- 14 hours ago
Trainer Riley Mott joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss the steady growth of his stables in its first four years and the emergence of a top-level talent. Following Incredibolt's impressive score in the Virginia Derby, Mott talks about the progression of his stable star and the team's plans as they look toward the Kentucky Derby.
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00:00:18Welcome to another edition of the TDN Writer's Room.
00:00:21My name is Bill Finley.
00:00:21I'm a correspondent for the Thoroughbred Daily News, and I'm the co-host of the Down the
00:00:26Stretch Radio Show on Sirius XM Radio with the iconic, and I do mean iconic, Dave Johnson.
00:00:33My name is Randy Moss, a.k.a.
00:00:36Jay Randolph Moss with NBC Sports and the Buyer's Speed Figure team currently digging out from
00:00:4113.7 inches of snow here in Minnesota, which I love.
00:00:45I love extreme weather of all kinds.
00:00:48Well, then you should come here to Southern California.
00:00:51I'm Zoe Cabin with First Racing and First TV.
00:00:54The temperatures today expected to hit about 96 degrees.
00:01:00Yeah.
00:01:00Right?
00:01:01Nice.
00:01:02Wish I was there.
00:01:03Yeah.
00:01:04Well, guys, the big story in horse racing last week was, of course, the naming of Book and
00:01:09Dano as the New Jersey Bread Horse of the Year for the third straight year.
00:01:13But everybody's always read that story.
00:01:15And so we can move on to other matters that happened in horse racing.
00:01:20And go Dano.
00:01:21Yes, he continues to bring a smile to my face.
00:01:24But I think the real big story, at least off track, was here we go again with Haissa and
00:01:30Churchill Downs.
00:01:31And it's a Mexican standoff here.
00:01:34And Haissa came out this week and said, Churchill, you owe us $5.2 million.
00:01:40We want it in 10 days.
00:01:42And if we don't get it in 10 days, we are going to pull your right to simulcast out of
00:01:48state.
00:01:49Now, I don't need to go into the deep dive into the details.
00:01:54There's disputes about, you know, the different methodologies of how they've assessed the fees.
00:02:00But I don't know where this is going.
00:02:04Maybe Randy and Zoe have some additional thoughts on that.
00:02:08But if it starts March 27th, that would mean that two days at Turfway would not be able to,
00:02:16they would not be able to simulcast their signal getting out of the state of Kentucky.
00:02:20But the real thing that is hanging over the entire industry, would they possibly keep Churchill
00:02:26Downs from simulcasting the Kentucky Derby?
00:02:29I mean, that would be cataclysmic.
00:02:30You can't even imagine what a terrible thing that would be for everybody involved.
00:02:35I still got to think somehow they're going to resolve this and get this done.
00:02:41But Randy, these are two stubborn organizations.
00:02:44I don't know where this is going.
00:02:46I do think they'll find a compromise.
00:02:49But where, when, and how?
00:02:51Well, the compromise might be for Churchill Downs to pay a lesser amount, like the $2.4 million
00:02:56to sort of satisfy the HISA requirements, at least for now.
00:03:02I don't think it's an accident that their threatened cutoff of interstate simulcasting
00:03:08comes a week after the Jeff Ruby stakes at Turfway Park.
00:03:12And I would be, as I said a couple of weeks ago, I would be absolutely flabbergasted
00:03:18if it comes to the point where HISA enacts what I would call the nuclear option
00:03:25and denies Churchill Downs a chance to simulcast the Kentucky Derby.
00:03:29I don't think that's going to happen.
00:03:30Even if Churchill Downs doesn't play ball, I don't think that's going to happen.
00:03:34If it does, I think it would be a huge mistake on HISA's part.
00:03:38But yeah, I mean, a Mexican standoff, I think, is probably the right way to refer to it at this
00:03:42point.
00:03:44And when we're talking horse racing, I believe the bat that Churchill holds is bigger than anybody's.
00:03:50So we don't know what's going on under the water.
00:03:52It's like a duck swimming along with the legs going a million miles an hour under the water.
00:03:57I don't know what's going on behind closed doors.
00:03:59I'm pretty sure the powers that be at Churchill Downs know exactly what they're doing and probably looking for a
00:04:06minimal payoff.
00:04:08I don't think there's any massive reason to be incredibly concerned.
00:04:12I'm sure they have better powers than us to figure it out.
00:04:17You know, HISA obviously wants to do what's in the best interest of itself, but also what's in the best
00:04:23interest of the sport.
00:04:24Churchill Downs is all about doing what's in the best interest of the Kentucky Derby.
00:04:28So, you know, I agree that this will probably come to almost certainly come to some sort of a solution.
00:04:34It may not be the final solution, but some sort of a solution.
00:04:37So here's my thought on that.
00:04:39And I totally agree with the two of you.
00:04:41I mean, it's inconceivable.
00:04:43I mean, if they I don't want them to lose two days of simulcasting the turf way, but nobody's going
00:04:48to lose a lot of sleep over that.
00:04:50And I don't want them to lose simulcasting of the lead up to the Derby, all the big races through
00:04:55the week.
00:04:56But the the thing and I don't think it's going to happen.
00:05:00I mean, cooler heads have to prevail, though.
00:05:02Again, I don't see what the compromise is going to be.
00:05:04But I worry a little bit that HISA might just draw a line in the sand because they have said
00:05:11I mean, first of all, the language they've used.
00:05:14I mean, they've called them freeloaders.
00:05:16They've said they have not paid one cent on the money due to them in 2025.
00:05:21And they have also said that that Churchill and its affiliated tracks are the only tracks in the entire country
00:05:28that have not paid their 2025 dues.
00:05:31Zoe, does HISA look a little weak if they if they give in to Churchill on this?
00:05:36Well, yeah, but I mean, it just goes back to what I already said.
00:05:40They wield a very big bat.
00:05:42They have the Derby.
00:05:43I don't know what's going on behind closed doors, but I it will definitely, I'm sure, be resolved before that
00:05:50cutoff date on March the 26th.
00:05:53And this is the only stick that HISA has is to threaten is to threaten to cut off simulcasting.
00:05:58So it's no surprise.
00:06:00Yeah.
00:06:00At this point that they're trying to wield it the best they can.
00:06:05But again, I mean.
00:06:07Something will happen that will be good news between now and the Derby.
00:06:11Well, let's certainly hope so.
00:06:13So, Zoe, I assume we'll let you take control of this because you are our OBS expert.
00:06:20And the sales were concluded.
00:06:22The OBS March sale, the first sale of two year olds of the year was concluded last week.
00:06:26There was a lot of good news, a lot of good prices.
00:06:29And I also want to pat you on the back because I know you were part of the team that
00:06:34picked out Corniche.
00:06:36And he was the leading freshman sire among all the freshman sires that had horses go through the ring with
00:06:42his horses selling for an average price of six hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
00:06:46So since Randy and I are hardly experts in this particular field, I'll leave it to you to give us
00:06:53the story of OBS March.
00:06:55And, you know, if I'll let you pat yourself on and Marette Farrell on the back if you are inclined
00:07:02to do so for Corniche's success.
00:07:03That was actually fun because Corniche was purchased at the OBS sale, I believe in twenty one or twenty two
00:07:12for one point five million dollars by Marette Farrell for Speedway Stables.
00:07:16And I can just remember watching him walk out.
00:07:18Nick Dumeric sold him.
00:07:19He had a beautiful breeze, just this long, slinky, athletic looking horse, wound up being an undefeated two year old.
00:07:27And to see some of his progeny and the horse sold for one point three five million was actually Speedway
00:07:32bred as well.
00:07:34Out of Lee Court, a horse that we bought for Speedway many moons ago.
00:07:37In fact, the first horse they ever had.
00:07:39So to see the culmination of the Speedway breeding operation and the progeny of Corniche hit the ground running is
00:07:48great.
00:07:48And obviously they have to prove it on the racetrack.
00:07:51You know, people are always, oh, yeah, that was really good.
00:07:53Well, they've got to run.
00:07:54So we don't know until they make it to the races.
00:07:57Oh, congratulations.
00:07:59They got to run more than an eighth of a mile.
00:08:02They've got to run.
00:08:03So the proof is in the pudding.
00:08:05But that was very, very cool to see them received so well.
00:08:10And obviously, Drain the Clock, who we'll discuss a little bit later on in the show.
00:08:15But those two year olds were very well received.
00:08:18Last year, they had seven million dollar plus horses at the sale.
00:08:23This year, the first two days, we saw six.
00:08:26The sale was up seventy two million dollars and change.
00:08:30It eclipsed the gross in 2023.
00:08:36So it went way by the gross in 2023.
00:08:39I can't remember what that was.
00:08:40But last year, the gross was sixty five million.
00:08:42So we were talking about record breaking sales last year all the way through to the end of the year.
00:08:49And now we just keep going.
00:08:50I don't know how long it can sustain.
00:08:53But for everybody in the breeding industry, it's a good thing.
00:08:57Everybody's making money at this point.
00:08:59We did see stud fees go up that Randy rightly predicted last year on the heels of, you know,
00:09:07massive ups in the yearling market and the weanling market.
00:09:11So those went up and hopefully it just keeps progressing.
00:09:14But overall, a fantastic sale at OBS.
00:09:17Really exciting to see a good bunch.
00:09:20Probably the strongest group of freshman size that we've seen.
00:09:23Life is good.
00:09:25Displayed themselves well.
00:09:26There were only a couple.
00:09:27I think there were 12 originally entered in the sale and only five actually went through the sale.
00:09:32We'll see a lot more of them in OBS April.
00:09:35That does start.
00:09:36I think the brief show starts on April the 6th.
00:09:39The sale is actually the 14th to the 17th.
00:09:42Frank Fletcher led all buyers for, I don't know, two point something million.
00:09:49He bought the highest priced into Mischief, the first ever million dollar horse sold by Susan Montaigne's SBM Thoroughbred.
00:09:57So congratulations to her.
00:09:59Donato Lani, of course, was buying a lot of horses for Bob and Frank Fletcher and everybody else.
00:10:06Overall, it was a really good sale.
00:10:07Well, the Nyquist Philly topped the sale for two million for Kieran Dunn.
00:10:13He does very well with those Nyquist Philly, Stink Cavallari.
00:10:16And a big thumbs up for the sale.
00:10:18And it was a good, safe sale, which I'm very pleased to say.
00:10:22OBS came up with a lot of new implications, more testing.
00:10:28And the riders weren't at any point allowed to use a whip on a horse.
00:10:33They had to keep their hands on the rein, which I am so happy to see.
00:10:37And guess what?
00:10:38They didn't go any slower.
00:10:39They might have gone a little faster and look better.
00:10:42So big thumbs up for OBS all round.
00:10:46Well, congratulations to OBS and the team there for a big sale.
00:10:50We're going to take a break here from our sponsors, including Keeneland.
00:10:53And we come back, more discussions.
00:10:55We're going to talk about Tom Amos retiring, among other things.
00:10:58Stay with us here on the TDN Riders Room podcast.
00:11:01I do want to remind you that the TDN Riders Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
00:11:05Tickets and hospitality packages for the 2026 Breeders' Cup at Keeneland were announced this week.
00:11:11Tickets go on sale April the 21st.
00:11:14But you can browse ticket options and pricing now at breederscup.com slash tickets.
00:11:21Demand is expected to be high and fans are encouraged to sign up for additional ticket information at breederscup.com
00:11:282026.
00:11:29Breeders' Cup weekend will be held, of course, October 30th through the 31st.
00:11:34We'll be right back after this message from Keeneland.
00:11:38We do this so your granddaughter can work on a farm someday.
00:11:43So the stands will still be packed in 50 years.
00:11:47That's why we come to work every day.
00:11:50Obsess over every single detail.
00:11:55Because the story of racing is written one moment at a time.
00:12:00And the future of our industry deserves nothing less.
00:12:05Keeneland.
00:12:05Every moment matters.
00:12:08The fastest horse of the week.
00:12:10Brought to you as always by the fast sires at Windstar Farm.
00:12:12Ever heard the term Nashville hot?
00:12:15That's some pretty darn good chicken.
00:12:17But in this case, it also applies to the Windstar sire Nashville, whose first two-year-olds were definitely spicy
00:12:24at the March OBS sale last week.
00:12:27For example, how about an eighth in 9.4 seconds?
00:12:31That would be HIP 71, a filly who topped the first session at $550,000 going to William Werner.
00:12:38HIP 671, a Colt, brought to $525,000 from Vinny Viola St. Elias' stable.
00:12:45Other Nashville two-year-olds at the sale went for $335,000, $275,000, $260,000, $210,000.
00:12:53You get the message.
00:12:54Nashville is hot.
00:12:55And you can breed to them this spring for a fee of just $12,500.
00:13:01Nashville holds Keeneland's six furlong track record, 107.89.
00:13:05Our fastest horse of the week just broke the fairgrounds track record.
00:13:09You may remember the Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners Colt, Bilt, as being on the Kentucky Derby Prep Trail at the fairgrounds
00:13:17last year for trainer Wayne Catalano,
00:13:19until those pesky distance limitations got in his way.
00:13:23Well, Bilt is back as a four-year-old one-turn specialist.
00:13:27Last Friday, the fairgrounds managed to fill a non-winners-of-three-other-than allowance.
00:13:32And he did the rest, running six furlongs in 107.96, the first-ever sub-108 clocking at fairgrounds.
00:13:42The track was very fast, but that still gave Bilt a buyer's speed figure of 106, making him easily the
00:13:50fastest horse of the week.
00:13:52Bilt may not be as good as Bookum Dan-O.
00:13:54There you go, Bilt.
00:13:54Well, or Ben Tornado, or imagination, but that 106 at least puts him on the radar as being potentially among
00:14:02the best sprinters in the country.
00:14:09Welcome in now to Gainesway Guest of the Week, and it's Riley Mott.
00:14:13For a long time, he was known as the son of the Hall of Famer, Bill Mott, which, of course,
00:14:16he still is.
00:14:17But boy, is he making a name for himself right now with a very successful career and had one of
00:14:22the most important wins of that career Saturday.
00:14:24At Colonial Downs when he won the Virginia Derby with Incredible Bolt.
00:14:28Welcome, Riley, and thanks for being with us today.
00:14:31Yeah, appreciate you guys having me on.
00:14:33So my first question is a handicapper.
00:14:35You looked at Incredible Bolt in the Holy Bull.
00:14:38He got beat 25 lengths.
00:14:39Then he shows up in the Virginia Derby.
00:14:41He's a completely different horse.
00:14:42He wins by four.
00:14:44What went wrong in the Holy Bull, and what went right in the Virginia Derby?
00:14:49Well, I was asking myself that very question as they were going down the backside in the Holy Bull.
00:14:53I wanted to run away and hide and not talk to anybody for a couple of weeks.
00:14:59But no, it was very perplexing the way he ran.
00:15:03I couldn't say anything other than he just really didn't like the racetrack surface.
00:15:09He had trained extremely well leading up to that race.
00:15:13Luckily for us and for the horse, the horse came back out of the Holy Bull.
00:15:18Zero issues.
00:15:19He even probably took a step forward physically and mentally.
00:15:23He got a little bit sharper.
00:15:26You know, maybe put on a little bit of weight, filled out a bit.
00:15:29So, you know, his works and training leading into the Virginia Derby were very good.
00:15:34And, you know, he certainly ran that way.
00:15:38So, true confessions, Riley.
00:15:40When a horse runs a disappointing race on dirt, and I hear a trainer say he didn't handle the track,
00:15:45my first inclination is to take my shoe and throw it at the computer screen.
00:15:48But then I'm watching the race, and I'm watching him run a sub-12 final eighth of a mile and
00:15:54draw off.
00:15:55And I'm thinking, oh, wow, I guess Riley was right.
00:15:59That's a gigantic turnaround.
00:16:02Yeah.
00:16:02And I've been saying, you know, most good horses, whether they like the track surface or not,
00:16:08they don't get beat 25 lengths.
00:16:11So that's what was really disappointing to me.
00:16:13It was essentially a non-effort.
00:16:16You know, it was comforting in a sense that Jaime came back after the Holy Bowl
00:16:20and just said he was spinning tires the entire way, never felt like he was taking them anywhere.
00:16:26So, you know, it was very, very different than what we were seeing in the morning.
00:16:31And luckily, as I said, you know, he came out of that race training very well.
00:16:35So, yeah, just one of those things where you draw a line through it and hope we can, you know,
00:16:43run.
00:16:43We'll have to run a very improved race in the Kentucky Derby.
00:16:47That's for sure.
00:16:48So, Riley, talk about his progression from a yearling.
00:16:52Who picked him out?
00:16:53Because it seems like he was an absolute bargain right now, 75,000 from the Keeneland September sale.
00:16:59And how has he progressed as time has gone on?
00:17:03Well, the Pinoak team, they do an excellent job at the sale.
00:17:07They utilize not only horsemanship, but technology.
00:17:12There's a grading system that they utilize to go along with their sharp eyes on the ground at the sales.
00:17:22You know, Clifford Berry and Joss Seville come to mind as two of the team members who put a lot
00:17:27of work into the sales process.
00:17:31You know, so they selected an individual who they got from what it looks like a bargain price at this
00:17:36point.
00:17:37And, you know, they go to the farm at Pinoak and go through the paces in their braking process.
00:17:43And again, that team at Pinoak, their first class, they do a really good job.
00:17:50When I, as the trainer at the racetrack, receive, you know, horses from them, we just carry on and they
00:17:56just fall into line like they've been there all along.
00:17:59So, you know, it's such a team effort, you know, whether you're breeding a horse, getting a horse to the
00:18:06races, or as I said, the selection process at the sale.
00:18:09It's really not just, you know, the trainer or the jockey.
00:18:13There's so many different hands that touch the horse before they get to the starting gate.
00:18:20And, Riley, the association with Pinoak is very interesting.
00:18:25Obviously, that's an operation that's been around a long time, has had a lot of good horses.
00:18:29You won your first grade one for them with World Beater last year in the Saratoga Derby.
00:18:34But yet they send horses to many different trainers.
00:18:38Did they ever explain why did they choose you for this horse?
00:18:40And also, could you talk about what they have meant to your career?
00:18:45Well, first and foremost, they've meant they've been paramount in my career.
00:18:50You know, obviously, we're a young stable and we're just, you know, now kind of getting our feet underneath us
00:18:57and starting to, you know, improve on the quality of the stable and compete in some of those higher level
00:19:03races.
00:19:03And they have been, you know, right there from the start, one of my very first clients.
00:19:09And the relationship formed when I was working for my dad.
00:19:13The last couple of years, I was working under him as an assistant.
00:19:17It was the first time the Bernhardts had owned horses and training, and they sent a couple to my dad
00:19:24to train.
00:19:25So, we formed a bit of a relationship just through working with my dad.
00:19:30And when I struck out on my own, you know, Mr. and Mrs. Bernhardt, you know, kind of interviewed me
00:19:38at one of the sales.
00:19:40And we had a sit-down meeting, and they, you know, it felt like a very much like a job
00:19:45interview, which it was.
00:19:46And we clicked, and they liked me, and I really enjoyed their company, and they decided to send us some
00:19:53horses.
00:19:54So, it's been really fun and rewarding to have the success we've had so far for them.
00:20:00Because they've, as I said, you always remember the people that helped you get your start.
00:20:05And it's quite a poignant story, too.
00:20:08And you referenced a little bit of it after the Virginia Derby, mentioning Jim.
00:20:14They've been, Dana in particular, has been through so much.
00:20:17Jim and Dana obviously bought Pin Oak in November of 2022.
00:20:21They came up with a horse pretty close to, you know, when they bought the farm named Go Rocket Ride,
00:20:27who won some big races and then met a tragic end before the Breeders' Cup.
00:20:32That was a big blow.
00:20:34Jim passes away last November, rather unexpectedly, leaving Dana to have the farm all by herself.
00:20:40I bet that there's an emotional component as well to that victory, I'm assuming.
00:20:44A hundred percent.
00:20:46You know, it's been very emotional, as you said, for the family and the team at Pin Oak.
00:20:51And, you know, everyone that was touched by Mr. Bernhardt, you know, he had a, you know, very widespread effect
00:20:57on many people, not only in the horse industry and at the farm.
00:21:00But, you know, he was involved in so many different assets of business, and he was really a titan of
00:21:08industry.
00:21:08So, you know, his loss is felt, you know, by, you know, many, many people.
00:21:15And, you know, winning the Virginia Derby and just, you know, building on the vision that they had when they
00:21:25bought Pin Oak, it was just very, you know, fun and, you know, bittersweet and everything in between.
00:21:34So, it was an emotional winner's circle, and I think we're still riding a bit of a high, and hopefully
00:21:39that the good vibes can continue.
00:21:42Well, having met Jim and Dana on a few trips out here to Southern California, I can totally get it.
00:21:49But I think it's cool that Dana and her son, Ben, have kind of taken the reins, and it looks
00:21:55like they're going to continue on because they said that is what Jim would have liked.
00:22:00Has there been any slowing down at all, or has it kind of been business as usual, and we're going
00:22:05to kick on with Pin Oak?
00:22:06Yeah, that's, you know, unfortunately, when we had the conversation that Mr. Bernhardt had passed, the first thing they said,
00:22:14you know, we'll continue on with his vision.
00:22:17And as he said, business as usual, and that's really what it has been since he passed.
00:22:24You know, the team has been very resolute, and the horses have been running well, and the team on the
00:22:30farm has, you know, been doing a wonderful job.
00:22:34You know, they're foaling mares and training the two-year-olds out there.
00:22:37So, you know, there's a lot to look forward to, you know, in the pipeline and hopefully continued success for
00:22:45them.
00:22:45I'm sure Jim enjoyed it, too, but Dana was really the horse person between the two of them, right?
00:22:51Yeah, very much so.
00:22:52I believe there, I think it might have been Go Rocket Ride was a Christmas or birthday gift to her.
00:23:00You know, from what I understand, she, you know, grew up riding and really enjoys the horses.
00:23:06So, you know, it's been obviously very emotional stretch of the last few months for her.
00:23:14But I think the horses have been, you know, a very therapeutic thing, and I can attest to that.
00:23:21They can really get you through some tough times and, you know, just kind of do what you can, but
00:23:27have a lot to be thankful for for the horses.
00:23:30I think I read a quote from Jim when he bought Go Rocket Ride that said, I bought the horse,
00:23:37now I've literally got to buy the farm.
00:23:39And that was his quote when he bought Pinoc that I thought was hysterical.
00:23:43He was such a cool guy.
00:23:45Yeah, he was, you know, I was very intimidated by him when I had that initial job interview, you know,
00:23:54just such a successful man.
00:23:56And, you know, he put me through the ringer a little bit in the job interview.
00:24:01And but after that, when he decided that he kind of liked me, you know, you come into the barn
00:24:08and you'd have your guard down.
00:24:10And he was just a very go lucky human and just feel, you know, super fortunate to have known him
00:24:16for the time that I did.
00:24:18So, Riley, back to Incredible, you had a well, maybe a difficult decision.
00:24:22I'm not sure. Maybe you didn't see it that way.
00:24:24But this is a new race and it falls in kind of an awkward spot, seven weeks out from the
00:24:29Kentucky Derby.
00:24:31You have said you're going to not race between now and the race.
00:24:35Take us through the decision. Was it a tough one?
00:24:37And what is it about this horse that ultimately you decided that seven weeks in your mind is not going
00:24:43to be a problem?
00:24:45Well, it's certainly a different type of timeline leading into the Derby.
00:24:52I thought, you know, the timing from the Holy Bull to to the colonial race was fine.
00:24:59I thought the track surface was fine for the horse.
00:25:02And I thought, you know, perhaps the level of competition would be the right type to bring him back off
00:25:07such a poor effort.
00:25:09So all those things were certainly considered, you know, and of course, we had, you know, with these, you know,
00:25:17good horses,
00:25:17you want to take things one step at a time, but you always want to have, you know, also be
00:25:23two steps ahead of the game.
00:25:25So we were always thinking about what would happen if, you know, the horse ran well and we were trying
00:25:29to pursue the Kentucky Derby.
00:25:31So it was thrown around after he won, you know, do we come back in three weeks, you know, something
00:25:36we had talked about.
00:25:38But I think everyone's agreed and felt pretty comfortable with, you know, accepting the seven week, you know, time between
00:25:46the Derby, you know, the Virginia Derby, Kentucky Derby.
00:25:49And I think more than anything, the individual, the horse is the type that I think can handle that type
00:25:58of a layoff and that he's not a horse that appears to need a ton of racing to get fit.
00:26:04He he gets a lot out of his training, out of his workouts.
00:26:08You know, he's a good doing horse and he doesn't have a lot of excess, you know, weight that, you
00:26:16know, you kind of have to, you know, train off of them.
00:26:19So, you know, maybe I'm being optimistic and biased, but I think the timing might be OK with this horse
00:26:27numbers.
00:26:29I know the the numbers didn't come back super strong other than, you know, the final time in the internal
00:26:35fractions.
00:26:36I think he finished up the race, you know, very well and, you know, the last quarter mile or so.
00:26:41But, you know, if you're a speed figures person, you know, you might not be overly impressed.
00:26:45So, you know, he definitely needs to to, you know, run improved on numbers the next time.
00:26:54And I think they all do at this point, you know, this time of year, all these three year olds
00:27:00need to continue improving.
00:27:01But I'm optimistic the horse can do that.
00:27:04The part of the story has been your jockey, Jaime Torres, who looks to be your go to guy right
00:27:09now.
00:27:09So he's a very good jockey, but he's not necessarily a household name.
00:27:13You know, why have you had such a strong relationship with him?
00:27:18And what is it about him that, you know, he's riding your good horses right now?
00:27:22Well, you know, he's he's the kind of guy that, you know, you know, like a day to day jockey,
00:27:29you know, you're confident using.
00:27:31You know, he comes in and works horses for us.
00:27:34You know, we communicate well together.
00:27:38You know, he enjoys the horses.
00:27:40He you can tell he really gets a lot of satisfaction from being around the horses.
00:27:46And and one thing that's impressed me for such a young guy, you know, he's won the Preakness.
00:27:50He's, you know, won some big races, you know, so he's been there before.
00:27:54Maybe not necessarily, you know, winning a derby or anything like that, but, you know, he rides with a lot
00:28:00of confidence.
00:28:01You know, he'll come to the paddock for a big race and he won't be shaken at all.
00:28:07He just you can you can sense the confidence in his body language and and he rides that way.
00:28:13And that's what I've been very impressed about.
00:28:15And I think, you know, if given the opportunity, he could, you know, ride with the best of them.
00:28:21And as they would say in the South, Riley, where I'm from, Jamie loves him some Incredibolt.
00:28:27After he won the Street Sense, he referred to him as Little Sovereignty.
00:28:31He was that he was that impressed with him.
00:28:33So, OK, go ahead.
00:28:35Well, no, I heard that analogy.
00:28:37I had to kind of pump the brakes on him a little bit.
00:28:40But I was I was I was certainly encouraged that he, you know, would would use that analogy.
00:28:47So last fall, you got your first Breeders' Cup starter.
00:28:50And you said at the time that that that meant a lot to you as you're as you're getting your
00:28:54career going into full speed.
00:28:55Now, if all goes well, between now and the first Saturday in May, you'll be in the gate with Incredibolt.
00:29:02Your father could be in the gate with Chief Wallaby if all goes well.
00:29:06What would that be like?
00:29:09I think, you know, first and foremost, just to have a horse in contention to make the derby field is,
00:29:16you know, it's that words can't describe it, you know, for a young guy like myself and for our team.
00:29:24It's it's what, you know, as a little kid, 11, 12 year old, you know, I just sit there and
00:29:30daydream about and really desire to have a moment and situation like that.
00:29:38So, you know, we're not in it for consolation prizes.
00:29:41You know, we don't want to just have a participation award.
00:29:43We want to go out there and have, you know, a horse that can can potentially win the race.
00:29:48But I'd be lying to you if I said it wasn't just a really cool feeling, just having having one
00:29:54in contention and qualified.
00:29:56So and then on the other hand, to have one against my dad, you know, we've run against each other
00:30:01on a bunch of different occasions.
00:30:03And I think, you know, we're always pulling for each other, but we're both extremely competitive.
00:30:09So I think if we both are fortunate enough to have a couple in the gate, it's, you know, kind
00:30:15of every man for himself at that point.
00:30:17I got two questions for you.
00:30:19One, would yourself and Bill discuss a horse at any point?
00:30:24And two, how big is the Riley Mart stable now?
00:30:27Is it growing or are you trying to keep it in one spot?
00:30:31So we definitely discuss horses.
00:30:34I mean, you know, he in particular, incredible, you know, he was asking me, you know, what I thought about
00:30:42doing after the Holy Bull, what approach I was going to take, you know, after he won the Virginia Derby,
00:30:46what we thought about doing.
00:30:47And, you know, he's definitely a wonderful crutch to lean on.
00:30:52And, you know, I've been lucky enough to have a front row view of how he manages his stables, his
00:30:58clients.
00:31:00You know, the horses, you know, in particular, horses of a very high level, how to campaign them and what
00:31:07approach to take.
00:31:08So, you know, certainly have, you know, learned a lot.
00:31:13And a lot of what I do is obviously based on what I learned from him.
00:31:16So, and then what was your other question?
00:31:22I'm sorry.
00:31:23That's okay.
00:31:23How many horses do you have?
00:31:25Like, are you in one spot?
00:31:26Do you have multiple divisions?
00:31:29Multiple divisions.
00:31:30At this moment, we're between Palm Meadows in Florida and Keeneland down on Rice Road there.
00:31:36Um, and, uh, we're about at 50, 50 horses right now, 50, 60 head.
00:31:42And, uh, we, you know, we're always looking to, to expand.
00:31:45I think, um, we have the, the staff to support it.
00:31:49We've got the, the team and, uh, we're hungry and, uh, we've got some talented horsemen and horsewomen that we
00:31:56work with, uh, every day in the stables.
00:31:58And, uh, you know, I, I think, you know, hopefully, um, we can keep kind of building on what we've
00:32:04done.
00:32:05We're always, as I said, looking for more when you win a little bit, you, you know, you're, you just
00:32:10want more.
00:32:10You're never really satisfied.
00:32:11So, um, you know, we're not going to get complacent.
00:32:13We're going to keep trying to, you know, build and, and continue to do the best job we can for
00:32:20our clients.
00:32:20We don't want to insult any of your other horses by just focusing on Incredibolt only.
00:32:25Uh, what are some of the greatest hits you've got in your barn other than Incredibolt right now?
00:32:30Uh, you know, we have, uh, some, some good prospects coming through the pipeline.
00:32:36We have a horse named Albus.
00:32:38He's a Yopon Colt for Pin Oak who, who won a maiden race going two turns at Tampa pretty impressively.
00:32:45Um, you know, kind of finished up the way Incredibolt did, you know, in the Virginia Derby, he was, you
00:32:50know, really accelerating through the, through the wire and, and galloped out really strong.
00:32:55So, you know, we're kind of considering what to do with him.
00:32:57Um, but hopefully he's a black type type of horse, uh, for the second part of the year.
00:33:03Um, so, you know, we've got, got some that we're looking forward to and, uh, hopefully it's a productive spring
00:33:10and summer for, for the barn.
00:33:12Riley, before we let you go, I mean, let's put this in perspective.
00:33:16You've been doing this for less than three and a half years and, you know, certainly you, you studied under
00:33:21one of the great trainers in history and, and your father.
00:33:24And, and I think, you know, that to being associated with him certainly, uh, helped your career, but did you
00:33:30ever expect that you would come this far this quickly?
00:33:34Has this exceeded your expectations?
00:33:36Well, I'm not, I'm not like statistically goal oriented.
00:33:42I, you know, I, I always thought if we could just, you know, improve on our numbers and, and, you
00:33:49know, general statistics, wins, money earned, et cetera.
00:33:52Uh, if we could just improve on that every year, then, then I'd be, you know, happy, um, you know,
00:33:59uh, we always desired to, to be at the top of the game.
00:34:05We're not obviously there yet, but, um, I think we have done, as you said, pretty well for ourselves in
00:34:12the first three and a half years.
00:34:13And, um, you know, with the help of obviously a great staff, as I said, and, and some strong clientele,
00:34:19uh, we can keep pushing towards that, that, uh, spot in the game where we're, you know, considered, uh, one
00:34:27of the top stables.
00:34:28So, um, you know, I think if, uh, you don't have the, uh, the drive to do it, you might
00:34:34never achieve it.
00:34:35And, and we're very driven and, and, uh, you know, just looking to continue building on what we've already done.
00:34:41Hmm. Terrific. Well, uh, Riley, congratulations with incredible win in the Virginia Derby.
00:34:47And congratulations, as, as we said, with all the success you've had, uh, so quickly in your career, thank you
00:34:53for being the Gainesway guest of the week.
00:34:54You're on the TDN writer's room, uh, podcast, and, uh, we'll see you at Churchill Downs on Derby week.
00:35:00Thank you. I really appreciate it.
00:35:02Thanks again to trainer Riley Mott. Our guest of the week segment is sponsored by Gainesway.
00:35:08Hey, last week we told you about Gainesway stallion drain the clock and the spectacular breezes his first two-year
00:35:13-olds returning in.
00:35:14So what happened at Ocala?
00:35:16Well, here's hip 132, a New York bred colt out of an unraced Freud mare who has yet to produce
00:35:23a black type runner who sold for $1.1 million on the first day of the sale.
00:35:30Well, on day two, drain the clock, two-year-olds produced prices of $570,000, $500,000, $250,000.
00:35:38And on day three, this was a $700,000 colt.
00:35:44By the way, that $1.1 million colt sold for 110 times the current stud fee of drain the clock.
00:35:50You can do the math.
00:35:52Gainesway set that stud fee for 2026 at just $10,000.
00:35:56And it's a safe bet, it won't stay that low for long.
00:36:12Drain the clock, Jackie's Warrior, drain the clock by a head.
00:36:18One million, one million, one million, one million, one million, one hundred thousand, seven hundred and seventy five, seven hundred.
00:36:23Mike, seven hundred thousand, seventy, seventy, seventy, seventy, five hundred and seventy thousand.
00:36:32This week's edition of First Things First, I caught up with the one and only Michael McCarthy to find out
00:36:37exactly how journalism worked.
00:36:40How was he, Mike?
00:36:46Timing is everything and mine is bad, apparently, because I'm getting Michael McCarthy at the races and he just got
00:36:53nosed out.
00:36:54Anyway, we'll rewind to first thing this morning and journalism.
00:36:57Tell me about his work and what you're thinking.
00:37:00Very good work on his own.
00:37:02First after the break this morning at 6.30.
00:37:05I thought he worked a wonderful five-eighths, 101 and one on my watch.
00:37:10Final quarter, 24 and three.
00:37:12I think the best part of it, you might not be able to see, which is a gallop out.
00:37:16Went from the wire to the seven-eighths pole and 12 and two and seven-eighths pole to three-quarter
00:37:20pole and 13 and change.
00:37:22So the horse is really starting to get his air now.
00:37:25Seems like he's going the right way.
00:37:27We'll work him here next week and kind of start to come up with a game plan of what we'd
00:37:31like to do.
00:37:31How happy are you that he got to stay in training as a four-year-old?
00:37:36Because that seems to be kind of the in thing right now, doesn't it?
00:37:39Yeah, yeah.
00:37:40Obviously, I think we had two six-year-olds run well in the World Cup, the Saudi Cup or whatever
00:37:47it was.
00:37:48Pegasus as well.
00:37:49I think there were a couple of older horses ran well.
00:37:51So, you know, usually in this day and age when horses are so quick to be whisked off to the
00:37:56breeding shed after their three-year-old season,
00:37:59it was really nice to hear that he'd be coming back as a four-year-old.
00:38:04Obviously, Sovereignty coming back, too.
00:38:06So I think that's going to make, you know, for a great series of races, hopefully at some point between
00:38:13the two of them and some of these other horses that are coming along.
00:38:18Baeza, Magnitude, you know, a good group of older horses this year.
00:38:24So it should make some things exciting.
00:38:27What about Meaning?
00:38:28She worked, too.
00:38:29Meaning worked this morning.
00:38:30Real happy with that.
00:38:32Half Mile 49 and 2 in company with a filly named Brooklyn Blonde.
00:38:36I believe they were the XBTV work of the day.
00:38:39Woo!
00:38:40Both of them are kind of got a soft circle around the Santa Ana Oaks right now.
00:38:45So we'll see how things go over the next couple of weeks.
00:38:47But both fillies very well in themselves.
00:38:50Has Meaning always had talent?
00:38:52Have a feeling that Eclipse thoroughbreds have always thought she's a little better than she showed until her last race?
00:38:58Yeah.
00:38:59Timing is everything in our game.
00:39:00She got good at a little bit or ready to run, I should say.
00:39:04At an odd time of the year and broke her maiden over at Los Alamitos sprinting.
00:39:10Spacing was ample enough to go ahead and give the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies a try.
00:39:17I thought she ran a valiant fourth that day.
00:39:20Got jostled around a little bit.
00:39:21A couple furlongs from home.
00:39:23Maybe could have made the difference between her finishing fourth and third.
00:39:27Got a nice break.
00:39:29Got some pounds on her and got a nice kind of summer coat on her now.
00:39:34And obviously her win in the Las Virginas was impressive.
00:39:38And three races off of a comeback.
00:39:40Hopefully we landed ourselves in the Kentucky Oaks.
00:39:48Thanks very much to Michael.
00:39:50A quick update there on meaning.
00:39:52And we'll take a look at her work in the First TV work of the week.
00:39:56Now, going on at Santa Anita this weekend, we have the Smorgasbord Fried Chicken event, which Randy will be flying
00:40:03out for.
00:40:03Won't you, Randy?
00:40:05Is it Nashville hot?
00:40:06Sure.
00:40:07Yeah, Nashville hot.
00:40:08A little bit of fried chicken at Santa Anita.
00:40:11And we've got stakes races all weekend with the San Luis Rey and the Irish O'Brien.
00:40:16Join us at Santa Anita Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
00:40:21Well, some surprising news last week is trainer Tom Amos at age 64 announced that as of, I believe, April
00:40:271st, he is going to retire.
00:40:30And he is turning his stable over to his longtime assistant, a fellow by the name of Kinnan LaRose.
00:40:37He'll stay in the game doing some bloodstock work.
00:40:40Also continue to do his work on Fox TV and America's Day at the Races.
00:40:45The races that they, of course, broadcast from Saratoga and elsewhere.
00:40:50And here's my take on this.
00:40:53You know, I've written so many stories recently about this trainer and that trainer just basically being forced out of
00:40:59the sport, forced into retirement.
00:41:01And that certainly doesn't seem to be the case with Tom, who won 4,276 races in his career.
00:41:08And you also see a lot of trainers that, frankly, hang on too long.
00:41:12They don't have anything else to do in their lives.
00:41:14And to me, this reads like a lifestyle decision.
00:41:20You know, he's made a good living.
00:41:21I would hope and think that he's well off financially.
00:41:25And this is the quote that I really like.
00:41:28He says, this will allow me to have coffee in the morning with my wife, something I've never done before,
00:41:34or do something fun on the weekend.
00:41:36I think Tom has had a great career, he's a great guy, and he just wants a normal life that
00:41:42doesn't mean he's got to show up at the barn 365 days a year at 4.30 in the morning.
00:41:48So, well done, Tom.
00:41:49And I'm sure you'll still be very visible in racing in the sport, especially on TV.
00:41:55And personally, I wish him well in his retirement.
00:41:59I think it's great.
00:42:00I mean, good for Tom to get this done, get it out there.
00:42:04Obviously, Kinnon's been with him for a few years now.
00:42:07Tom's a big force.
00:42:08He's a big personality.
00:42:10It's great to see him on Fox TV.
00:42:12He brings a whole different new perspective.
00:42:15He can probably give us even more now he's not training, because it's always difficult to throw rocks when you're
00:42:22still in the glass house.
00:42:24So, just delighted for him.
00:42:26And honestly, he had a good year last year.
00:42:29Like the last few years, 76 winners, 82, 73, 93, 107, 112.
00:42:35He wasn't being forced out.
00:42:37He wasn't going anywhere.
00:42:38He just made a decision that enough is enough.
00:42:42He's got a good eye for a horse, and we'll miss him.
00:42:45So, I'm wishing him the best of luck in his future endeavors.
00:42:48It's going to be fun to watch.
00:42:50Yeah, Tom and I go back 39 years.
00:42:55I was at Louisiana Downs covering races there when he very first got his trainer's license.
00:43:00Just had a handful of horses.
00:43:02His wife, Colleen, worked in the press box as a publicity assistant.
00:43:05We used to hang out together.
00:43:06And you could tell then that Tom was destined to be very successful.
00:43:11He comes from a very good family in New Orleans.
00:43:14He's very smart, very driven, extremely competitive, uber competitive.
00:43:19And you just knew then that, you know, how long it was going to take him, but he would become
00:43:24a success.
00:43:25And here he's won 4,000-plus races, won 11 trainer titles at the fairgrounds.
00:43:31And about his competitiveness, let me tell you a funny story about Tom.
00:43:35This is one of my favorite Tom Amos stories.
00:43:38Back at Louisiana Downs in the late 1980s, they had a series of starter races on turf that were worth,
00:43:46for the late 80s at Louisiana Downs, were worth quite a bit of money.
00:43:50And Tom had a horse.
00:43:51It was probably a $25,000 horse that he wanted to make eligible for these starter races.
00:43:57But you had to run for a $5,000 claiming price to be eligible.
00:44:01And Tom knew that if he dropped this horse down to a $5,000 claimer, someone would claim him.
00:44:06He would lose the horse.
00:44:08So he concocted a plan to breeze the horse one morning, and as the horse was galloping out,
00:44:16have the exercise rider pull him up abruptly in front of the trainer observation stand on the first turn by
00:44:23the gap.
00:44:23At which point, I didn't see this, but I heard all about it.
00:44:26At which point, Tom would duck under the rail, scream obscenities, run out on the racetrack to care for the
00:44:32horse,
00:44:32feel the legs, lead him back to the barn personally in front of all the trainers,
00:44:38drop him in for a $5,000 claiming price, send him to the paddock for the first time with bandages
00:44:43all the way up to here
00:44:44and painted with all kinds of liniment or whatever, and ran him for $5,000 claiming.
00:44:51Nobody dare claim the horse.
00:44:54He wins that day and just dominates the starter series all summer and all fall on the turf at Louisiana
00:45:02Downs.
00:45:03Perfectly legal, as far as I'm concerned, perfectly ethical.
00:45:06It's just if it was a jockey, you'd say it was good race riding.
00:45:10And that just sort of encapsulates Tom's intelligence and his competitiveness.
00:45:17And congratulations to Tom for a fantastic career.
00:45:20He's going to be around, bloodstock agenting a little bit, TV, obviously, with Fox, does a good job, and a
00:45:27good guy, really good guy.
00:45:28So there was news out of Florida this week and another victory for the forces that are trying to keep
00:45:35Gulfstream and Tampa Bay Downs from decoupling.
00:45:38After the House in Florida passed a bill that allowed decoupling, as has happened for the second straight year,
00:45:46or the Senate, did not even address this.
00:45:50It went absolutely nowhere.
00:45:52Randy, I guess this is good news.
00:45:54But, you know, my feeling on this is that, you know, they're just sort of buying time with this.
00:46:01And I think even the people that are behind, like Damon Thayer and others that are behind this effort to
00:46:08keep winning these battles in the Florida legislature would admit to that.
00:46:15As a matter of fact, Damon said, despite this, we are planning on alternatives because I still think the day
00:46:22will come when Gulfstream Park will not be around.
00:46:24And I think it's fairly soon.
00:46:26And I also wonder that what would stop building a strong act with or without decoupling from just one day
00:46:32saying this property is worth so much money.
00:46:35I'm going to sell it and just make a business decision.
00:46:39So, yes, this was good news.
00:46:41But I don't think this means that Gulfstream and Florida Racing, as we know it, is going to keep running
00:46:50and running smoothly for many years to come.
00:46:54I completely agree.
00:46:55The value of the property that Gulfstream sits on is not contingent on decoupling.
00:47:01It may have a small difference.
00:47:04If you have an active casino, it's obviously going to be worth more than if you have a casino that's
00:47:08tied to horse racing.
00:47:10I mean, that obviously is, you know, stands to reason without mention.
00:47:15But the property is still going to be worth far more developed without a casino than it would be as
00:47:23a racetrack, even as a major racetrack like Gulfstream Park.
00:47:27So that doesn't change the equation at all.
00:47:31And I think there's still there's still cards left to be played here.
00:47:34There's going to be a new governor in Florida.
00:47:38The current governor, Ron DeSantis, as we know, is is in tight with Mike Rapoli through campaign contributions, maybe friendships.
00:47:46Who knows?
00:47:48And DeSantis made it clear that the bill would be vetoed if it got to his desk the last time
00:47:53it came up.
00:47:54It didn't even get that far, nor this time either.
00:47:56But with a new governor, who knows what the landscape is going to be in that situation?
00:48:02Maybe somebody will come in involved with horse racing, a consortium of people, make Belinda an offer.
00:48:08Maybe it'll be a competitive offer to keep Gulfstream running.
00:48:12Who knows?
00:48:13But no, I agree.
00:48:14It's it's good news in the short term, I suppose.
00:48:18But I don't think it changes the long term aspect of South Florida racing much at all.
00:48:24Yeah. And we still don't know what what is going to be.
00:48:27Where are they going to be seven, eight years from now?
00:48:29That's still the big mystery.
00:48:30And, you know, most likely that I would think that they will have racing at some other facility.
00:48:35But where where will that be?
00:48:37You know, they're talking about Ocala, you know, maybe, you know, revitalizing Hialeah.
00:48:42A lot of balls up in the air, but, you know, I don't think any of these options are going
00:48:47to equal what Gulfstream has been through all these years as the flagship of Florida racing running year round and
00:48:57running a very important meet for four months or so in the winter.
00:49:00Now, one note about Hialeah, I think I referred in a past podcast to John Brunetti, Jr., the son of
00:49:10the former owner of Hialeah, as being a big horse racing fan.
00:49:14But that Stephen Brunetti, the son of the other, his brother, the other son of John Brunetti, who passed away
00:49:21from cancer a couple of years ago, I think, was the real horse racing guy.
00:49:26Why? John Brunetti, Jr., I'm told, is not as much of a horse racing guy as his brother was.
00:49:35He's been involved. But, you know, how much difference that might make ultimately in Hialeah joining as part of the
00:49:43solution to this?
00:49:45I don't know.
00:49:46Well, some sad news on the racetrack last week.
00:49:48We're not on the racetrack, but in the racing world.
00:49:51And but yes and no, sad news.
00:49:53What a great life Serena Song had.
00:49:54She lived to be 34 years old.
00:49:56Good for her.
00:49:57And she passed away last week.
00:49:59And, you know, to me, it brought back a lot of great memories.
00:50:02And also, you know, the old man criticizing, you know, the new way they do it with horses.
00:50:08Boy, they don't make them like this anymore, do they?
00:50:11She won 11 grade one races, ran 38 times, won graded stakes races at two, three and four, won 17
00:50:19graded stakes wins as it was, trained by Wayne Lucas.
00:50:23And, you know, my greatest memory, of course, is her beating the boys in the Haskell.
00:50:28And, you know, what what a momentous occasion that was, that great race at my home racetrack, Monmouth Park, that
00:50:34had never won, been won by a Philly prior and has not been won by one since.
00:50:39She also won the Jim Beam as well.
00:50:41Well, that got Wayne Lucas Derby fever.
00:50:44She ran in the Kentucky Derby, got swallowed up in a very fast pace and finished 16th after that race.
00:50:50Gary Stevens took over and pretty much the rest was history.
00:50:53But Zoe, I mean, you know, I guess the story is pretty simple and what a great Philly and led
00:51:01a long life.
00:51:02And she will be missed, of course.
00:51:03Yeah, it's cool to see her over the years at Denali.
00:51:07They did a great job with her, just took the best care of her.
00:51:11Thirty four years old is old for any kind of horse, let alone a warrior like her.
00:51:17Eighteen of thirty eight lifetime starts.
00:51:19And boy, how times have changed.
00:51:21You know, she finished 16th in the Derby and wasn't put on the shelf and given some time to recuperate
00:51:28from that effort.
00:51:28But no, hell no. Two weeks later, she won the Black Eyed Susan by nine, like unheard of nowadays.
00:51:36She went on to win the Mother Goose by three.
00:51:38She took the Haskell.
00:51:39She won the Beldane beating Heavenly Prize in Lakeway.
00:51:44She was kind of done by the end of that year.
00:51:47I believe she was fifth in the disc staff.
00:51:49But man, what a racehorse she was.
00:51:53And to live such a great life afterwards, she never really managed to reproduce herself, so to speak.
00:52:00None of those really, really top class race Phillies ever really do, because I think they just leave it all
00:52:05on the racetrack.
00:52:06But man, she lived a great life.
00:52:08Really, really cool to see her live to such a grand old age.
00:52:14I think some of her daughters have been better producers than she actually was.
00:52:19So she's made a little bit of a mark in the breeding shed.
00:52:23Even a couple of years ago, before he passed away, Wayne Lucas, RIP, was always saying that his philosophy was,
00:52:31when they're good, you run them.
00:52:32And that was really the case back in the 90s when he had Serena's song.
00:52:37Talk about an iron filly.
00:52:38Oh, my gosh, 38 times, and Wayne didn't miss many dances with Serena's song.
00:52:44But, yeah, that's what has made Serena's song an all-time great racehorse.
00:52:50And, of course, inducted into the Hall of Fame, very deserving honor for Serena's song.
00:52:55So you put it well.
00:52:57What a great life she had.
00:52:58And to make it to 34, just put a cherry on top of a great story and a great career.
00:53:03All right, we're going to take another little break.
00:53:04We're going to hear from the Pennsylvania breeders.
00:53:06Also, we're going to find out what's going on with our friends at XBTV.
00:53:11And when we come back, we're going to take a look at this week's big races,
00:53:14Louisiana Derby, the Jeff Ruby Stakes, and the Fairgrounds Zone.
00:53:18Stay with us.
00:53:20The TD and Riders Room also brought to you by our friends at the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association,
00:53:25the PHBA.
00:53:26Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania bred Red Zone Runners splashed to a 15-and-a-half-length victory
00:53:34against Open Company in the city of Brotherly Love Steaks at Parks.
00:53:37And that performance has landed Red Zone Runner on the Derby Trail.
00:53:42He's now being appointed for the April 4th Wood Memorial, which is coming up as a wide-open race.
00:53:47Congratulations to Red Zone Runners owner-breeder Tom Coulter and his Arrow Wood Farm.
00:53:53Remember, the 2025, or excuse me, the 2026 Pennsylvania bred steaks schedule is online at pabred.com under the steaks
00:54:01tab.
00:54:01Just like 2025, $1.7 million in Pennsylvania bred steaks purses this year.
00:54:07If you have a PA bred, don't forget that.
00:54:10For more information about the PA bred program, you can go to www.pabred.com
00:54:16or call Brian Sanfratello at 610-444-1050.
00:54:22The Pennsylvania Breeding Program is the best program in the country.
00:54:26The stallion awards, the owner bonuses, also the restrictive races and the steaks races for Pennsylvania breds.
00:54:33Last year, 321 Pennsylvania breeders earned breeders awards.
00:54:3822 Pennsylvania breeders earned over $100,000.
00:54:42We have the best program in the country.
00:54:47Take advantage of the fantastic program that we have.
00:54:49Learn more at pabred.com.
00:54:54Be a smarter better with First TV.
00:54:56The best horses.
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00:55:18With First TV.
00:55:22It is time for the work of the week brought to you, as always, by First TV.
00:55:27We get two for one right here.
00:55:29Here is the February the 8th Last Virginers winner, Meaning.
00:55:32She's here on the outside looking extremely sharp in this five furlong workout on Saturday
00:55:37for trainer Michael McCarthy, who I spoke with earlier.
00:55:41Meaning is being pointed.
00:55:43We don't know where she's being pointed to.
00:55:44She's been nominated for just about every three-year-old Philly steak in the country.
00:55:50And we'll find out where she goes in probably about a week's time.
00:55:54But look who's keeping up with her right here at Santa Anita.
00:55:57That is Brooklyn Blonde, who broke her maiden on March the 1st at Santa Anita.
00:56:02Now you're thinking, why is that notable?
00:56:05Well, she represents the first winner for chef and California restaurateur and Food Network work star,
00:56:12Brooke Williamson, who owns a Philly in partnership with her BF, Bobby Flay.
00:56:17She'll work again this weekend before Michael McCarthy decides where she'll head next.
00:56:24Well, most attention this weekend will be paid, even though Torfway, by the way, has a great card.
00:56:28But I think most attention will be paid towards Louisiana Downs.
00:56:33No, of course, not Louisiana Downs.
00:56:35Fairgrounds, where they will be running the Louisiana Derby, highlighting the biggest card of the meet there.
00:56:41And by the way, Haissa will not end simulcasting there because it's a fairgrounds.
00:56:46It's a Churchill-owned track, but they're going to get in under the gun before what Randy called the nuclear
00:56:52option to shut down the Churchill tracks.
00:56:56I'm a little disappointed with the race came up.
00:56:59I mean, Paladin won the prep.
00:57:01He's going off to the Bluegrass.
00:57:04He was, would have been, and he's number one on the Derby future wager.
00:57:09I think he and Chief Wallaby were tied for number one.
00:57:11And also, Reagan's Honor, a horse that looks so good at the fairgrounds, they're also going on the Bluegrass.
00:57:16So that's going to be a race that's absolutely packed.
00:57:18So, Randy, I don't think there's any real superstars in here or don't necessarily think the Derby winner is coming
00:57:26out of here.
00:57:26But I want to get your opinion, and then we'll head it over to Zoe.
00:57:30By the way, just if people are interested, my pick will be Chief Honcho.
00:57:34But Emerging Market is the horse with the big buyer figure.
00:57:38He's got that huge 97 in his first race, that Tampa maiden.
00:57:43And if you just go on the buyer figures, I mean, a lot of people are going to bet him
00:57:46Chad Brown, Flavin Pratt.
00:57:48But the one thing about that that was a red flag for me, the horse that ran second in the
00:57:54race, Power Shift, who also everybody was raving about.
00:57:57He laid an egg in the Tampa Bay Derby, finishing sixth, beating almost 10 lengths.
00:58:02So, you know, take it away and your thoughts on Louisiana Derby.
00:58:06But, you know, you being the buyer figure guy, what do you make of Emerging Market?
00:58:11And also of what I said about maybe that race, in hindsight, isn't quite as good as maybe we thought.
00:58:17Well, that's the red flag.
00:58:19That's the obvious red flag about Emerging Market.
00:58:22I know Chad Brown is very high on the horse.
00:58:25His M.O., what he did with Sierra Leone, what he did with Zandon, what he did with Normandy Invasion
00:58:30a decade before that, is to run in the Risen Star and then run in the Bluegrass.
00:58:36That's what he does typically with those horses.
00:58:40Emerging Market obviously comes from a different perspective.
00:58:43He didn't run in the Risen Star.
00:58:45And so he's already got a horse in the Bluegrass.
00:58:48Emerging Market fits.
00:58:49I think he fits well in this spot.
00:58:50The fig is legitimate.
00:58:52It was earlier on the card of the Sam Davis.
00:58:55It's very easy to compare, using buyer figures, the mile 40 of a maiden race and the mile minus 16
00:59:01for the Sam Davis.
00:59:02That's child's play.
00:59:03It was a better race than the Sam Davis.
00:59:05It was a substantially better race than the Sam Davis by a couple of lengths.
00:59:10And the Sam Davis was a decent race.
00:59:14So it was disappointing to see Power Shift run the way he did when he came back again.
00:59:21In the Tampa Bay Derby.
00:59:23But Emerging Market is, to me, is a very legitimate horse.
00:59:29And in my opinion, the winner of this race is either going to be Emerging Market.
00:59:34Chip Honcho, who once again looks like he might have a favorable pace scenario,
00:59:39depending on what Doug O'Neill and Maldonado do with Pavlovian in post position number one,
00:59:44and what Baffert does with Blacksmith, who I think is the other horse.
00:59:48One of the three.
00:59:49Emerging Market, Chip Honcho, or Blacksmith, I think is probably going to win the Louisiana Derby.
00:59:56Basically what he said.
00:59:58Copy and paste.
00:59:59I might add Golden Tempo in there, who goes with the blinkers on.
01:00:02He just kind of flattened out in the Risen Star last time.
01:00:06He might be a little better with the blinkers on.
01:00:08I'll take a wait-and-see approach there.
01:00:11I do think Blacksmith is better than his buyer speed figure when he won his maiden race last time.
01:00:18Visually, I thought he was pretty impressive.
01:00:19So I do think he's a better horse than that.
01:00:22And that's why I put him right up alongside the other two.
01:00:27So before we go to Turfway and talk about the Jeff Ruby, let's just mention the Fairgrounds Oaks.
01:00:32The Fairgrounds route to the Kentucky Oaks has been just a very productive over the last many years.
01:00:40So keep a close eye on this.
01:00:42Bella Ballerina will be the favorite.
01:00:44I imagine she's three for three, winning the Rachel Alexandra.
01:00:48Didn't really impress that.
01:00:50It wasn't an overly impressive race, but I remember Brendan Walsh said afterwards,
01:00:54he just all but guaranteed the horse will improve in her next race.
01:00:59Love Your Neighbor is a horse that has shown some ability, but she has second itis, has run second four
01:01:06straight times.
01:01:06I'm actually going to pick her just because I think that she represents some value over Bella Ballerina.
01:01:13Might be crazy to pick a horse that just can't seem to find the winner's circle.
01:01:16But Michael Siddham's a good trainer.
01:01:18He just needs to get another length or two out of this horse, and maybe she can turn the tables.
01:01:23Life of Joy ran second behind Zaney in the Suncoast Steak.
01:01:27Zaney is the number one on my poll for the TDN for the Kentucky Oaks.
01:01:33So a pretty interesting race.
01:01:35But, Randy, is it Bella Ballerina or is it someone else?
01:01:40Look, to me, Bella Ballerina is going to be overbet, and I don't think her numbers really warrant that.
01:01:50I'm going to look at two horses.
01:01:51One's going to be a long shot, and one is going to be just not the favorite.
01:01:57To me, Life of Joy is probably the horse to beat in here.
01:02:03The race where she ran second to Zaney at Tampa Bay Downs, as it pertains to Life of Joy, she
01:02:10was at a big disadvantage in that race because of the pace.
01:02:12They went the half mile and 49 and change, which you look at the other races that day at Tampa.
01:02:18That was a very slow pace.
01:02:19And Life of Joy has no speed.
01:02:21They tried to put blinkers on her in that race to keep her closer, but she was still last early
01:02:28on.
01:02:28She was only three or four lengths back, but it was a pace disadvantage.
01:02:32There should be a little more early speed in this race.
01:02:37Bella Ballerina can be a little headstrong.
01:02:39That might be her Achilles heel.
01:02:41She was headstrong in her last race.
01:02:43Love Your Neighbors, always close.
01:02:45Miss McTwire from post number one shows speed.
01:02:48So there should be a little more pace, maximum offer, which might help Life of Joy.
01:02:52The long shot that I like in here a little bit for exotics is the two-horse Newtown Pike.
01:02:58Her number from the Martha Washington at Oaklawn is competitive, and she was about four wide on both turns.
01:03:05Now she's got post two.
01:03:07The one horse is going to show speed, so you know that Newtown Pike is going to be saving ground
01:03:12this time as opposed to being wide last time.
01:03:16And so you can take that 81 buyer speed figure that she ran at Oaklawn, and if she runs that
01:03:21same race back again, you can expect like 85 or something if she gets a ground-saving trip.
01:03:28And I think that puts her right in the mix at maybe a 10 or 12 to one price.
01:03:32I like that, Randy, looking for prices.
01:03:35I'll take it.
01:03:36If you're wondering why Mike Stidham has no hair, it's probably because of Love Your Neighbour.
01:03:42I mean, my goodness me.
01:03:45She wins by a nose, barely.
01:03:48And then she runs four second-place finishes.
01:03:50Now they put the blinkers on her last time.
01:03:53I'll be super intrigued to see what kind of running trip she gets.
01:03:58It was the first time Louis Saez was aboard her.
01:04:00Did they take her back?
01:04:02They've got to do something different.
01:04:04Mike's a very smart, savvy trainer.
01:04:08He changed the jock.
01:04:09He put the blinkers on, still gets beat, can't figure out why.
01:04:12They're going to do something different.
01:04:14I don't know whether they're just going to send her, whether they're going to take her back to last, whether
01:04:18they're going to run her behind horses.
01:04:21I've got no idea, but something has to change.
01:04:24And Mike might go and tear back.
01:04:25Woody Stevens used to have the perfect explanation for horses like this.
01:04:30Yes, I go back to Woody Stevens.
01:04:32He said horses by nature are pack animals that do not want to separate from the field.
01:04:37And it's not normal for horses to want to do that, or you have to train them to do it.
01:04:44But some horses never get past that.
01:04:45And they want to just linger with another horse the safety of the pack, and they don't want to separate.
01:04:50And that certainly looks like Love Your Neighbor.
01:04:53I mean, second by a head, second by a neck, second by a head, second by a half, first by
01:04:57a nose.
01:04:58Right.
01:04:58And last time out, when Saez got off her, he basically said he thought he had Bella Ballerina, and then
01:05:04he went by her.
01:05:05And as soon as she opened up, she just stopped.
01:05:07She waited on Bella Ballerina.
01:05:08Even with blinkers, she waited on her to come back.
01:05:10I'm going to wonder, and I probably should have called Mike about this.
01:05:14Mike is very smart, savvy in the morning, and I worked for Mike for a long time and rode a
01:05:20bunch of horses that would hit the front and stop.
01:05:23So we'd work in like in a pack, four horses, and he'd be like, all right, red.
01:05:27He called me red because I wore red all the time.
01:05:30You sit behind and run that horse up everybody's ass.
01:05:33I do not want to see you until five jumps before the wire.
01:05:37So I'd be sitting eating dirt on these horses that would never pass horses, and then there'd be a split,
01:05:44and we'd just nail them on the wire.
01:05:46I'm wondering if maybe he's done something different with her in the morning just to try and figure her out.
01:05:52We'll see.
01:05:53It'll be interesting.
01:05:54All right.
01:05:55So I got our strategy.
01:05:56We're all going to bet on Love Your Neighbor to play.
01:06:00220.
01:06:01Right.
01:06:02Is that right?
01:06:03So let's head over to Turfway with the Jeff Ruby Stakes.
01:06:06Love this purse.
01:06:09$777,000 up for grabs.
01:06:13As usual, this is for a couple of reasons, because it's overshadowed by races like the Louisiana Derby and the
01:06:20Bluegrass coming up, and also because it's run on a synthetic track.
01:06:23It did produce Animal Kingdom, but more often than not, it is not a race that comes up with a
01:06:30lot of serious derby contenders, and I think that's the case again this year.
01:06:35But it'll be interesting to see if somebody can emerge and impress us enough to think that maybe they do
01:06:41belong among the thick of things.
01:06:43My pick is going to be a California shipper, Medici, for Dick Mandela.
01:06:48Horses never run on the synthetic, but has done very well on the grass, which usually translates well to the
01:06:54synthetic.
01:06:55And I think that perhaps this horse could be loose on the lead, but a very difficult handicapping riddle and
01:07:02not really confident in anything.
01:07:05Zoe, you got anybody you like in here?
01:07:06I'm just glad I didn't ask Riley Mott about Argos, because he's now in the Brad Cox plan.
01:07:14That was his Breeders' Cup horse last year.
01:07:16Yeah, he's a grade one winner, so he shows up here with the blinkers on for Brad Cox.
01:07:22He literally just jumped off the page to me.
01:07:25I mean, he's definitely not without a shot in there.
01:07:28Stark Contrast has been working very well out here for Michael McCarthy.
01:07:34It's a wide-open race.
01:07:36You always have to respect Josie Carroll coming in.
01:07:39She's got Chaos Agent, a very expensive son of Constitution Hall.
01:07:43They paid $350,000 for him.
01:07:46Constitution Hall stands for $10,000.
01:07:49Wide open.
01:07:50Medici is there, an intermischief for Dick Mandela making the ship.
01:07:54A lot of turf horses, obviously, going to Turfway because of the synthetic racetrack.
01:07:59So I honestly can't land on one, whether it's going to play a factor, obviously, as it's been playing all
01:08:07winter, spring long.
01:08:09I don't know where to go.
01:08:10I know it's a good betting race.
01:08:12I'm going to have to look into it a little bit closer later.
01:08:15Yeah, I think it's Stark Contrast or full effort, honestly.
01:08:19I think Black Hornet could run pretty well, too, although he got a perfect trip last time sitting on the
01:08:23rail and getting out just in time.
01:08:27Stark Contrast was supposed to run in the Pasadena Stakes in his last start, but had a bruised foot, skipped
01:08:31that race.
01:08:32So this is kind of a sort of a plan 1A.
01:08:35And McCarthy, of course, won this race with the horse name Endlessly a couple of years ago.
01:08:39Full effort has been closing really well at Turfway for Brad Cox in races where the pace wasn't particularly fast.
01:08:46He's a deep closer.
01:08:48He'll need some luck.
01:08:49But with a little bit quicker pace in here, I think, and he should get it with Medici in there
01:08:54as well.
01:08:55I think that'll help full effort a lot.
01:08:57And while you were kind of talking about the horses that have won this race and how they weren't fantastic,
01:09:03Bill.
01:09:03Yeah, you got Animal Kingdom.
01:09:05Hard Spun.
01:09:06Two Fills.
01:09:07Don't forget two Fills.
01:09:11How could we forget two Fills?
01:09:13You did.
01:09:14You forgot him.
01:09:15You did?
01:09:16I would never forget Bookum Dano.
01:09:18How could you forget two Fills?
01:09:20My apologies.
01:09:22You know, I will take the heat on that one.
01:09:24All right.
01:09:25And we'll make amends the next time we talk about.
01:09:28And when we talk about this race next year, I will certainly bring up the fact that it was your
01:09:34favorite horse.
01:09:35One of your many favorite horses.
01:09:38Oh, wow.
01:09:41He's true.
01:09:42He's right.
01:09:42Yeah, he's right.
01:09:44So that's what we have to look forward to this weekend.
01:09:47Good card at Louisiana's The Fairgrounds.
01:09:51And, of course, the big race card at Turfway Park.
01:09:56As expected, West Point Thoroughbreds and Bloodstock agent David N. Gordo were very busy at the OBS March sale.
01:10:02And West Point is sharing the wealth.
01:10:05Listen to this.
01:10:06They added a Yalpon Colt headed to trainer Arno Delacour.
01:10:10They bought a Nyquist Colt.
01:10:11He's going to Bill Mott.
01:10:13An epicenter filly is headed to Mark Cassie.
01:10:16A Jimmy Creed filly that's being earmarked right now for Dale Romans.
01:10:22And then an Oscar performance colt that's scheduled to go to Miguel Clement.
01:10:27And if you visit westpointtv.com on the homepage of their website, you'll see available horses.
01:10:34And underneath that, you'll see the Jimmy Creed filly and the Yalpon Colt.
01:10:39How about that?
01:11:03West Point Thoroughbreds, the gold standard in racing partnerships.
01:11:07Visit westpointtv.com.
01:11:13Well, that's a wrap on this week's TDN Writer's Room Podcast.
01:11:16Thanks for tuning in.
01:11:17Thanks for listening.
01:11:18I want to thank our Gainsway Guest of the Week, trainer Riley Mott.
01:11:22I want to thank my partners, Jay Randall Moss and Zoe Cabman, as well as the people that work behind
01:11:28the scenes and do such a great job putting this show together.
01:11:31That's the team of Sue Finley, Katie Petrouniak, Anthony LaRocca, and Aliyah LaRocca.
01:11:36Enjoy this weekend's racing.
01:11:38And let's all keep our fingers crossed.
01:11:40This Churchill Downs, a Heisa thing, we think it's going to work out.
01:11:44But what if it doesn't?
01:11:45That's certainly something that we'll keep an eye on.
01:11:48Once again, thanks for watching.
01:11:49And we'll see you next week.