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00:00:18For the love of the horse.
00:00:21For generations to come.
00:00:24♪♪
00:00:28And welcome to another edition of the TBN Writer's Room podcast
00:00:31presented by Keeneland.
00:00:32My name is Bill Finley, and I am a correspondent
00:00:34for the Thoroughbred Daily News.
00:00:36Pink shirt, I'm the only one that got the memo.
00:00:38Kenny McPeak wants all Torpedo Anna fans
00:00:41to wear pink on Saturday.
00:00:42I won't be at the track on Saturday, Travers,
00:00:45so here's my homage to Torpedo Anna.
00:00:48I'm wearing a pink shirt, and I'm masculine enough.
00:00:52I'm confident enough in my masculinity
00:00:54that it doesn't bother me.
00:00:56Bill is secure in his masculinity.
00:00:58That's a good thing.
00:00:59I'm Randy Moss with NBC Sports.
00:01:02I didn't get the memo, but we'll have a lot to say
00:01:04about Torpedo Anna when we get to the Travers part
00:01:07of our podcast.
00:01:09Real men wear pink, right, Bill?
00:01:11There you go.
00:01:12Real men wear pink.
00:01:13I'm very proud of you.
00:01:15I'm glad Sue went and bought you a pink shirt.
00:01:18Yeah, I wasn't going to buy it myself.
00:01:22I'm Zoe Calvin with Fast Racing,
00:01:23and I will be wearing pink on Saturday for the Travers.
00:01:27I'm just not wearing pink right now.
00:01:29All right.
00:01:30Well, guys, of course, the big story this week
00:01:32is the Travers plus the big card at Saratoga
00:01:34with all the other grade one races.
00:01:36And we do this usually at Kentucky Derby time,
00:01:38and I think it's the Travers deserves
00:01:41this same sort of attention.
00:01:42Let's go through the field one by one,
00:01:44get some handicapping thoughts,
00:01:46some insights from Randy, Zoe, and myself,
00:01:49and then we can go from there,
00:01:51and everybody can tell us what their pick
00:01:53is going to be in the race.
00:01:55You know, Torpedo Anna, will she win?
00:01:58Yeah, I hope so, and I think she will.
00:02:00She's going to be my pick.
00:02:01But we're going to learn so much about her in this race.
00:02:04Is she a very, very, very good filly,
00:02:08or is she a superstar in the Rachel Alexandra kind of way?
00:02:15Now, she'll never catch up with Rachel's accomplishments
00:02:18because she ran so many times against males.
00:02:20But if she beats the boys in the Travers,
00:02:22I've got to say this is a once-in-a-generation horse.
00:02:25And I root for these kind of horses
00:02:27because it's good for the game and it's exciting.
00:02:29And thank goodness Kenny McPeak is not going by the book
00:02:32like everyone else.
00:02:33He thinks outside the box
00:02:35and is running his filly in the Travers.
00:02:38Yeah, I'm a numbers guy, obviously.
00:02:40I'm a speed figure guy.
00:02:41I've been on the Bayer speed figure team for 40 years.
00:02:44And when you get a horse that wins in dominant fashion,
00:02:49sometimes they're winning by open margins
00:02:52because they're running against horses
00:02:55that are dramatically inferior.
00:02:59And it's a bit of an optical illusion.
00:03:01And then the numbers come out
00:03:02and their numbers aren't as dominant
00:03:04as the visuals would suggest.
00:03:07And that's where speed figures are really good
00:03:10at zeroing in and focusing on,
00:03:14is this a Rachel Alexandra or is it a flight line
00:03:18or is it a horse that just happens to be beating up
00:03:20on average competition?
00:03:24If you look at the numbers,
00:03:26you would say that Torpedo Anna,
00:03:28as dominant as she has been,
00:03:31doesn't quite stack up to Dornuck,
00:03:34doesn't quite stack up to Sierra Leone,
00:03:36maybe a couple of the others in the race.
00:03:39But even though I'm a numbers guy,
00:03:41I'm not going by the numbers here
00:03:42because visually she's just...
00:03:44It's not the fact that she's been winning by open margins.
00:03:48Like she showed in the coaching club, American Oaks,
00:03:50it's the quick turn of foot
00:03:52and the quick dominant acceleration
00:03:54and overcoming a hop at the start
00:03:56where she's last going into the first turn
00:03:58and overcoming some of the other obstacles.
00:04:01Versatility, going to the early lead in the Kentucky Oaks,
00:04:05we're sitting off the pace.
00:04:07She's got an inside post, which I love
00:04:10because you know she's going to save ground
00:04:11at least on the first turn, okay?
00:04:14And that's big.
00:04:15A lot of people tend to underrate that.
00:04:18So primarily because I don't trust Sierra Leone,
00:04:24I'm going to go with you, Bill.
00:04:27I think Torpedo Anna,
00:04:28despite the fact that what,
00:04:30a filly hasn't won the Travers in, what is it,
00:04:32a century or something like that?
00:04:35I think she's in a pretty good spot here
00:04:37and I'm going to take her.
00:04:40She's terrific.
00:04:41I mean, there is nothing that you can say against her.
00:04:45She has overcome every obstacle,
00:04:49including her $40,000 purchase price.
00:04:51Who'd have thought a filly by fast Anna
00:04:54would be one of the favorites,
00:04:56probably the favorite in the Travers.
00:04:58And you could say that she's run to her competition
00:05:02and run over her competition,
00:05:04which is exactly what she's done.
00:05:06Now, we saw how Candide ran.
00:05:08We saw Power Squeeze, who was third to her,
00:05:10two starts back in the grade one acorn,
00:05:12came back to win just this past weekend.
00:05:15So the form backs up as well.
00:05:17I'm not sure I love the one hole
00:05:19for a filly drawn down on the inside.
00:05:21Now she's tall.
00:05:22I went by the barn the other day
00:05:23and took a good look at her.
00:05:25She looks as good as I've ever seen her in my life.
00:05:29Her workout at 7 a.m. on the main track was excellent.
00:05:33She was rank.
00:05:34That was my only problem with her,
00:05:36but she usually goes at 5.30 in the morning.
00:05:38So, you know, they messed around with her schedule
00:05:41to get her in the daylight,
00:05:42to get her on the main track,
00:05:44on a good track at 7.
00:05:45She was ranked, trying to run off with Danny,
00:05:48but she still finished up her work
00:05:49as strong as she started it,
00:05:51which is a very good sign
00:05:52when you're going at 59 and 4
00:05:55over the main strip here at Saratoga.
00:05:58I'm not picking her.
00:05:59Sorry, guys.
00:06:02I am rooting for her.
00:06:04I will be wearing my pink,
00:06:05and I hope to God she proves me wrong,
00:06:08but I'm going elsewhere.
00:06:10All right, well, we'll find out shortly who Zoe is picking.
00:06:13Number two is Sierra Leone.
00:06:14Can this horse win?
00:06:15Of course he can.
00:06:16This is a very, very good horse,
00:06:18but I'm done with him.
00:06:20I've picked this horse, like, every single time.
00:06:23And, you know, he always runs well.
00:06:26He runs well enough to suggest that,
00:06:28ah, if he just got a little bit better trip
00:06:29or if he didn't lug in,
00:06:31he was going to beat these horses.
00:06:32You know what?
00:06:33He's a very good horse,
00:06:35but I think there are better horses in this race,
00:06:38and he's still going to be a short price
00:06:39because of Chad Brown and Flavian Pratt.
00:06:42Yeah, and now this, of course, will be the one
00:06:44where he'll win and pay $12,
00:06:46and I'll be sitting on the sidelines
00:06:48ripping up my tickets on Torpedo Hannah.
00:06:53Yeah, look, I thought his race in the Jim Dandy
00:06:57was the best race of his career.
00:06:59To me, that's as good as he can run.
00:07:01And Fierceness obviously ran, you know,
00:07:05a Fierceness A-level type of race,
00:07:08which, as we know famously, he doesn't always give us.
00:07:11And I don't think Sierra Leone lost anything at all,
00:07:14in terms of reputation, to me at least,
00:07:17in finishing second in the Jim Dandy.
00:07:19Now, there is a narrative out there
00:07:21that, okay, they figured him out, okay?
00:07:24He didn't lug in that badly in the Jim Dandy.
00:07:27He ran much straighter.
00:07:29So that's really encouraging for the Travers.
00:07:32I don't buy that,
00:07:34because as Zoe pointed out before that race,
00:07:36she thought they should put him on the rail,
00:07:39because horses on the rail obviously can't really lug in,
00:07:43because the rail is right there.
00:07:44And if you watch the head-on replay of the Jim Dandy,
00:07:48he was thinking about the lugging in thing
00:07:51in the last eighth of a mile.
00:07:53He moved a little closer to the rail.
00:07:55He was kind of leaning in that direction.
00:07:58To me, if he was in the middle of the track,
00:08:00we would have seen the same old Sierra Leone
00:08:02that we've seen before.
00:08:03I don't think, in my opinion,
00:08:04I don't think they've corrected anything,
00:08:06or at least I'm not going to believe they have,
00:08:08until I actually see it play out on the racetrack.
00:08:12He's got post two.
00:08:13Torpedo Anna's got the rail.
00:08:15So we know Sierra Leone's going to save ground
00:08:17at least on one of the turns.
00:08:19But I think the primary reason he ended up on the rail
00:08:22through the stretch in the Jim Dandy
00:08:25is because Johnny Velasquez took fierceness
00:08:27out to the middle of the racetrack
00:08:28the way it played out strategically,
00:08:30and Flavio Perrette was kind of forced
00:08:32to duck in toward the inside,
00:08:33and it played to his advantage.
00:08:35I'm not sure you're going to see
00:08:36that exact scenario play out.
00:08:38So, and Sierra Leone's not the kind of horse
00:08:40who's going to be nifty enough and quick enough
00:08:43to hit the holes with quick acceleration
00:08:46and sit on the rail and take advantage of a rail opening
00:08:48and dart through there.
00:08:49He's more like a runaway freight train.
00:08:51He doesn't stop and start, right?
00:08:54So I don't think he's necessarily,
00:08:56you can count on him to get another rail trip.
00:08:58So I'm going to expect Sierra Leone
00:09:00to be the lugging in Sierra Leone
00:09:02that we've seen in the past.
00:09:03Maybe that's still good enough to win
00:09:05at a mile and a quarter,
00:09:06but I'm going to pick against him for that reason.
00:09:08He's still leaning in and he doesn't,
00:09:10he's been doing it in the morning in his morning works.
00:09:13Not severely, but I mean,
00:09:14when he gets under pressure, he will lean in.
00:09:17And I have a feeling that Perrette's going to stay
00:09:19on the rail and just bite his time
00:09:22and come through on the rail.
00:09:23Because guys, the only thing harder to ride
00:09:25than a horse lugging out is one lugging in.
00:09:29It's impossible.
00:09:30It's so much easier.
00:09:31I don't know why.
00:09:32I don't know.
00:09:33It's because everyone's a little better right-handed.
00:09:34I have no idea.
00:09:35But when a horse is lugging out,
00:09:37it's easier to get them going forward.
00:09:39When a horse is lugging in,
00:09:40especially on top of other horses,
00:09:43it's impossible to get that forward momentum.
00:09:45You're almost just pulling back.
00:09:47So his only way through is going to be on the rail,
00:09:50as far as I'm concerned.
00:09:52There's another Chad Brown horse in the race.
00:09:54It's a three-horse, Unmatched Wisdom,
00:09:56winner of the restricted curling stakes in his last start.
00:09:59Irado Ortiz Jr. takes over for Flavien Perrette,
00:10:02who goes with Sierra Leone, as Zoe just mentioned.
00:10:05Very nice horse.
00:10:06But we've got to see more from him than we've seen so far.
00:10:10He has to improve off that race in the curling.
00:10:13It was fine.
00:10:14There was nothing wrong with it.
00:10:15But he didn't get a particularly fast number, a 99.
00:10:18It was a fairly easy field in there.
00:10:21But he's a horse that is getting better all the time.
00:10:24I'm not going to pick him, but I wouldn't be surprised
00:10:27if he is in the mix somewhere.
00:10:29And also, Randy, if you want to talk about this or Zoe,
00:10:33what is going to be the pace scenario?
00:10:35Does he send this horse from the three post
00:10:37and try to get to the lead, knowing
00:10:39that Dornach outside of him is probably going to want
00:10:41to do the exact same thing?
00:10:43And fierceness will be right up there, too, on the outside.
00:10:45I mean, fierceness has speed as well.
00:10:48And who knows what Brian Hernandez is
00:10:50going to do with Torpedo Anna.
00:10:52I mean, she's shown in the Kentucky Oaks
00:10:54that she can be right up there and be a pace factor as well.
00:10:57The thing that, you know, I mean, unmatched wisdom,
00:11:01you get Irad Ortiz this time.
00:11:03You've had Flavien Pratt.
00:11:04Pratt chose.
00:11:05He had options, right?
00:11:07He chooses to ride Sierra Leone instead of unmatched wisdom.
00:11:10So I'm going to let Flavien kind of dictate
00:11:13my opinion on this.
00:11:14But, you know, the 99 in the curling, that's OK.
00:11:17He's picking up six pounds.
00:11:19That's a couple of points.
00:11:20That's a couple of buyer points.
00:11:22That's the way I handicap at least.
00:11:24And he made an uncontested easy lead in the Jim Dandy
00:11:28that he is unlikely to get in the Travers.
00:11:31So for those reasons, I'm going to lean against him.
00:11:34Me too.
00:11:35He's pretty much had everything his own way.
00:11:38This is a race laden with speed.
00:11:39And don't think Torpedo Anna,
00:11:41judging on her body language and how she's been training,
00:11:44don't think she's going to back off it either.
00:11:46It's going to be pace aplenty.
00:11:49Next horse is Corporate Power.
00:11:51None of us necessarily like unmatched wisdom.
00:11:53This horse was beaten by unmatched wisdom in the curling
00:11:56last time out by a length.
00:11:58Shug McGehee is the trainer.
00:12:00Good horse.
00:12:01Not good enough to win this race, though.
00:12:04Going to have to step up for sure.
00:12:06He's got the right trainer behind him, Shug.
00:12:08He knows how to win this race.
00:12:10He did come in with a bullet work,
00:12:12but he's flying under the radar.
00:12:15He can't sit off the pace, though.
00:12:17He can sit off the pace, though.
00:12:18That's a big plus.
00:12:19He could pick up some pieces late.
00:12:22Yeah, he's the one that went after unmatched wisdom
00:12:26in the curling when unmatched wisdom had everything his own way
00:12:29and set a nice easy pace.
00:12:31It was Javier Castellano
00:12:33that decided that he had to go after unmatched wisdom
00:12:36a little earlier maybe than he would have otherwise wanted to.
00:12:39He still held on for second.
00:12:41But again, I agree with you guys.
00:12:43I mean, he's a nice horse.
00:12:45I'd love to own him.
00:12:46But it's hard to take him in this spot for me.
00:12:51All right, we move on now to Batten Down,
00:12:53trained by Bill Mott, the Ohio Derby winner.
00:12:55Didn't fare nearly as well in the Jim Dandy
00:12:57and won third beating six and three quarter lengths
00:12:59by Fierceness and Sierra Leone.
00:13:02So he was third best in the Jim Dandy.
00:13:05How do you go from that to being best in the Travers?
00:13:08Well, that's going to be very hard to do
00:13:10and that's why he's going to be 25 to one.
00:13:12Again, just like I said, the corporate power.
00:13:15And some of the same things Randy said.
00:13:18This is a beautifully bred horse.
00:13:21Has made 454,000.
00:13:23Probably going to do a lot more in its career down the road
00:13:26because you got Bill Mott behind him.
00:13:28You know this horse is going to continue to improve.
00:13:30But just like corporate power, I just don't think he's good enough.
00:13:34Ditto.
00:13:36And he's going to be more pace.
00:13:38The only races he's won have been on the lead.
00:13:42So I don't know if he's going to be quick enough to be on the lead,
00:13:45but he's going to be throwing down the gauntlet with the rest of them.
00:13:48Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see
00:13:50how Junior Alvarado chooses to ride him
00:13:53in the wake of his race in the Jim Dandy.
00:13:56Because if you go back and look at the Jim Dandy,
00:13:58Batten down was in between Dornuck and Fierceness.
00:14:03And going into the first turn, Dornuck showed speed from the inside.
00:14:06Fierceness and Johnny V was in the three path.
00:14:09Batten down was right in between them.
00:14:11And the other two just seemed to have a little bit more early foot
00:14:15than Batten down did.
00:14:17And instead of sending Batten down to try to hold his position between horses,
00:14:21Junior probably wisely decided to just ease back a little bit
00:14:25or at least not try to really push forward
00:14:28and let the other two go and stalk him from a third place perspective.
00:14:33And either it was that trip or just the fact that he just straight wasn't good enough.
00:14:39He was third and a well-beaten third.
00:14:41He ran the same number that he's been running.
00:14:43So I would tend to believe that he just isn't quite good enough
00:14:48to turn the tables on those horses this time.
00:14:53We go now to Honor Marie. We're running a little late here.
00:14:56Anybody have anything interesting to say about him?
00:14:58I don't. If not, let's pass and move on to Dornuck. Sound okay?
00:15:03That sounds fine to me.
00:15:05All right. Now let's get to Dornuck.
00:15:07And we love the tenacity of this horse, the way he's such a fighter.
00:15:11He is the best male horse in this race, I believe.
00:15:15Though fierceness, you never know what kind of fierceness is going to show up.
00:15:19But one of the things I think is going to be going against him is,
00:15:23Danny Gargan has discovered this horse likes to be on the lead.
00:15:26He runs his best races when he does that.
00:15:29He's not going to get an easy uncontested lead in here.
00:15:32There's a couple other horses that are going to battle him early for the lead.
00:15:36Leaving from the outside, next outside post,
00:15:39he's going to be perhaps a little bit wide in the first turn.
00:15:42I wouldn't be the least bit shocked if he won this race.
00:15:46If Torpedo Anna were not in the race, I think I probably would pick him.
00:15:50But I don't think she can beat the girl on Saturday.
00:15:53And I don't see this horse working out the kind of trip
00:15:57that he seems to need to get the job done.
00:16:00Maybe it's going to be Torpedo Anna.
00:16:02Maybe it's going to be Unmatched Wisdom.
00:16:04Maybe it's going to be Batten Down.
00:16:06Those three horses or two is inside.
00:16:08Think back to the Belmont.
00:16:10Mile and a quarter at Saratoga.
00:16:12Same distance, same track, right?
00:16:14Dornegg didn't make an uncontested lead.
00:16:16He's sitting right outside of Seas of the Grey.
00:16:18He's lapped on Seas of the Grey, second about a half length.
00:16:20And still manages to go to the lead,
00:16:23to repel the bid by mind frame,
00:16:26and be drawing away at the end.
00:16:28Kind of similar to what happened in the Haskell,
00:16:30except he was on the lead in the Haskell.
00:16:31If he gets that kind of trip,
00:16:33sitting right outside of one horse, lapped on the outside,
00:16:35I've got no problem with Dornegg
00:16:37and the kind of trip he's likely to get in this spot.
00:16:39Will he get, is he going to be third?
00:16:42Is he going to be fourth?
00:16:43Is he going to be a little wide?
00:16:44Who knows?
00:16:45I mean, we'll see about the horses two is inside.
00:16:47But he's a fighter.
00:16:49And I think he's, I have a feeling this is Zoe's pick.
00:16:52You're right.
00:16:55He is going to be my pick in here,
00:16:57purely because he's a fighter, much like his trainer.
00:17:00Sorry, Danny.
00:17:02And he likes to get in the mix of it.
00:17:04He's well drawn on the outside.
00:17:05I'd actually prefer if he got the one hole.
00:17:07If him and Thorpedo could switch, that would be really nice.
00:17:10I think they'd both be happy.
00:17:12And, you know, he makes his own trip now.
00:17:15He can be on the outside.
00:17:17I don't care if he's four wide.
00:17:18He can get the distance.
00:17:19He's the only horse that I've watched throughout the summer
00:17:23who has trained exactly the same every single time.
00:17:29I love the way he's coming into the race.
00:17:31Do I think he's a better horse than Thorpedo Anna and Fierceness?
00:17:35No, but I believe he might be the best on Saturday.
00:17:40But I'm really rooting for Thorpedo Anna.
00:17:43He's so stuck.
00:17:47So let's get to the last horse in the race, Fierceness.
00:17:50And, you know, what more needs to be said about this horse
00:17:53that hasn't been said 9, 10, 11, 12 times even on this podcast?
00:17:58I don't know what's going to happen with him.
00:18:00He continues to be the horse that you just have to guess on.
00:18:04And even as Jim Dandy, even though he won and got back over the 100 buyer plateau,
00:18:10the 103, didn't have that electric look that the Florida Derby had
00:18:15or that electric look that they had in the Breeders' Cup juvenile.
00:18:18I mean, he can win by seven lengths.
00:18:21He can be dead last.
00:18:23You know, if you can figure this horse out, Zoe,
00:18:26then you're a lot better at this game than I am.
00:18:29And I can't. I can't.
00:18:31I think we'll just let Fierceness do the talking.
00:18:33And it's as simple as that.
00:18:36Now, in the Florida Derby, he ran the first quarter in 24.06
00:18:42on a very speed-favoring racetrack with a short stretch in Gulfstream Park.
00:18:46Was able to completely control the pace.
00:18:49And against much easier competition, right?
00:18:52Catalyst was second, Grand Mo the first was third.
00:18:55So I'm not going to look at the Florida Derby and expect that kind of a race out of Fierceness
00:18:59because he's not going to make the lead in 24.06 in the Traverse Stakes.
00:19:03Let's just face it.
00:19:04He's probably going to get a three-wide trip sitting right outside, right up on the pace, close up.
00:19:10If you don't like him because he runs a good race, bad race, good race, bad race,
00:19:15that's bogus.
00:19:16That's ridiculous to even handicap in that manner.
00:19:21It's just the fact that, you know, if he can get the three-wide stalking trip,
00:19:28be third by length, third by length and a half,
00:19:31maybe just lapped on two of the horses to his inside,
00:19:34and he can deliver the same sort of performance as he had in the Jim Dandy,
00:19:39then he could very easily win this race.
00:19:43He really could.
00:19:44I mean, I don't buy the fact that because he ran good in the Jim Dandy,
00:19:47that means he won't run so well in the Traverse.
00:19:50How about this?
00:19:51The two males on this show pick Torpedo Anna, and the female goes for Doorknock.
00:19:57It's not supposed to work that way, Zoe, but some good insights and all that.
00:20:03And Zoe, I want to see that pink shirt on you on Saturday, OK?
00:20:08Oh, I'll have a pink dress.
00:20:10Pink dress.
00:20:11OK, very good.
00:20:13All right.
00:20:14I won't make you wear a pink dress, but I'll wear one, OK?
00:20:17Thanks for that.
00:20:18Bill is not that secure in his masculinity to wear a pink dress.
00:20:25I do want to remind you that the TDN Writer's Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
00:20:30Now, in the span of a couple of hours on Saturday,
00:20:33it was clearly demonstrated why you need to make plans to attend the Keeneland September sale.
00:20:39Listen to this.
00:20:40First, Saratoga.
00:20:41Power Squeeze, a mere $50,000 September purchase, won the grade one.
00:20:47$600,000 Alabama Steaks.
00:20:49Then just a few hours later, the best name in horse racing,
00:20:53I Scream, You Scream, a mere $55,000 Keeneland September purchase,
00:20:58won the grade one, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks.
00:21:02Keeneland September begins September the 9th.
00:21:04Make plans to attend.
00:21:06I will be there with bells on.
00:21:08We'll be right back after this message from Keeneland.
00:21:17Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
00:21:18On behalf of the management and staff of Keeneland,
00:21:20I would like to welcome you to the September yearling sale.
00:21:22Good to have you back with us.
00:21:24The energy at Keeneland Book One is unlike any other sale that you'll go to.
00:21:28It is the marketplace.
00:21:30The center of the horse universe.
00:21:32It's electric.
00:21:33You can't replicate the urgency that's at Keeneland September.
00:21:35Quality in quantity.
00:21:37Keeneland September Book One.
00:21:39Every breeder's dream.
00:21:45This week's fastest horse of the week is brought to you by none other than a
00:21:49really fast horse.
00:21:51Life is good.
00:21:52One of those fast sires at Windstar Farm.
00:21:55And Into Mischief's fastest son, by the way.
00:21:58And seeing what we've seen from Into Mischief as a stallion,
00:22:01that says an awful lot.
00:22:02Breeders are eagerly anticipating Life is Good's first weanlings this fall,
00:22:06especially after his first in-fold mares brought up to $1.2 million at the
00:22:12mixed sales last fall.
00:22:14Because of Life is Good and what we saw on the racetrack,
00:22:17his progeny expected to be fast.
00:22:19They're expected to be precocious.
00:22:21And after all,
00:22:22Life is Good was a debut two-year-old winner by over nine links,
00:22:27TD and Rising Star.
00:22:28And of course,
00:22:29went on to earn nine triple digit fire speed figures and three grade one
00:22:33stakes.
00:22:34Life is good,
00:22:35standing at Windstar Farm.
00:22:37And this week's fastest horse of the week comes out of the Island stakes at
00:22:40Monmouth on Saturday.
00:22:41Subsanador,
00:22:42shipped from his West Coast base by trainer Richard Mandela.
00:22:46And not only that,
00:22:47he brought Mike Smith with him and Subsanador wins the Island by a length
00:22:51and a half over Il Morocco.
00:22:52You think,
00:22:53okay,
00:22:54a length and a half,
00:22:55not that big of a deal.
00:22:5615 links back to the third place finisher in the Island.
00:22:59Subsanador gets a buyer speed figure of 102,
00:23:02which tops the week.
00:23:03And perhaps,
00:23:04I think the biggest storyline out of the Island,
00:23:07not just the performance by Subsanador,
00:23:09but the fact that it's the first United States graded stakes win for the
00:23:14Wafnan stable of the Emir of Qatar,
00:23:18Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,
00:23:21who's been buying up seemingly everything that's for sale in Europe.
00:23:26He was pointing for the Royal Escort meet with a lot of horses that he
00:23:29bought right on top of the meeting.
00:23:31He's trying to make an impact in the United States as well.
00:23:34And Subsanador is Wafnan racing's very first graded stakes winner in North
00:23:40America,
00:23:41the fastest horse of the week.
00:23:47As always,
00:23:48our guest of the week segment is brought to you by the green group,
00:23:51tax accounting and advisory firms,
00:23:53specializing in the thoroughbred industry and specializing in saving you
00:23:57money on your taxes.
00:24:00We welcome in now the green group guest of the week and is the vice
00:24:03president of racing at Kentucky downs,
00:24:05Ted Nicholson and Ted welcome to the show.
00:24:08And everybody of course,
00:24:09is looking forward to this meet as we do every year.
00:24:11And the big purses are the primary reason,
00:24:14but it seems every single year,
00:24:15they get bigger and bigger and bigger.
00:24:18Are you guys at anywhere close to a peak point?
00:24:20How is it that every year the purses continue to go up?
00:24:25Well,
00:24:26thanks for having me and good morning,
00:24:27everybody.
00:24:29Honestly,
00:24:30Jenny loves to put the,
00:24:31put those press releases out.
00:24:35The,
00:24:36there will be a peak at some point,
00:24:39you know,
00:24:40business has been very strong on the gaming side.
00:24:42So we continue to elevate in our goal,
00:24:47which we've talked about on this program,
00:24:52I believe a couple of years ago.
00:24:53I mean,
00:24:54our,
00:24:55our,
00:24:56our plan was to get graded races.
00:24:57I think there was a number of years where,
00:25:00we weren't getting the respect that we thought we deserve from the graded
00:25:03stakes committee and,
00:25:06you know,
00:25:07money helps.
00:25:09And I think we're going to,
00:25:10we've,
00:25:11we've seen that over the last few years,
00:25:12we now have nine graded races.
00:25:14So we,
00:25:15we reached,
00:25:16we,
00:25:17we got to the,
00:25:18to the,
00:25:19to that point.
00:25:20And now it's just a matter of us elevating our game to the point where
00:25:23we're going to start getting grade ones.
00:25:25And there's,
00:25:26there's plans in place to accomplish that,
00:25:29but yeah,
00:25:30the money is,
00:25:31you have to be,
00:25:32we're going to peak at some point.
00:25:35And I think we're pretty darn close to be honest with you.
00:25:39So Ted,
00:25:40it's been what,
00:25:41I guess,
00:25:4211 months since we've seen horses race at Kentucky downs in that interim,
00:25:47in the boardrooms and the management meetings and all the preparation for
00:25:51this racing season,
00:25:53what's been going on behind the scenes.
00:25:56A little bit,
00:25:57Randy,
00:25:58what we,
00:25:59what I just talked about is just what can we do,
00:26:01you know,
00:26:02to get our game elevated even more?
00:26:04I mean,
00:26:05yes,
00:26:06we have the world's best jockeys that'll come and the best trainers and
00:26:10owners are,
00:26:12are making more and more plans to come.
00:26:15I mean,
00:26:16we're seeing ticket sales up already up this year,
00:26:1830% over last year,
00:26:20which is crazy.
00:26:21I don't think there's a racetrack in the U S that could say that.
00:26:24So we've done some things to the property.
00:26:29We've if you,
00:26:31for those of you who have been to the track,
00:26:33we used to be all asphalt.
00:26:36It was,
00:26:37I mean,
00:26:38we used to be all gravel and now we're all asphalt.
00:26:41The entire parking lot,
00:26:43which is an enormous space is now asphalt.
00:26:47So people coming don't have to try and,
00:26:51you know,
00:26:52avoid any holes or ruin their shoes,
00:26:55just getting into the racetrack,
00:26:57which is good.
00:26:59We built a brand new pavilion for the horsemen that's right there next to the
00:27:03other finish line pavilion.
00:27:05It's,
00:27:06it's big,
00:27:07it's tall,
00:27:08it's expansive.
00:27:09And I think they're going to really,
00:27:10really enjoy it.
00:27:12We also added a suite that will be just to the South or further down the
00:27:18stretch from the chalet,
00:27:19which we put up a few years ago.
00:27:21So we're always trying to improve the property and improve the experience for
00:27:25the,
00:27:26for the guests,
00:27:28for the people at home that 90% of your customers sitting at home,
00:27:33betting on the computer,
00:27:34right?
00:27:35Betting on TV,
00:27:36whatever,
00:27:37anything they'll notice about the simulcast product that might be slightly
00:27:41different tweaks from,
00:27:42from a year ago.
00:27:43They,
00:27:44they were working on something right now.
00:27:47I'll be honest with you.
00:27:48I'm trying to find a company that will come and do drone behind the races
00:27:54behind the horses.
00:27:56And a lot of people are really good at doing drones,
00:27:59but integrating that into a simulcast show with our producer,
00:28:04David Loinan,
00:28:05it's,
00:28:06it makes it a little bit difficult to find that.
00:28:09So we're,
00:28:10it's almost like a needle in a haystack because there's,
00:28:12it's so rare unless you're a big production company like,
00:28:16you know,
00:28:17NBC or ESPN.
00:28:19Interesting.
00:28:20Okay.
00:28:21We like the drone footage.
00:28:23So I hoping you're,
00:28:24I know a guy that flies drones.
00:28:26So if you need some help,
00:28:27I can,
00:28:28I can send them.
00:28:29You'll have,
00:28:30we have people that,
00:28:31that do drones and they do them very well.
00:28:33It's just,
00:28:34we're trying to find out how that is.
00:28:36Integrated and it's not,
00:28:38it's not an easy fix.
00:28:39So we're working on it.
00:28:41I still got nine days.
00:28:43Aren't there bird issues also with the drones?
00:28:47I've read that like Zoe may know more about that at Santa Anita.
00:28:51I think they've,
00:28:52they've had some issues with that,
00:28:53but
00:28:54A few issues,
00:28:55but as long as you're behind the horses,
00:28:57it's,
00:28:58it's okay.
00:28:59You don't want to be in front and your drone gets a bird strike and
00:29:02falls in front of the field.
00:29:05So let's,
00:29:06let's talk about the money,
00:29:07Ted.
00:29:08Can you explain to the average Joe and I mean myself,
00:29:11how the past revenue is made?
00:29:13And there are two casinos there right now.
00:29:16And the revenue there is what,
00:29:18like $2 billion a year or something.
00:29:20How does that integrate into the purses?
00:29:23And how does some of the purses go between the other Kentucky tracks as
00:29:27well?
00:29:28That's a great question.
00:29:29I mean,
00:29:30So,
00:29:31yeah,
00:29:32so we own,
00:29:33we,
00:29:34besides the property that we sit on with the racetrack,
00:29:36we also have a satellite location.
00:29:38That's in Bowling Green,
00:29:39Kentucky,
00:29:40which is a beautiful location.
00:29:41If you've ever.
00:29:42Find yourself in Bowling Green.
00:29:44And so,
00:29:45yes,
00:29:46we do over $2 billion in HHR handle a year.
00:29:49Which that.
00:29:51A portion of that money goes to.
00:29:54The association purses,
00:29:55and then there's a portion of that money that goes to.
00:29:58KTDF,
00:29:59which.
00:30:00You know,
00:30:01the KTDF is a big.
00:30:03Piece of our structure.
00:30:05So,
00:30:06if you're a Kentucky bred.
00:30:08And you're not racing and you have a turf horse and you're not racing by
00:30:11us,
00:30:12you got to be scratching your head.
00:30:14Why,
00:30:15why would you do that?
00:30:16And so,
00:30:17we have a lot of money that goes to the association.
00:30:21We also own a harness track that's in a town called Corbin,
00:30:25Kentucky.
00:30:26And that is south of Lexington,
00:30:28about an hour and a half.
00:30:30And we have a satellite location from that racetrack.
00:30:35That is just across the border from Tennessee.
00:30:38About an hour north of Knoxville.
00:30:41And that's in a town called Williamsburg.
00:30:43And so,
00:30:44we have a lot of money that goes to the association.
00:30:47And that's in a town called Williamsburg.
00:30:49And so the monies that are generated at that location,
00:30:53go towards her structures for.
00:30:58For the racetrack,
00:30:59but then we split that.
00:31:02Some of that purse money actually goes to the.
00:31:06To Keeneland,
00:31:08because Keeneland is a minor owner in that,
00:31:11in that property.
00:31:12So,
00:31:13we,
00:31:14we,
00:31:15when I say we.
00:31:17The KTDF.
00:31:20The advisory board of the KTDF and the HBPA,
00:31:25and we have a great relationship with,
00:31:27with the folks at the HBPA,
00:31:30whether it's Rick Hiles or,
00:31:32or Alex Foley,
00:31:34we send purse money to the other racetrack.
00:31:38So,
00:31:39this year we're sending over $4M to Ellis Park.
00:31:42And we also send over $6M to Keeneland.
00:31:47Wow.
00:31:48Can you send some to California?
00:31:52I think somebody brought that up a few weeks ago.
00:31:56Ted,
00:31:57we used to talk this time of year for,
00:31:59for many years about the graded stakes situation.
00:32:02And you guys would let,
00:32:03let everyone know,
00:32:04you know,
00:32:05we think we're getting,
00:32:06not getting a fair shake here since that time.
00:32:08You mentioned how many graded stakes races you have.
00:32:12I forget the number that you threw out,
00:32:14but you also now have your first grade one stakes race,
00:32:17as well as in the Franklin Simpson stakes.
00:32:19Are you,
00:32:20I mean,
00:32:21I know you want every race to be a grade one and who wouldn't,
00:32:24but are you now,
00:32:25you know,
00:32:26think that the graded stakes committee has caught up to the Kentucky Downs phenomenon,
00:32:30or is there still a little ways to go?
00:32:32Well,
00:32:33obviously I'm going to tell you that there's still a ways to go.
00:32:38You know,
00:32:39if you look at our,
00:32:40our,
00:32:41our two-year-old races,
00:32:43none of them are,
00:32:44are graded and,
00:32:45and they're hard to be graded.
00:32:47I mean,
00:32:48you all are seasoned vets in this business.
00:32:51You know that,
00:32:52you know,
00:32:53this time of year,
00:32:54there's not a lot of graded turf races for,
00:32:59for two-year-olds.
00:33:00And so,
00:33:01you know,
00:33:02you see these horses that are running by us,
00:33:04or they run at Keeneland and they're coming out of maiden races and they're
00:33:08winning a race.
00:33:09Maybe it's a grade three at Keeneland.
00:33:11And then their,
00:33:12their next race is going to be the Breeders' Cup,
00:33:14which obviously is a grade one.
00:33:16So for us to get those two grade one might be difficult,
00:33:19but I,
00:33:20I certainly would love to see them all graded.
00:33:22They're all million dollar races this year.
00:33:24So I would certainly love to see all of those at least at the grade three
00:33:29level,
00:33:30you know,
00:33:31going forward.
00:33:32And as you said,
00:33:33Bill,
00:33:34I,
00:33:35you know,
00:33:36I think after this year,
00:33:37we're going to see,
00:33:38hopefully,
00:33:39you know,
00:33:40I'm a superstitious guy,
00:33:42but I'm hoping that we can get the,
00:33:45some of the grade twos up to grade one and some of the,
00:33:49some of the grade threes up to two,
00:33:51or maybe even leapfrog and get to a ones,
00:33:53you know,
00:33:54you,
00:33:55you never stop.
00:33:56You never stop pushing for your goals.
00:34:00And,
00:34:01and I think our goal is to,
00:34:03to have as many grade ones as we possibly could get.
00:34:07And I think we're realistic knowing that those,
00:34:10those two-year-old races are going to be difficult to be the great one grade
00:34:14ones,
00:34:15but the others definitely are in our wheelhouse.
00:34:17If Kentucky downs,
00:34:20doesn't get a really,
00:34:23really nice Christmas gift from Mike maker every year.
00:34:27You sure the hell should,
00:34:28but it's not just Mike.
00:34:30I mean,
00:34:31it's a lot of top trainers.
00:34:32As you mentioned,
00:34:33top jockeys,
00:34:34full fields.
00:34:35The only thing I've seen that you guys have to sort of combat is the
00:34:40perception around the country with some trainers that Kentucky downs is an
00:34:43unusual track.
00:34:45It's a quirky track.
00:34:46Some horses handle it.
00:34:48Some horses don't.
00:34:49Right.
00:34:50I mean,
00:34:51there's a lot of,
00:34:52as we've often talked about,
00:34:54change doesn't come very easily in thoroughbred racing.
00:34:58And,
00:34:59you know,
00:35:00a lot of people put maybe too much emphasis on it.
00:35:02Is that something that you guys have had to combat over the years?
00:35:05No,
00:35:06I mean,
00:35:07you are what you are,
00:35:08you know,
00:35:09we're,
00:35:10our racetrack is unique.
00:35:12We like to use that term more than anything else.
00:35:15We're,
00:35:16we're unique to racetrack.
00:35:18We're not looking to change,
00:35:20you know,
00:35:21the,
00:35:22the adulations of,
00:35:24of the race course.
00:35:25That's what makes us unique.
00:35:28I mean,
00:35:29it's kind of fun actually to see when people do come to the track,
00:35:32you know,
00:35:33real pros come,
00:35:35you know,
00:35:36whether they're media or they're horse players and they come for the
00:35:39first time and they look across the racetrack and they see the mile
00:35:44pole and they look to their left and they see that,
00:35:48that gradual,
00:35:50you know,
00:35:51incline and you get to that three quarter pole.
00:35:56And then all of a sudden you see it go downhill and you,
00:35:59you start to shake your head going.
00:36:01I never noticed it that much on TV.
00:36:05Well,
00:36:06of course you're not,
00:36:07but,
00:36:08and then the one thing that people really don't see or feel or,
00:36:12or could even grasp is the fact that when you get to the top of the
00:36:16stretch,
00:36:17you've got three eighths of a mile to go.
00:36:19And that's why it takes two cameras to,
00:36:22to cover it.
00:36:24But then you get halfway,
00:36:26halfway up,
00:36:27you know,
00:36:28and I've literally,
00:36:29it's up the stretch,
00:36:30you get to,
00:36:31to the mid point in the stretch and you're going uphill.
00:36:33So if you got a tired animal,
00:36:36you're,
00:36:37you're gasping,
00:36:38you know,
00:36:39so you gotta be fit to win here.
00:36:43And that's,
00:36:44that's always been the case.
00:36:45All right.
00:36:47I'm going to tell a quick little story of my first foray to Kentucky
00:36:51downs and Ted,
00:36:52you'll appreciate this.
00:36:53So I drive in,
00:36:54I'm writing for Mike Stidham and I'm on the favorite and I don't get
00:36:58there in time to walk the turf course.
00:37:00And it's a mile and a half.
00:37:02And I'm like,
00:37:03okay,
00:37:04well how can you go wrong?
00:37:05Right?
00:37:06So I said any,
00:37:07any tricks.
00:37:08And this was the old dueling grounds when it was tooling grounds.
00:37:10And one guy goes to me,
00:37:11goes,
00:37:12whatever you do,
00:37:13don't move until you see the tractor.
00:37:15So I'm like,
00:37:16okay,
00:37:17I guess I'll look for the tractor.
00:37:18So we come down the hill and we turn for home and I'm looking around
00:37:22and I'm like,
00:37:23where the hell's this tractor?
00:37:24I'm like,
00:37:25Oh God,
00:37:26I must've passed the tractor.
00:37:27So I start riding like hell and I'm riding an eighth of a mile and I
00:37:31pick my head up.
00:37:32There's the bloody tractor.
00:37:33And I'm like,
00:37:34Oh my God,
00:37:35I've got another quarter of a mile to go uphill.
00:37:38And I win by a head.
00:37:40Stidham comes down to me and he's like,
00:37:42Fred,
00:37:43what the hell were you doing?
00:37:44I'm like,
00:37:45I don't know.
00:37:46I don't know,
00:37:47but I won.
00:37:48I won.
00:37:49I like ran the whole turf course just to make sure I didn't mess up for the
00:37:53next race.
00:37:54So it is truly unique.
00:37:56It's family atmosphere.
00:37:59And,
00:38:00and it's just,
00:38:01I think if no one's ever gone there,
00:38:03they are truly missing out.
00:38:05I really have enjoyed the times that I've gone there and written it.
00:38:08And it's a really cool tractor ride.
00:38:10You think the tractor is still there?
00:38:12I love that.
00:38:19I love that story because it's so true.
00:38:21I can't tell you how many riders have,
00:38:24you know,
00:38:25flown in and Nashville gotten here late,
00:38:27you know,
00:38:28didn't go out on the racetrack and check it out.
00:38:31Which I know a lot of riders do do that.
00:38:34I mean,
00:38:35it's,
00:38:36you know,
00:38:37why not check out the course before you get on it.
00:38:39And I've watched some people make some big time mistakes.
00:38:43You know,
00:38:45When you're riding down the backstretch,
00:38:48another thing that I think a lot of people don't realize is when they're
00:38:52riding,
00:38:53when they're running up that Hill along the backstretch there,
00:38:57they're so far off the rail.
00:38:59You're so far off the rail.
00:39:01And then there's a right hand turn.
00:39:03So,
00:39:04you know,
00:39:05you,
00:39:06you don't want to be on the rail because you're,
00:39:09you're wasting 30,
00:39:1140 feet.
00:39:13In each stride,
00:39:14whereas every,
00:39:15and so the,
00:39:16the smart riders,
00:39:17and I'm sure what happens is that,
00:39:19you know,
00:39:20it's,
00:39:21they're,
00:39:22they're,
00:39:23they're going to go in a pack and you're not going to all of a sudden go,
00:39:25well,
00:39:26the rails wide open,
00:39:27you know,
00:39:28that doesn't happen.
00:39:29I think,
00:39:30you know,
00:39:31our riders are pros now.
00:39:32And,
00:39:33but I think years ago when it was doing grounds,
00:39:35I think,
00:39:36you know,
00:39:37guys didn't know,
00:39:38didn't know.
00:39:39Correct.
00:39:40I have one question.
00:39:41It seems to me like Randy mentioned,
00:39:43Mike maker,
00:39:44he stables all his horses there and trains over the track in the morning.
00:39:48Joe Sharp does the same thing.
00:39:50Do you think there's an advantage to people that ship in and stay?
00:39:54Because there is a beautiful stabling area right over to the side,
00:39:58but it seems like only those guys seem to know about.
00:40:02Well,
00:40:03so the,
00:40:04we don't have any training.
00:40:06Um,
00:40:07yeah,
00:40:08that's,
00:40:09that's,
00:40:10that's a problem.
00:40:11You can't work a horse over the course.
00:40:13You can,
00:40:14you can,
00:40:15you can jog a horse around,
00:40:17um,
00:40:18you know,
00:40:19uh,
00:40:20around the dogs and,
00:40:21and,
00:40:22and butch will put dogs up,
00:40:23uh,
00:40:24you know,
00:40:25on the outside 20,
00:40:2625 feet.
00:40:27Um,
00:40:28right.
00:40:29I,
00:40:30I,
00:40:31I'm assuming the only advantage Zoe that I could see would be that,
00:40:33you know,
00:40:34you're not shipping,
00:40:35but we have such a limited amount of.
00:40:38Currently,
00:40:39and that's part of my plan going forward is to add more and more,
00:40:42um,
00:40:43saws.
00:40:44Um,
00:40:45but the only real advantage is,
00:40:47is that you're not getting your,
00:40:49if you're stable at Keeneland or Churchill,
00:40:51you're not getting in a van that morning and shipping down.
00:40:53Um,
00:40:54that's,
00:40:55that's truly the only real advantage because you're not working over the
00:40:58turf course.
00:40:59They're not going to the rail and,
00:41:00and,
00:41:01you know,
00:41:02getting a good run.
00:41:03So,
00:41:04um,
00:41:05that would be it.
00:41:06Well,
00:41:07Ted,
00:41:08some of the old timers will tell you that today's horses are over trained
00:41:10anyway.
00:41:11So maybe that's part of Mike maker's,
00:41:13uh,
00:41:14secret there at Kentucky downs.
00:41:15Yeah.
00:41:16Well,
00:41:17and,
00:41:18and truly,
00:41:19you know,
00:41:20because we have such a limited amount of space,
00:41:21um,
00:41:22you know,
00:41:23a guy like Mike might have,
00:41:24you know,
00:41:25six or eight stalls,
00:41:26but he's going to run 40.
00:41:29So,
00:41:30you know,
00:41:31I'm sure what he's doing is just running,
00:41:33shipping back and forth and,
00:41:35and,
00:41:36you know,
00:41:37using it as our,
00:41:38as a revolving door.
00:41:39Yeah.
00:41:40Ted,
00:41:41we've talked an awful lot about the purses as well.
00:41:42We should,
00:41:43but I want to switch the gears in the other side of the coin.
00:41:46Uh,
00:41:47you can make an argument that Kentucky downs is the best betting meat of
00:41:51any in the country.
00:41:52I mean,
00:41:53I know it's,
00:41:54it's not samples to oranges when you compare it to Saratoga,
00:41:56some other places,
00:41:57but you've got huge purses,
00:41:58you've got huge fields and you've got a reasonable takeout.
00:42:02How has that all reflected in the business for the other side of the
00:42:05business?
00:42:06Is handle been going up year after year?
00:42:08And you know,
00:42:09what can you achieve in that area?
00:42:10As far as the purses,
00:42:13um,
00:42:14or I'm sorry,
00:42:15the handle goes,
00:42:16the handle has been growing every scene.
00:42:19I've been here 10 years now and every year we've gone up and handle it's
00:42:23been,
00:42:24you know,
00:42:25uh,
00:42:26a great,
00:42:27uh,
00:42:28stair step every year.
00:42:29Um,
00:42:30last year we did $84 million in seven race days.
00:42:37Um,
00:42:38I'm hoping if we could,
00:42:40uh,
00:42:41reach 90 million,
00:42:43that would be outstanding.
00:42:45Um,
00:42:46but,
00:42:47uh,
00:42:48you know,
00:42:49it,
00:42:50it's,
00:42:51it's a great thing when you have a great product that people notice.
00:42:55And so I think over the years,
00:42:57uh,
00:42:58little by little,
00:42:59everybody has circled us on the calendar.
00:43:02Tried not to forget.
00:43:04Oh,
00:43:05yeah,
00:43:06that's opening day.
00:43:07You know,
00:43:08I want to handicap that card.
00:43:09Um,
00:43:10you know,
00:43:11it's a challenge for horse players.
00:43:12I think,
00:43:13you know,
00:43:14we do have a lot of,
00:43:15you know,
00:43:1611 and 12 horse fields.
00:43:17We do have,
00:43:18um,
00:43:19we run a lot of meetings.
00:43:20Um,
00:43:21what,
00:43:22one of the things that our guys have,
00:43:23have,
00:43:24um,
00:43:25told me is,
00:43:26is that the maiden races,
00:43:27even the ones that don't have,
00:43:28um,
00:43:29you know,
00:43:30they're,
00:43:31they're all first years.
00:43:32Um,
00:43:33those races will,
00:43:34will handle more than a nine horse or a 10 horse claiming race,
00:43:40you know,
00:43:41a 30 claimer on the grass.
00:43:42You would think that would be something that everybody wants to sink their teeth into.
00:43:46But what we have found is,
00:43:48is that the,
00:43:49the,
00:43:50the,
00:43:51the first years,
00:43:52um,
00:43:53are not as competitive as,
00:43:54um,
00:43:55the first years.
00:43:56So,
00:43:57um,
00:43:58you know,
00:43:59that plus,
00:44:00um,
00:44:01you know,
00:44:02our stakes are strong and,
00:44:03but people enter.
00:44:04And the biggest complaint I get to be honest with you is I can't get in.
00:44:06So,
00:44:07you know,
00:44:08it's a,
00:44:09it's a good problem to have,
00:44:10but,
00:44:11you know,
00:44:12I wish,
00:44:13um,
00:44:14I wish we had more days.
00:44:15I wish we could spread it out,
00:44:17but you know,
00:44:18we're locked into a gap.
00:44:19And so, you know, we have our seven days.
00:44:24You know, when I got here, it was five
00:44:26and we were able to magically create another lane.
00:44:29And so now we're able to run seven days.
00:44:33I don't have any more space to create another lane.
00:44:37So, you know, it is what it is, I guess.
00:44:42One thing you've been cognizant on is post times
00:44:46because at the beginning of your meet,
00:44:47you're going up against Del Mar and Saratoga.
00:44:50And I know several people that have been avoiding stakes
00:44:53at both places to come and run at Kentucky Downs.
00:44:56But one thing that you've been very good at
00:44:59is making sure you don't run on top of each other.
00:45:01And I'm not just talking about a minute or two,
00:45:03there's a sizable gap.
00:45:05Do you have like one person that plans this all out?
00:45:10For a long time, it was me.
00:45:13And so it's, I got to, we hired a few years ago,
00:45:20we hired Ken Kirchner who used to work
00:45:22for the Breeders' Cup and he did their post times.
00:45:26He did their betting menus.
00:45:30So Ken joined a laundry list of all-stars
00:45:37that have come on our team.
00:45:39It's just truly amazing.
00:45:40But yes, that is a cognizant thing.
00:45:45Zoe, that we like to do is to try and stay
00:45:49at least 10 to 15 minutes off of Saratoga.
00:45:53And we do our best to try and stay off of Del Mar.
00:45:58It gets a little tough late in the day.
00:46:04We're ending, Saratoga's ending and Del Mar's starting.
00:46:08And so we're always trying to massage that.
00:46:13But quite honestly, if you're paying attention,
00:46:16and it's amazing to me that some general managers
00:46:19don't do this, but if you're paying attention
00:46:22to what all the players around the country are looking at,
00:46:27it's not that difficult to throw up
00:46:29an extra five minutes on the board.
00:46:33You, instead of doing the dog racing,
00:46:38circle the wagons like some tracks do
00:46:42for six or seven minutes,
00:46:43I find that to be incredibly annoying.
00:46:46I'd rather just put up the right time and go with it
00:46:50and stay off of those other two that's in your competition.
00:46:58Well, Ted, the meet is right around the corner.
00:47:00I know everybody's excited.
00:47:02I know our team is all excited.
00:47:04I've been there a couple of times.
00:47:05It is an absolutely great place.
00:47:07And like I think you said earlier, true story.
00:47:10If you're a racing fan, this is bucket list stuff here
00:47:13to visit Kentucky Downs and enjoy the great racing
00:47:17that they have there.
00:47:18So thanks so much for joining us, Ted,
00:47:20as the Green Group Guest of the Week
00:47:21and have a great meet.
00:47:23Thanks, thanks.
00:47:24I hope I see all of you at the track this year.
00:47:27Hope so.
00:47:29And as the Green Group Guest of the Week,
00:47:30Kentucky Downs' Ted Nicholson
00:47:32will receive a free one hour tax consultation
00:47:35with Lynn Green et al at the Green Group.
00:47:38For more information on what the Green Group can do for you,
00:47:41even if you're not in the thoroughbred industry,
00:47:43you just happen to be clicking on this,
00:47:45you found it online, you can go to www.greenco.com.
00:47:52When it comes to the horse industry,
00:47:53tax laws are complicated and unique.
00:47:56That is why most people overpay on their taxes.
00:47:59Why not get a second opinion
00:48:00from the top rated accounting and tax firm
00:48:02in the thoroughbred industry?
00:48:04With over 800 clients in the horse business alone,
00:48:07the Green Group has the expertise to save you taxes.
00:48:10There is a reason the most successful owners, breeders,
00:48:13trainers, vets, and horsemen use the Green Group
00:48:16as their tax advisors.
00:48:17We save you taxes.
00:48:19Over the past 40 years, the Green Group founder,
00:48:22Lynn Green, has owned and bred some of the best racehorses
00:48:25in the history of the sport.
00:48:27His DJ stable competes at the highest level
00:48:29and has received the game's most prestigious honors.
00:48:32Lynn Green's in-depth, hands-on industry knowledge
00:48:35combined with current edge tax saving strategies
00:48:38produces positive tax saving results for clients.
00:48:41Take advantage of this special offer.
00:48:43The Green Group will give you a complimentary
00:48:45and confidential review of your tax return.
00:48:49Contact us at 732-634-5100
00:48:53or visit our website at www.greenco.com.
00:49:00♪♪♪
00:49:23♪♪♪
00:49:30The TDN Writer's Room is brought to you
00:49:32by Stone Street Bread and Rays.
00:49:34Stone Street will offer 14 horses in book one.
00:49:38Wow, that's a lot.
00:49:39We told you about a couple of them last week,
00:49:41but who else do they have on offer?
00:49:43Let's take a look at the next to last hit
00:49:46through the ring on day one,
00:49:48the affiliate by Quality Road out of Rachel's Valentina,
00:49:51who was, of course, the grade one winning daughter
00:49:55of Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexander.
00:49:58On day two, we'll see hit 319,
00:50:01the full sister to the multiple grade one winner Cyberknife.
00:50:04She's by Gunrunner out of the multiple stakes winning mare,
00:50:07Awesome Flower, and she is beautiful.
00:50:11Later that day, check out hit number 347,
00:50:14a Hubba Hubba good-looking colt by Carlin
00:50:17out of the multiple grade one stakes winner, Kevorting,
00:50:21who is a full sister to multiple grade one winner, Clariere.
00:50:25That's some beautiful speed right there.
00:50:28So obviously, not just the Travers on the card
00:50:31at Saratoga on Saturday.
00:50:32There are four grade one races,
00:50:34and why don't we go through those fairly quickly?
00:50:36Of course, we also want to talk about the Pat O'Brien
00:50:39featuring Randy Moss's very favorite horse,
00:50:41St. Augustine.
00:50:44So, okay.
00:50:45The ninth race is the Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer,
00:50:49six-horse field, definitely a race that's been,
00:50:52I'm sure got hurt by Kentucky Downs.
00:50:54I'm sure there's three or four other horses
00:50:56that might've gone in this race,
00:50:58if not for the chance to run
00:51:00for a much bigger purse at Kentucky Downs.
00:51:03This looks like Appleby versus Appleby,
00:51:05measured time versus Silver Knot,
00:51:08and both of them have a little bit of early speed.
00:51:11It'll be interesting to see how William Buick
00:51:13and Flavien Pratt figure the things out.
00:51:16I can't go against measured time.
00:51:17He won the Manhattan over Nations Pride,
00:51:19came back to win the Arlington Million.
00:51:21It's going to be an Appleby exacto.
00:51:23Oh, thanks.
00:51:26Oh.
00:51:27Yep.
00:51:29He'll be on top.
00:51:30Pratt, he can make his own trip.
00:51:32Yeah.
00:51:33It's, you know, look,
00:51:36how often do you see Charlie Appleby horses
00:51:38come to the United States?
00:51:39Here's two of them in a six-horse field,
00:51:41and they look like the speed.
00:51:42They look like the dominant speed in the race.
00:51:45You know, essentially Europeans,
00:51:47although Silver Knot's run nine of his last 10 starts
00:51:49in the United States, they're very hard to separate.
00:51:51They're hard to separate on numbers.
00:51:53Measured time wasn't that quick from the gate
00:51:56in his last race, but then he, you know,
00:51:58roared up on the outside to take the lead.
00:52:00Then he was kind of throttled back a little bit.
00:52:02I find it very difficult to separate these two,
00:52:04but since measured time is a slightly higher price
00:52:07than Silver Knot, I'll take measured time.
00:52:09But Silver Knot, real quick,
00:52:12his last four furlongs in the Bowling Green,
00:52:1411.57, 11.57, 11.37, and 11.64.
00:52:21How are you going to make up ground
00:52:22on a horse that finishes like that?
00:52:24Tough race.
00:52:26Yeah, we move on now to the Ballerina Race 10.
00:52:29I am going to pick,
00:52:30I know I'm going to get the pronunciation.
00:52:33Somebody correct me, Skyla, S-C-Y-L.
00:52:37Randy, you got the word on how they pronounce that horse?
00:52:41It's Skyla, I believe.
00:52:42Yeah, I think you're right.
00:52:44She's actually a full sister to Batten Down,
00:52:46who will be later on in the Travers.
00:52:47She's a horse that I'm expecting will improve
00:52:50off a really nice second place finish
00:52:52in the Clemenhurst behind at Dare Manor.
00:52:55Right at this point in her career,
00:52:56she's probably not quite fast enough
00:52:58to beat some of the other horses in here,
00:53:00but this is a Mott horse.
00:53:02It's a four-year-old.
00:53:03That's right when the Mott horses
00:53:04are going to start hitting their sweet spot
00:53:05and should improve.
00:53:07She improved quite a bit in her last start
00:53:09to finish second there, won the Florida League before that.
00:53:12And I'm hoping if she can step it up
00:53:14another three or four lengths
00:53:15and get into the winner's circle.
00:53:18Well, you say Skyla, I say Scylla.
00:53:20It just makes me always think of Scylla Black.
00:53:23I like her, but I think it's going to be
00:53:25a chalky first couple of stakes.
00:53:27I like Vava in that spot, guys.
00:53:31Yeah, it's very difficult on paper, you know,
00:53:35to pick against Vava.
00:53:37She's even money on the program line.
00:53:39So, you know, I mean, there's picking
00:53:41and then there's betting.
00:53:42You know, I don't know if you want to bet on Vava necessarily
00:53:44and even money, certainly not straight.
00:53:47Positano's Sunset comes off a big second
00:53:49behind her.
00:53:50Society every now and then,
00:53:52mainly when she's in against inferior competition,
00:53:55you know, runs these gigantic races.
00:53:58And Skyla, Scylla, however you want to say her name,
00:54:02obviously has a lot of good form too,
00:54:04but Vava's going to be tough to beat.
00:54:06All right, we move on now to the four-go.
00:54:08This is probably the toughest race to handicap
00:54:11of all the races on the card.
00:54:13Very evenly matched.
00:54:14I'm going to go for Mulliken.
00:54:16This is a horse, again, that is on the improve.
00:54:18And I think that this horse, after running, excuse me,
00:54:21after winning the John A. Nehru is ready
00:54:23to take that next step up.
00:54:26And we don't have, XBTV doesn't have Keeneland Works
00:54:29this time of year, which is a shame
00:54:30because I'd love to see the August 17th workout
00:54:34at Keeneland for this Philly, excuse me,
00:54:36this Colt 47-1 breezing bullet workout.
00:54:39But you shouldn't, should be able to get six or seven to one
00:54:44on whoever you like in this race.
00:54:45It's that wide open.
00:54:48Yeah, it is a terrific betting race.
00:54:50The grade one four-go.
00:54:52I like a couple of prices in here.
00:54:54Full screen, Mark Cassie, Dylan Davis.
00:54:57Dylan riding lights out right now.
00:54:58He comes out of some good races.
00:55:01He was second to Blazing Sevens just three starts ago.
00:55:04Yes, he's stepping into greater stakes action.
00:55:06He's 20 to one on the morning line.
00:55:09I agree with you that Milliken is probably the horse
00:55:12to beat for Rudy Brissett.
00:55:14But how about Ankor for Phil Bauer?
00:55:17Phil is winning at 45% and he continues to win.
00:55:21Many thanks to him for coming on this last week.
00:55:23Do you know what Ankor is?
00:55:24I did a bit of rabbit holing
00:55:26because I figured that maybe I could beat Randy to this one.
00:55:30Ankor is an archeological site in Southeast Asia.
00:55:35It's about 400 square kilometers
00:55:39and it's probably one of the best archeological sites
00:55:43you'll ever want to see.
00:55:44And I let Ankor on top at a price
00:55:46who's also been training incredibly well.
00:55:50Is that Ankor Wat?
00:55:52I've heard of Ankor Wat.
00:55:54That's the whole archeological site is called Ankor
00:55:58and then Ankor Wat is in there
00:56:00and a couple of other very important places
00:56:03that I can't remember.
00:56:04But that was as far as I got.
00:56:06Okay, I'm gonna take Gun Pilot.
00:56:08I don't like the inside post position
00:56:09at seven eighths of a mile.
00:56:10I don't particularly like his last race
00:56:13at Saratoga in the true north,
00:56:15but he was bumped around a little bit.
00:56:17Maybe that was an excuse.
00:56:19His two previous races I thought were really strong.
00:56:22I don't have a really huge opinion on this race.
00:56:24It's other than out of all the big stakes run on Saturday,
00:56:29it's probably, I think the most disappointing field.
00:56:32It's not really a grade one level sprint this year
00:56:36like we've seen from the Forgo in the past.
00:56:40Randy, I gotta tell you, you gotta up your game, pal.
00:56:42With that stuff that Zoe just gave us about Ankor,
00:56:45maybe maybe she's the rabbit hole queen.
00:56:48We'll see.
00:56:49I should have looked up a little more on Cagliostro
00:56:52or Mulligan or whatever here.
00:56:55I know.
00:56:56You can do that next week.
00:56:57My fault.
00:56:58The race, the last race before the Traverse
00:57:00is the Alan Jerkins Memorial.
00:57:01We're recording this on Tuesday.
00:57:03And as of Tuesday, trainer Derek Ryan has not decided
00:57:07whether Bukomdano is gonna run in this race.
00:57:09Bukomdano, my favorite horse, is gonna run in this race
00:57:13or if he's gonna go to Charlestown the night before.
00:57:16Now remember, this horse is a gelding,
00:57:18so it doesn't matter to him if he wins a grade one or not.
00:57:21The Charlestown race is probably gonna be a lot easier field
00:57:24than this one.
00:57:25So if I'm managing this horse, I send him to Charlestown.
00:57:28But nonetheless, I'll pick him if he runs on the moon
00:57:31because that's just the way I feel about this horse.
00:57:34Now the forego might not be a true grade one stakes.
00:57:39The Alan Jerkins, if you could say grade one plus,
00:57:42that's what this one would be.
00:57:44And I did go down a rabbit hole on this particular horse.
00:57:48World record refers to a performance
00:57:51that's very, very, very strong.
00:57:54Okay, world record.
00:57:56And there is a book called Guinness,
00:57:58the Guinness book of world records
00:58:01that pertains to this horse's name, okay?
00:58:04Is that a rabbit hole?
00:58:05No, it's not a rabbit hole.
00:58:07I loved his last race.
00:58:11I think it was even better than the one-on-one
00:58:13buyer speed figure would give it credit for.
00:58:18The runner up in there,
00:58:19who he's gonna be competing against here as well,
00:58:22a horse called Jefferson Street, good dolphin,
00:58:25was coming off a huge win at Churchill Lounge
00:58:27in his most recent race.
00:58:28And he separated from the field
00:58:30and did sort of a breakaway to try to catch world record.
00:58:32And they were both, I mean, way ahead,
00:58:35way ahead of the rest of the competition.
00:58:37And world record just kept on running.
00:58:39And here's a situation where I don't mind
00:58:41the inside post position because he's got speed,
00:58:44he'll control the pace.
00:58:45And if he runs his last race back again, I think he'll win.
00:58:48And better yet, he's eight to one in the program.
00:58:51This race goes through Pratt.
00:58:53And we're gonna find out exactly how good of a handicap
00:58:56are Pratt and his agent, Brad Pegg-Romar.
00:58:59Because Pratt was the rider of world record
00:59:02in his last start.
00:59:03He was the rider of, he picks domestic product.
00:59:06That's where I'm gonna land.
00:59:07He just took down the Dwyer.
00:59:09He was also the rider of Prince of Monaco and Timberlake.
00:59:12So he had probably one of the top four choices
00:59:16anyway to go and he sticks on domestic product.
00:59:19Big black beauty, he's a beautiful looking horse.
00:59:22So that is where I land and we'll see
00:59:24just how good a handicapper he is.
00:59:26And strangely, none of us go for Prince of Monaco
00:59:29who was completely wiped out
00:59:31at the start of the Woody Stevens
00:59:32and still finishes to length behind Bookham Dano.
00:59:35Right?
00:59:36Interesting, it's a good race, really good.
00:59:38So out on the West Coast, the feature on Saturday
00:59:40at Del Mar is the Pet O'Brien.
00:59:43And we're doing this on Tuesday.
00:59:45So if we talk about horses that are,
00:59:47we think are gonna run and they're not, that's why.
00:59:49We do this before the entries came out.
00:59:52But Randy, you're the Senior Buscador guy.
00:59:54He's gotta take on the Chosen Vron in here.
00:59:56Seven furlongs, I don't think that's long enough
00:59:59for this horse.
00:59:59I know it's getting him ready for the Breeders' Cup
01:00:01and probably the Pacific Classic,
01:00:03but I don't like him at the distance.
01:00:05So without even, I have no idea
01:00:07who else is gonna run in there.
01:00:08But if it just, if it boils down to Senior Buscador
01:00:11or the Chosen Vron, I'll go for the Chosen Vron.
01:00:14Yeah, I mean, some people are gonna look at the numbers
01:00:16and they're gonna say, okay, Senior Buscador
01:00:19is a horse who can beat the Chosen Vron.
01:00:21He's sprinted before, he's done okay.
01:00:23I don't think this is a horse you can bet on
01:00:25in this particular race.
01:00:26A, he has, he didn't bounce back quite as quickly
01:00:31from his overseas adventures this spring
01:00:34as they had originally hoped.
01:00:36And B, this is just strictly a race for fitness
01:00:41to propel him forward in order to make
01:00:44the Breeders' Cup Classic with one more good distance race
01:00:48in between.
01:00:49They didn't run in this race because,
01:00:51hey, we can win the seven, yet they'd like to win it.
01:00:54They think he maybe can win it,
01:00:56but this is a means to an end.
01:00:59And this is the kind of race that you don't wanna be betting
01:01:03on a horse like Senior Buscador, in my opinion.
01:01:05He'll be way back early, probably rally
01:01:08to finish a solid third, which would be exactly
01:01:10what they'd be looking for.
01:01:12Yeah, an absolute starting point for Senior Buscador.
01:01:15I have Chosen Vron, Senior Buscador, Happy Jack,
01:01:20Big City Lights, and Raging Torrent.
01:01:21Now, Big City Lights, poor Big City Lights
01:01:23has never beat the Chosen Vron.
01:01:25He's up against him again.
01:01:26And this will be the Chosen Vron's prep.
01:01:29Unlike last year where he won what the Bing Crosby
01:01:32and then skipped and ran in the Breeders' Cup.
01:01:34This is gonna be his race in between.
01:01:36So yeah, it's his race to win.
01:01:38Now the rabbit hole for this horse, Bill,
01:01:40you remember Senior, the name Senior Buscador, right?
01:01:43You remember where it comes from?
01:01:44It's the Prospector.
01:01:45Mr. Prospector.
01:01:46Oh, that's right, yes.
01:01:48I remember your rabbit hole.
01:01:49That was good.
01:01:50That was good.
01:01:51Very good.
01:01:52The TD and Riders Room also brought to you as always
01:01:54by the PHBA, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.
01:01:58We've been talking for weeks about the Pennsylvania Day
01:02:00at the races.
01:02:01Well, it's here, Monday, August 26th,
01:02:05Park Racing, $1 million in purses all day
01:02:09just for Pennsylvania breads.
01:02:11That includes four $100,000 Pennsylvania bread steaks races.
01:02:16Post-time kickoff, 1240 p.m., don't miss it.
01:02:20And for more information on that lucrative
01:02:23Pennsylvania bread program, you can go to pabread.com
01:02:26or you can just pick up the phone.
01:02:28Well, you don't pick up phones anymore.
01:02:29You just, you pick up your mobile phone
01:02:32and you give them a call at 610-444-1050.
01:02:37You don't pick up the phone
01:02:38because you always have it in your hand nowadays, right?
01:02:40You never set it down.
01:02:43The PA Horse Breeders Association presents
01:02:46the new and improved Pennsylvania Stallion Series.
01:02:49Six $100,000 steaks for PA-sired PA breads and parks.
01:02:54Two six-furlong contests on PA Derby Day.
01:02:57The two-year-olds then go seven-furlongs on December 30th.
01:03:01The last two races are in August 2025 for three-year-olds.
01:03:04Then 50,000 in breeder bonuses
01:03:06go to the top three horses in the series.
01:03:09For more, go to pabread.com.
01:03:13Well, what we learned during the week,
01:03:15not a big surprise that once again,
01:03:17they're having trouble with Rick Strike
01:03:18trying to get this horse back to the races.
01:03:21It looks like they're finally gonna pull the plug
01:03:23on this whole project.
01:03:24If Bill Mott can't get him right,
01:03:26I don't know that there's a trainer alive that could.
01:03:29You know, he is what he is.
01:03:31I'd like to see him go out on top with a victory,
01:03:34but that apparently isn't going to happen.
01:03:36And, you know, now they'll find a place
01:03:38for him to stand as a sire.
01:03:40Randy, I remember before when we were talking about him,
01:03:42you predicted he will wind up in Japan.
01:03:45Yeah, I mean, when you have a horse like Rick Strike,
01:03:47I mean, historically, the Japanese seem to value
01:03:51Kentucky Derby winners even more than American breeders do,
01:03:55especially those Kentucky Derby winners
01:03:57that are kind of regarded as maybe sort of flukish
01:04:01a little bit, let's say.
01:04:03Mind that bird, if he wasn't a yelling,
01:04:05would have been a perfect stallion to go stand in Japan.
01:04:07So I think my prediction is that
01:04:10that's probably what you're gonna see.
01:04:12Look, I think it's admirable
01:04:14that they tried to bring Rick Strike back
01:04:16and put him into training.
01:04:17We talk up all the time
01:04:19about how horses are prematurely retired
01:04:21and how the breeding industry's the tail wagging the dog.
01:04:25So they gave it a shot.
01:04:26It's not gonna work out.
01:04:27He couldn't stay sound enough.
01:04:29And we'll see where he winds up at stud.
01:04:31That's my prediction though, Japan.
01:04:33I've got one for you.
01:04:35He's in New York right now.
01:04:37I think he'd be perfect for New York breeders.
01:04:39If I'm a New York breeder with a farm in New York,
01:04:42I am hightailing it over to Bill Mott's barn
01:04:45and getting a good look at this big, good looking horse
01:04:48because he does stand over a lot of ground
01:04:50and he couldn't look any better than he looks right now.
01:04:53So I think he should stand in New York.
01:04:56I just don't have a farm.
01:05:01So the big race of the weekend was the Alabama,
01:05:04the contest to figure out who's the second best filly around
01:05:07with no torpedo Anna in there.
01:05:10And boy, did that change the complexion of the race.
01:05:11If she had gone in there,
01:05:12you probably would have had four horses.
01:05:13She'd be one to five.
01:05:14And we had to, you know, not a scintillating field,
01:05:17but a very good betting race.
01:05:19And really one of the more exciting races of the meet,
01:05:22power squeeze got the bob of the head over candy.
01:05:25And I mean, they were going this, this, this, this, this,
01:05:28right down to the wire.
01:05:29And I don't know the fellow that well, Jorge Delgado,
01:05:32but you have to feel good for him getting this big win.
01:05:35As of course, he was a trainer of New York Thunder
01:05:37last year who broke down and had to be euthanized
01:05:40in the Allen Jerkin stakes.
01:05:42So I'm sure he's very happy to get back
01:05:44to the winner circle in Saratoga.
01:05:46His first grade one win as well.
01:05:49His very first grade one win.
01:05:50And I have to say that, you know,
01:05:52Chancellor's went to the lead for trainer, Mark Glatt,
01:05:55shipped in with Frankie DeTore,
01:05:57honest fractions, 23, 47, 111 and change.
01:06:01There was a little bumping at the head of the stretch.
01:06:03I think Miss Justify maybe took the worst of it,
01:06:06knocked her off of stride, but I didn't see the head on,
01:06:10but I saw enough from the pan.
01:06:12I firmly believe if Candide had got her head down,
01:06:16she's coming down because she drifted all the way
01:06:19across the track on the left-handed urging.
01:06:23And it's almost like herding.
01:06:24I think she probably cost the winner five or six lengths,
01:06:28just pushing her out all the way down the lane.
01:06:30I couldn't find the head on.
01:06:31I tried to find it this morning, but yeah, good run.
01:06:35She was the widest of all, power squeeze.
01:06:37Candide was wide, power squeeze went around her.
01:06:40She got her head down in time,
01:06:41but I think if it had been reversed,
01:06:44the winner would be coming down, Candide.
01:06:47Although these are New York stewards.
01:06:49Yeah, I know, right?
01:06:50Yeah, I would say that.
01:06:51I mean, if there are any stewards
01:06:53that are more unpredictable than Churchill Downs stewards,
01:06:55it would be the New York Racing Association stewards
01:06:58or the stewards in New York.
01:07:01I don't want to say they're Saratoga stewards in New York
01:07:03because they're state stewards as well.
01:07:06Only one works for Naira.
01:07:08There you go.
01:07:09I've made that mistake before.
01:07:11Buyer speed figure, Alabama, 90.
01:07:16Last quarter, 26.71.
01:07:19It was an exciting duel back and forth,
01:07:22but again, it's one of these optical illusions.
01:07:24It was a competitive battle that was cool to watch,
01:07:27but neither one of them were running very fast
01:07:29and they were drawing away from the horses behind them.
01:07:33So even though I picked Torpedo Anna in the Travers,
01:07:38this is the kind of race that would sort of make you think
01:07:42that the horses that Torpedo Anna has been running against
01:07:45are just, you know, not all that sensational.
01:07:50Right.
01:07:51But yeah, I thought it was kind of a weak,
01:07:52definitely a weak Alabama.
01:07:55The feature race at Del Mar last weekend
01:07:57was the Del Mar Oaks.
01:07:59I think Zoe mentioned,
01:08:00I love good names for horses and cute names.
01:08:04Ice Scream, You Scream, trained by Phil D'Amato.
01:08:06It was a very nice horse.
01:08:07She's four for four lifetime.
01:08:09And so I think you mentioned something about
01:08:11when she was sold at some point in her career,
01:08:13and I forget what the price was,
01:08:15but the first time she went on the auction block
01:08:18was at Keeneland November in 2021,
01:08:21and she RNA'd for $9,000.
01:08:25Now she's a grade one winner.
01:08:27So that just goes to show you
01:08:28that the picking horses out at the sales
01:08:31is really an exact science.
01:08:34And a lot of people missed out on her.
01:08:36I would have had loved to have gotten her from,
01:08:38I would have paid 10 for her.
01:08:39How about that?
01:08:41You could have got her for 145 at OBS April,
01:08:44and then she was offered up again
01:08:45at the Fasig Digital Sale for 330.
01:08:48So little Red Feather still own a piece of her.
01:08:51She's a perfect four for four,
01:08:53a daughter of Twirling Canyon.
01:08:54She got a great ride by Hector Berrios
01:08:56because she was on the lead.
01:08:58Bumby Rispoli aboard the favorite Whiskey Decision,
01:09:01I think, made an early move at the half mile pole
01:09:04and took off like a scolded cat.
01:09:06Hector just sat there, went to the outside,
01:09:09and she finished on the wrong lead,
01:09:11but hey, who cares?
01:09:12It's a grade one race.
01:09:13And she's now four for four, unbeaten.
01:09:16Yeah.
01:09:16Fun.
01:09:17Everything that Zoe said, I agree with.
01:09:19Solid effort.
01:09:20And it's a horse that's going to be fun
01:09:22to watch going forward.
01:09:23Yeah.
01:09:25It is time for the XBTV Work of the Week,
01:09:27and who else could we choose this week
01:09:30other than Thorpedo Anna?
01:09:32Now, we've talked a lot about her already.
01:09:34This is her working a sharp five furlongs
01:09:36in Saratoga on Saturday in 59.81.
01:09:40You'll see here on the outside of her workmate,
01:09:42Elko County, that is the ageless Danny Ramsey
01:09:46in the saddle, 75 years young with a double handful there,
01:09:51absolutely pulling him out of the saddle.
01:09:54After the work, Kenny McPeak told the TDN Tim Wilkin
01:09:57that she is hitting on all cylinders
01:10:00and that her exercise rider, Danny Ramsey,
01:10:03thinks she's better than ever.
01:10:04She'll take on the boys in this Saturday's.
01:10:07Travis Stakes, make sure you get your pink on for Saturday.
01:10:10We'll be right back after this message from XBTV.
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01:11:04West Point Thoroughbreds,
01:11:06the gold standard in racing partnerships.
01:11:08Visit westpointtb.com.
01:11:12The TDN Writers Room is also
01:11:14The TDN Writers Room is also
01:11:17brought to you by West Point Thoroughbreds.
01:11:19Now West Point added five yearlings
01:11:21between the Fasig-Tipton Select
01:11:23and New York Red sales at Saratoga
01:11:25and will also be zeroing in on the Keeneland September sale.
01:11:30Next week, Vava was a Keeneland September acquisition
01:11:34in 2021 and she'll be in action on Travers Day
01:11:37at Saratoga on Saturday in the grade one ballerina handicap,
01:11:41looking to cement her status
01:11:43as the leader in the Philly and Mare sprint division.
01:11:47And she'll be my top pick in there as well, guys.
01:11:49West Point will also, don't forget,
01:11:52have don't look back at all
01:11:54in Friday's Smart and Fancy Stakes Saratoga,
01:11:56bidding for her fourth stakes,
01:11:59fourth straight stakes triumph.
01:12:03That was a mouthful.
01:12:04To learn more, visit westpointtb.com.
01:12:06That's a wrap on this week's edition
01:12:08of the Thoroughbred Daily News Writers Room Podcast,
01:12:10brought to you by Keeneland.
01:12:12I wanna thank my partners, Randy Moss and Zoe Cabin.
01:12:15I wanna thank our Green Group guest of the week,
01:12:17Ted Nicholson, and our behind the scenes folks
01:12:20that do the production, Katie Petruniak,
01:12:22Anthony LaRocca, and Aliyah LaRocca.
01:12:25Randy, got any final thoughts for us?
01:12:27Yeah, Lucy back here told me that she agrees with Zoe.
01:12:31It's Scylla and not Skilla.
01:12:34And remember to wear pink on Saturday
01:12:36if you're a Torpedo Anna fan.
01:12:39You can wear your pink dress in private, Bill.
01:12:41I think I'll pass Zoe, thank you.
01:12:45Send pics.
01:12:46We promise we won't post them.
01:12:49No, it'll never see the light of day.
01:12:51Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:12:53I think Bill has a good set of pins on him.
01:12:55He's probably got a good set of legs.
01:12:57He's probably got a good set of legs.
01:12:58He's probably got a good set of legs.
01:13:00He's probably got a good set of legs.
01:13:02He's probably got good set of legs.