic.
01:10:13For older horses going a mile and an eighth,
01:10:16it'll be race number 10.
01:10:17It's a grade three.
01:10:19If you look at that race,
01:10:20as opposed to the races we've been talking about,
01:10:22the three-year-old races,
01:10:24there are a lot of horses in here
01:10:26with established synthetic form.
01:10:29And if you use, for example,
01:10:30if you use formulator on DRF and you go to customize,
01:10:34you can change the past performances
01:10:36to which you only see synthetic,
01:10:39which it would be a good thing to do
01:10:40for the Kentucky Cup Classic
01:10:42because there are some synthetic demons in here
01:10:44and what an outstanding race that is.
01:10:47Best on the card.
01:10:48Yeah, good card.
01:10:49They also have the Latonia stakes
01:10:51and to go with the Kentucky Cup Classic
01:10:53and a bunch of other,
01:10:54there's a race named after Animal Kingdom.
01:10:56Yeah, that rush away stakes.
01:10:58So the big day of racing at Turf Way Park,
01:11:02as Randy said, just outside Cincinnati.
01:11:05Are you covering any of these, Randy?
01:11:07Yes, on NBC on Saturday,
01:11:10we will be doing the Louisiana Derby
01:11:13and the Fairgrounds Oaks,
01:11:14as well as the Jeff Ruby live.
01:11:17Great.
01:11:18And we'll cover some of the,
01:11:19like the Bourbonette on tape as well.
01:11:22Do want to remind you that the TDN Writers Room
01:11:25is brought to you by XP TV.
01:11:26Now this week's XP TV Work of the Week is Newgate.
01:11:31And yes, Frankie was right.
01:11:32Bob Baffert lets him nowhere near him in the morning.
01:11:35He was on hand to watch him work
01:11:37for just two weeks after his big cap win.
01:11:40He absolutely sizzled five furlongs in company in 58 and one.
01:11:45The track was very, very fast that morning.
01:11:47The best of 80 works of the distance.
01:11:49And just look at him cruising down the lane.
01:11:51You wouldn't believe he just took down the big cap
01:11:53two weeks before.
01:11:55Newgate is expected to ship out to Dubai
01:11:57for the Grade One Dubai World Cup next Saturday.
01:12:01Newgate is this week's Work of the Week.
01:12:04This week's Work of the Week is
01:12:06Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:08Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:10Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:12Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:14Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:16Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:18Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:20Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:22Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:24Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:26Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:28Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:30Newgate is this week's Work of the Week is
01:12:33All the thrills!
01:12:39Fraction of the bills!
01:12:43Experience the power of the partnership.
01:12:49Change your life, make new friends,
01:12:51and compete at the highest level of thoroughbread racing.
01:12:57West Point Thoroughbreds, the gold standard in racing partnerships.
01:13:00Racing Partnerships, visit westpointtb.com.
01:13:05TD and Riders Room also brought to you
01:13:07by West Point Thoroughbreds.
01:13:09As we know, joining a West Point Partnership
01:13:11can vault you into the world of instant camaraderie.
01:13:16West Point added six horses, three colts,
01:13:19three fillies at OBS March.
01:13:21If you're interested in those and why wouldn't you be,
01:13:23you can check them out at www.westpointtb.com
01:13:28and get the latest on their availability.
01:13:30Now the West Point focus from a sale perspective
01:13:33will turn to OBS April,
01:13:35and West Point now can celebrate a graduate from that sale.
01:13:39We talked last week about how Jackson Traveler
01:13:42was gonna run in the grade three Whitmore at Oaklawn Park.
01:13:44He did, and he won by about a 16th of an inch.
01:13:49Tejano Twist was bearing down on him in the final strides
01:13:53and in a race that I couldn't tell who won at the wire.
01:13:56It was Jackson Traveler,
01:13:57for trainers Steve Asmussen and Jackie Flavian-Pratt.
01:14:01West Point bought him at OBS for $140,000
01:14:03in the COVID year of 2020,
01:14:04and now he's a six-year-old closing in
01:14:07on a million dollars in earnings.
01:14:09Learn more again at westpointtb.com.
01:14:11♪♪
01:14:19Well, that's a wrap on this week's show.
01:14:20I wanna thank my partners, Randy Moss and Zoe Cabin,
01:14:24and our special Green Group Guest of the Week, Jake DeLome.
01:14:26Also our editors and our producers.
01:14:29The producers are Katie Petruniak and Anthony LaRocca,
01:14:31and the editors, Aaliyah LaRocca and Nathan Wilkinson.
01:14:34Should be an exciting weekend of racing,
01:14:35especially at the fairgrounds.
01:14:37Everybody enjoy, and we'll talk to you next week.
01:14:39♪♪

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