TDN Podcast

Kiaran McLaughlin surprised much of the racing world last year when he abruptly decided to halt his massively successful training career in order to become the jockey's agent for Luis Saez. But it shouldn't surprise anyone to see the success McLaughlin has had handling Saez's book, as the 29-year-old Panamanian is poised to win his first Saratoga riding title. Wednesday, McLaughlin joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to talk about why he made his career shift, the booming results of his partnership with Saez, memories of triumphs in...

The crew of the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland celebrated a major milestone Tuesday, recording the 100th episode of the ever-growing podcast, and did so with a star-studded show shot from the New York Racing Association's television stand overlooking the majestic paddock at Saratoga. Welcoming as guests NYRA CEO David O'Rourke, America's Day at the Races analyst and Saratoga veteran Andy Serling and Eclipse champion jockey Jose Ortiz, the writers got insight on the future of New York racing both upstate and downstate, the significance of fans returning to...

Fresh off of a year-delayed induction into racing's Hall of Fame Friday, Mark Casse joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday morning for an expansive discussion on his career and the sport at large. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Casse reflected on his family's growing legacy in the sport, remembered arguably his most famous pupil Tepin (Bernstein) and assessed where the industry stands on stamping out its drug problems. Asked about the emotion of his Hall of Fame speech, Casse said,...

Trainer Doug O'Neill experienced the agony and ecstasy of racing early Saturday evening at Monmouth Park, all in the span of less than 10 minutes. First, his star 3-year-old Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) won a hard-fought stretch battle in the GI TVG.com Haskell S., which would have been the colt's first Grade I victory after a handful of near-misses. But quickly after the race, in which Hot Rod Charlie came in on Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) and the latter soon stumbled and lost rider Paco Lopez, the red inquiry sign lit...

It's been a long 16 months since the crew for the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland were all together in their actual studio to record the podcast, and they reunited at last Wednesday morning, welcoming Fox Sports and NYRA paddock analyst Maggie Wolfendale on the show to share excitement about the opening of Saratoga to fans once again and discuss how to pick winning horses based on physical appearances. "It's not even just the racetrack," Wolfendale, calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, said...

Represented by undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' First Captain (Curlin) this past weekend when the chestnut captured the GIII Dwyer S. at Belmont, West Point Thoroughbreds' CEO Terry Finley joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday morning. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Finley talked about the next steps for West Point's prized 3-year-old, the growing purchasing power of partnerships across racing, owners' responsibility in cleaning up the sport and more. "He's probably going to have to take another step forward, but at...

Sorely needed in the American horse betting landscape, fixed-odds wagering--bets where the player is guaranteed the odds displayed at the time he or she bets a horse and isn't affected by late parimutuel odds drops--is set to debut in the States later this month at Monmouth Park via Australian bookmaking company BetMakers. Wednesday morning, BetMakers' head of international operations Dallas Baker joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to discuss the logistics of implementing a fixed-odds system to try to replicate its success in Australia, how confident he is...

Fresh off a Group 2 win last week at Royal Ascot, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' founder Aron Wellman joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday morning to talk about his ownership strategies, how he talks to new partners about concerns in the industry and much more. Asked about Eclipse's ever-evolving purchasing power, Wellman, who called in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week said, "We made a point when we launched Eclipse about 10 years ago to really try to prove ourselves at being good at...

While the 2021 meet at Monmouth Park is less than three weeks old, several years worth of drama has already been packed in at the Jersey Shore staple this spring, and Wednesday morning, the track's chairman and CEO Dennis Drazin joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to discuss it all. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Drazin talked about the fraught implementation of the New Jersey Racing Commission's whip ban, the latest attempt by the Jockeys' Guild to put pressure on Monmouth...

In a crowded and often fickle stallion landscape, one North American sire at Gainesway Farm has stood out above all the rest for over a decade strong now. He may not win the general sires title every year, but no stallion in this country has produced the consistent excellence of Tapit since he went to stud in 2005, and Saturday was yet another elite-level reminder when his champion son Essential Quality streaked across the wire as his remarkable fourth GI Belmont S. winner. Wednesday morning, Gainesway's director of stallion sales...

For decades, Tom Durkin was the singular voice of Thoroughbred racing, not just from his perch in the announcer's booths at New York Racing Association tracks, but also on nationally-televised broadcasts, where he brought colorful life to so many of the iconic memories etched in racing fans' minds the world over. He has been less visible since stepping down from racecaller duties in 2014, but is still involved in the game, and he joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by JPMorgan Private Bank Wednesday morning as the Green Group Guest...

It was an eventful few days for racing in the northeast, and the TDN Writers' Room presented by JPMorgan Private Bank broke down all of the latest developments in the Monmouth jockey standoff and the raids on Parx barns by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission Wednesday morning. Plus, they welcomed Four Corners Racing's managing partner Anthony Trimarchi as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss his experiences as a new owner in the game and the economics of racing from a banking perspective. "I was exposed to racing at...