Bill Finley

Will there be spectators at the September sale? The Keeneland Fall Meet? Like all of us, Bill Thomason doesn't have all the answers, but he talks about plans, protocols and contingencies for Keeneland this fall on the Writers' Room podcast.

He's currently the most successful trainer in the sport, and Chad Brown joins Joe Bianca, Bill Finley, Jon Green and Alan Carasso to talk about racing in the age of the coronavirus.

Foaled in 2009, King's Vision (Gulch--Weekend Storm by Storm Bird) began his career at Aqueduct, racing under IEAH's colors for trainer Rick Dutrow. At Finger Lakes, at age five, he finally broke his maiden. Overall, in 16 starts, King's Vision earned $20,908. King's Vision was born and raised at Lane's End Farm and is a full brother to Breeders' Cup Turf Mile winner Court Vision, who won over $3 million on the track. His dam is a full-sister to Preakness winner Summer Squall, and a half-sister to champion A.P. Indy....

It's hard to talk about anything else these days. Just a week after what we thought was the biggest story in horse racing history, the Coronavirus outbreak has overshadowed the horse doping scandal. Today, Joe Bianca (from home), along with Bill Finley and Jon Green (six feet apart in the studio) talk about how the pandemic has stopped racing in many places around the world, how others are persevering, and what will become of the Triple Crown. In this special podcast with host Joe Bianca calling in from home, we...

The Week in Review They have come at us one by one, saying they are shocked, they are disgusted, they love the animal, they love the sport and they had no idea they had been employing drug cheats. That's what we have heard from the owners who employed Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro and have spoken up in the aftermath of indictments that are not only shocking but threaten to do severe and irreparable damage to the sport. How could an owner employ someone who performed training feats that were,...

In this week's Writers' Room, presented by Keeneland, the writers talk to Jim Lawson, the CEO of Woodbine, and one of the most innovative executives in the game. Joe, Jon, Bill, and Brian talk about what Bob Baffert might do with his top 3-year-olds, the optics from the Fair Grounds last weekend after the Risen Star debacle, the Derby picture, and more.

This week's Green Group Guest of the Week on the TDN's Writers' Room Podcast, Thoroughbred Idea Foundation Executive Director Pat Cummings, implored the racing industry to learn from what has happened in Pennsylvania and to end what he sees as decades of complacency. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has submitted a budget that calls for $204 million to be diverted from the state's Race Horse Development Fund and used for a program that would provide college scholarships for Pennsylvania residents. Should the money, which comes from slot machines proceeds, be taken...

The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation was formed to cultivate and put forth independent ideas to help Thoroughbred racing. Pat Cummings, the TIF's executive director, joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast this week, where the timely discussion centered on how the racing industry can sustain itself--the subject of the group's new white paper, and a particularly timely topic given this week's news from Pennsylvania. The writers discuss the Pa. situation and review last weekend's three-year-old preps. Listen to those topics and more, on this week's Writers' Room podcast by clicking here.

Drew Mollica started his career in racing as a jockey agent, but had an epiphany at the age of 47: he was miserable. While keeping his day job, Mollica enrolled in law school, and today, is the most popular and affable lawyer on the New York Racing circuit. Mollica joins Joe Bianca, Bill Finley, Brian DiDonato and Jon Green to talk about Ahmed Zayat and other legal issues in this edition of the Writers' Room.

On this week's Writers' Room, Joe Bianca, Brian DiDonato, Bill Finley, and Jon Green discuss the upcoming hearing in Congress on the Horse Racing Integrity Act, and talk to Gulfstream's Mike Lakow about all things Pegasus. "With the new purse distribution and the purses themselves, we have full fields and the horsemen were very supportive of the changes," said Lakow, this week's Green Group Guest of the Week, of the reduction in the Pegasus purse to $3 million. "Keep in mind the horsemen were paying a half-million, or $400,000 to...

The past several years have been tough ones for the Texas racing industry, but when Sam Houston Race Park opens its 2020 meet Friday, it will mark a turning of the page for racing in the state. With the Texas government funneling $25 million into racing this year, Sam Houston's purses will more than double and management expects a healthy bump in average field size. "We're incredibly excited and optimistic about this meet," said SHRP's vice president and general manager Dwight Berube. "We're the first batter up among the Texas...

During this year's spring and fall meetings at Keeneland several jockeys willingly turned themselves into lab rats. The riders took part in an on-going initiative at the University of Kentucky (UK)'s Sports Medicine Research Institute (SMRI), where researchers believe they can pinpoint ways for a rider to maximize their potential. The study, called the Jockey and Equestrian Initiative (JEI), began as a way to learn more about concussions and concussion testing for riders. The university's work took on an entire new life after researchers met with riders at a Jockeys'...