TDN Writers' Room Podcast

After a very successful mini-meet highlighted by the running of the GI Belmont Stakes, NYRA is set to return to Saratoga for the start of the 2024 meet. Guiding the ship will be NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke, who will be hoping for sunny skies, no breakdowns and record attendance and handle numbers. That's a lot to ask, but it is Saratoga, where magical things happen. To talk about the meet, O'Rourke joined this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast Presented by Keeneland. He was the Green Group Guest of...

Scott Sander had an idea for a rom-com movie floating around in his head, but wasn't quite sure what the setting should be. Then it hit him. Why not horse racing, and specifically the breeding industry? That's the story behind the story when it comes to the movie Sander is working on, "Breeders." "I thought I had what was a really good idea for a big, fun romantic comedy," said Sander, who was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week on the Thoroughbred Daily News Writers' Room Podcast presented...

Cherie DeVaux has been among the sport's hottest trainers this month, with a winning streak that included three graded stakes wins on the Pimlico card the day prior to the GI Preakness. Those wins landed DeVaux the top prize of $50,000 in the Maryland Jockey Club's $100,000 trainer bonus that was offered to horsemen for their participation in stakes races over Preakness weekend. DeVaux was no overnight sensation after going out on her own in 2018 after working for Chad Brown. She lost her first 28 races and it took...

To some trainers, the GI Preakness S. has become an afterthought. They worry about making the GI Kentucky Derby, so much to the point that the Preakness is not on their radar. The exception is Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Yes, he'd like to win the Derby more so than any other race, but the Preakness isn't far behind. He's won it eight times and will be back in Baltimore this week with Muth (Good Magic), the 8-5 morning line favorite, and Imagination (Into Mischief), who is 6-1 on the...

In a special edition of the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland, the team of Bill Finley, Zoe Cadman and Randy Moss discussed all 20 horses entered in this year's GI Kentucky Derby, focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of each one. The consensus pick was Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), the winner of the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. He was picked on top by both Cadman and Finley. "He's in great form, seems to be improving and should love the 1 1/4 miles," Finley said. "He'll need a fast...

Few jockeys have ever come so far so fast. Keith Asmussen, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, has been riding full time for less than two years, but has already snagged mounts in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks and sits in second-place in the jockey standings at Oaklawn Park. Asmussen, who will ride Just Steel (Justify) in the Derby and Lemon Muffin (Collected) in the Oaks for trainer Wayne Lukas, joined the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland this week to discuss his...

When it comes to getting horses to the GI Kentucky Derby few have done more with less. Dennis Albaugh's Albaugh Family Stable doesn't have nearly the numbers of a Mike Repole or the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables, but he keeps coming up with Derby starters. This year he has Catching Freedom (Constitution), the winner of the GII Louisiana Derby, who will be his tenth starter under the Twin Spires over the last seven years. The goal this time around is not to simply make into...

Brad Cox won four stakes races over the weekend, including the GII Louisiana Derby and the GII Fair Grounds Oaks. But such a run of success has almost come to be expected from a trainer who never seems to have a bad week. Cox will arrive at Churchill Downs with an army of stakes-caliber horses, including threats for the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Kentucky Oaks. The multiple Eclipse Award winning conditioner was our special guest on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. He was this...

He's best known as a former NFL quarterback who nearly beat Tom Brady in Super Bowl XXXVIII. But Jake Delhomme, who starred for the Carolina Panthers, is also a passionate horse owner who, along with his father Jerry and his brother Jeff, operates Set-Hut Stable LLC. The Delhomme clan focuses on Louisiana-breds and this year they have come up with one of the best ever. Touchuponastar (Star Guitar) is 11-for-14 lifetime and will run this weekend at Fair Grounds, either against open company in Saturday's $500,000 GII New Orleans Classic...

After receiving a seven-day suspension and a $1,000 fine after a horse he trained tested positive for a metabolite of Tramadol, trainer Rusty Arnold went on the offensive. While he did not argue the fact that the horse tested positive, he has said that it is grossly unfair that the HISA/HIWU continues to suspended trainers for minute amounts of drugs that aren't considered performance-enhancing. Advocating for a major change in how these infractions are dealt with, Arnold was this week's guest on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland....

Todd Fincher, a standout on the New Mexico circuit, picked the perfect time and place to pick up his first Grade I win. His stable star Senor Buscador (Mineshaft), who was overdue to collect a big win, got the job done in the GI Saudi Cup. With a purse of $20 million, it is the richest Thoroughbred race in the world. Fincher joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss his popular horse, the reasons why he likes training in New Mexico, what are the prospects...

Frank Taylor, the director of new business and development for Taylor Made, knew that there was an acute labor shortage in Kentucky, with farms unable to find reliable help. But Taylor thought he had a solution. Identify those who were struggling with substance abuse problems, put them into a recovery program and, when they are ready, teach them horsemanship skills that can make them candidates for jobs throughout the industry. Thus, Taylor created Stable Recovery, a rehabilitation program, and the Taylor Made School of Horsemanship. What he didn't know at...