TDN Writers' Room Podcast

The experimental rules regarding whipping that were in place during the final two months of the 2019 Woodbine meet will likely become permanent in 2020, Woodbine CEO Jim Lawson said on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast, presented by Keeneland. Starting Oct. 18 and running through the end of the meet on Dec. 15. Woodbine riders were prohibited from striking horses with an overhanded motion. The rules were considered the most restrictive in North America when it comes to whipping. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) will have...

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.

There was a time when radio host Jim Rome poked fun at horse racing, demeaning it as a sport. "It's not a sport, it is a bet," he said. Today, he is not only a fan and an owner and breeder but he has become an ambassador for horse racing, sharing his love affair with the game with his audience of 2.5 million and anyone else who will listen. Rome's transformation from critic to an advocate happened virtually over night. The credit, he told the panel on this week's TDN...

The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation was formed to cultivate and put forth independent ideas for the benefit of Thoroughbred racing. In this edition of the TDN Writers' Room podcast, TIF Executive Director Pat Cummings talks to Joe Bianca, Bill Finley, Jon Green and Alan Carasso about their new white paper on the sustainability of racing.

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 Breeders' Cup-commissioned investigation into the death of Mongolian Groom (Hightail) in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic was among the main subjects tackled this week in the TDN Writers' Room podcast, and the crew questioned whether or not the horse should have been scratched. Click here to listen.  The report revealed that examining veterinarians determined during pre-race examinations that Mongolian Groom was "stiff" and "choppy" behind, the reasons why he among 73 Breeders' Cup entrants put on a "watch list" and was one of 24 horses selected for "extra scrutiny"...