Cherie DeVaux Joins the TDN Writers’ Room Podcast Presented by Keeneland

thoroughbreddailynews

There was some good news and some bad news this week for rising star trainer Cherie DeVaux. On Saturday, she will send out Reagan's Honor (Honor A.P). in the GI Blue Grass Stakes. the horse is coming off a sizzling performance in an allowance race at the Fair Grounds and is expected to run a big race, one that could make him eligible for a start in the GI Kentucky Derby. DeVaux also has Golden Tempo (Curlin) in her barn, and he has already earned enough points to land a spot in the Derby field. DeVaux, who has yet to have a Derby starter, could have two this year. The bad news was that that she had to announce the retirement of her first champion, She's Feels Pretty (Karakontie ({JPN}). To discuss her Derby hopeful and what it is like to lose a star to retirement, DeVaux joined this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. She was the Gainesway Guest of the Week.

Transcript

00:00:18Welcome to another edition of the TDN Writer's Room.

00:00:21My name is Bill Finley.

00:00:22I'm a correspondent for the Thoroughbred Daily News.

00:00:24And if I appear to be in a bad mood today,

00:00:26it's because my Boston Red Sox, man, they stink.

00:00:31Oh, that's too bad.

00:00:33I'm Randy Moss with NBC Sports.

00:00:35If I appear to be in a bad mood today,

00:00:38it's because my NCAA tournament bracket has now gone to you-know-what.

00:00:44So focused on horse racing again.

00:00:47I'm Zoe Cabman, apparently working with two grumpy old men.

00:00:54Zoe, you're not wrong about that,

00:00:56but I think Randy and I will brighten up as we go through the podcast.

00:01:01So guys, the big story this week,

00:01:03and I'll just give the details and then I want to come back

00:01:06after we hear from Zoe and Randy, give some comments of my own.

00:01:10But I'm not trying to be hyperbolic,

00:01:13but I think the news that FanDuel is basically,

00:01:17FanDuel TV is basically going away,

00:01:20is pretty much the worst story of 2026.

00:01:24And we're not afraid to cover the bad news in racing here.

00:01:28And this is really bad for a number of reasons.

00:01:30First of all, these poor people,

00:01:33a hundred jobs are going to be eliminated

00:01:35and you feel so bad for them.

00:01:38They're great people.

00:01:39They work hard.

00:01:40They put on a good product.

00:01:41But the bigger issue is what is this going to do for horse racing?

00:01:46It has been great for horse racing to have this channel,

00:01:49which used to be called TVG.

00:01:50I believe it was all the way back to 1999.

00:01:54It was a avenue to create new racing fans.

00:01:57It was an avenue to get people to bet.

00:02:00I think people that are more sophisticated handicappers will be fine.

00:02:06There's all these ADWs out there.

00:02:08You can watch the races on Twin Spires and Naira Betts, etc.

00:02:14But nonetheless, for horse racing to lose its TV channel

00:02:18is a real blow to the sport.

00:02:22And Randy, you're a TV guy.

00:02:25Let's throw it to you.

00:02:26What are your opinions on this?

00:02:27Oh, it's a shame.

00:02:29You know, it started as TVG back in 1999.

00:02:35And it was huge news back then.

00:02:37I mean, at the time, I had just started working for ESPN.

00:02:41I had transitioned from the newspaper business into television.

00:02:45And I was hosting a regular weekly magazine show on ESPN

00:02:50that was called Wire to Wire.

00:02:51And at that time, it was pretty much the only way that racing fans,

00:02:56you know, pre-apps and things like that, really, for the most part.

00:03:01And it was the only way racing fans could see some of these stakes races

00:03:05that were being run around the country.

00:03:08TVG jumps into the fray.

00:03:09And all of a sudden, I mean, here's this TV network that it's easily available for people.

00:03:15And it played a huge part in thoroughbred racing back then.

00:03:21And, you know, it's unfortunate because of all the people involved.

00:03:25Just the on-air people alone, an outstanding lineup of broadcasters.

00:03:32And hopefully, they'll land on their feet elsewhere.

00:03:34Who knows?

00:03:35Maybe even some of them at NBC.

00:03:37See, that's a shame.

00:03:39Not a huge surprise, though, because I've been told that FanDuel TV

00:03:46was losing a substantial amount of money every year on its TV broadcasting channel.

00:03:54Not obviously on its app.

00:03:56Not obviously on the bet-taking process that FanDuel still has

00:04:01in conjunction with the old TVG app, but just on the TV broadcast network alone.

00:04:08And it's easy to say that, you know,

00:04:12oh, they just want to completely cut ties with horse racing.

00:04:15This is such a bad look for horse racing.

00:04:18Maybe there's a little bit of that.

00:04:19But FanDuel had two different TV broadcast channels.

00:04:24The other one had nothing to do whatsoever with horse racing.

00:04:27And they're also eliminating that as well.

00:04:29So I think it's just an overall business strategy to move away from the traditional broadcast TV

00:04:38and more toward the apps and streaming and things like that.

00:04:43Much like Churchill Downs, they're in the business of making money.

00:04:46If you're a shareholder in FanDuel and Flutter, you're very happy right now.

00:04:51But you're correct.

00:04:52They've been losing money left, right, and center.

00:04:54It costs a lot of money to do remotes, to fly people out.

00:04:58And gradually they've got bigger and bigger.

00:05:01If you notice the work show, like Derby Week, that's huge now.

00:05:05The lead up to the Breeders' Cup is huge.

00:05:07But it's just, it's tragic.

00:05:09I don't know what it's going to mean for the business of horse racing.

00:05:13I worked for HRTV, so I went through that when we got bought out by TVG.

00:05:18They took a lot of people from HRTV and they left a few behind.

00:05:24It's not good for horse racing.

00:05:26And I really feel for a lot of people, if you really want to have a good read,

00:05:31you need to go to Camerawoman Anna's Twitter.

00:05:35This got retweeted about 174 times, over 150,000 views.

00:05:40She wrote an open letter just basically discussing her love for the sport.

00:05:47And she came in as a camera person when I was working for HRTV and didn't know anything

00:05:52about horses.

00:05:53And it's a beautifully penned, long love letter to the sport that she's been in for 24 years.

00:06:00And it summarizes pretty much just about everything you need to know.

00:06:04So I definitely feel for all the people and it's going to be a big void.

00:06:09Bring HRTV back.

00:06:10That's what I say.

00:06:12Randy, one thing you were talking about, and it's worth noting that,

00:06:17and I think this had a lot to do with it, the stock price of the parent company was tanking.

00:06:22So obviously, and look, these are businesses and they're not in the business to lose money.

00:06:29So obviously, the stock price, I think, played a big role in this, that they needed to cut costs.

00:06:36Now, what has happened since then is that you're seeing ideas fly all over Twitter, X, whatever

00:06:44they call it these days.

00:06:46People have written things about, how are we going to save this?

00:06:49And I don't want to be the voice of gloom here, but it's not going to happen.

00:06:55And here's why.

00:06:57You can't just start up a TV network out of the blue.

00:07:02It would cost millions and millions of dollars.

00:07:06Where is that money going to come from, first of all?

00:07:09Second of all, Randy, as you mentioned, they were losing money.

00:07:13And the reason why I think they stayed in business as long as they did is because there was a

00:07:19philosophy among the corporate entities.

00:07:22And I don't think they were wrong that by having TVG slash FanDuel out there, they were providing

00:07:30a product that would encourage people to bet and would drive up their betting handle.

00:07:35They handled $2.24 billion in 2025.

00:07:41And it'll be fascinating to see what that number is going forward.

00:07:45I think it's going to go down.

00:07:47But there are people smarter than I that are probably have done the math and say, even

00:07:51if it does go down, we're going to save a lot of money.

00:07:53So what does racing do going forward?

00:07:56A lot of ideas are being thrown out.

00:07:58You know, one that I thought of was, you know, America's Day at the races.

00:08:02Would they pick up some of the slack?

00:08:04And Fox has been a great partner for racing, has done a lot.

00:08:09But this is a Naira production.

00:08:11It's all about Naira.

00:08:12I don't think they're going to want to break into their Saratoga coverage to show you the

00:08:18fourth race at Colonial Downs.

00:08:20I just don't see that being in the best interest of Naira.

00:08:23So, you know, maybe I'm wrong.

00:08:25This is one of those things where you would love the industry to get together in a room

00:08:29and figure this out.

00:08:31But I'll throw this to Zoe and then, Randy, you can comment on this.

00:08:35I honestly don't think there's a viable solution to this.

00:08:41I don't know what it is, but we have to think of something.

00:08:46Randy's got his rabbit hole face on right now.

00:08:49He's been staring at the computer down a rabbit hole for about the last 10 minutes.

00:08:53So he's been distracted and he's obviously coming up with something groundbreaking and

00:08:58brilliant just any moment now.

00:09:00But we need to think of a solution between all the powers that be.

00:09:05And this is going to be thrown at the guys at the Jockey Club.

00:09:07It's already has been thrown at them because horse racing needs an avenue.

00:09:12It really does.

00:09:14And Fox can only cover so many hours of the sport.

00:09:17They don't have enough.

00:09:18They don't have any more hours to cover any more horse racing.

00:09:22NBC can only cover the massive days.

00:09:25I don't know if somebody can build an app and just blast the races out.

00:09:30I just don't know what the answer is.

00:09:33Yeah, I mean, Bill mentioned the prohibitive cost for anyone to start up a new TV network.

00:09:40Well, here's a here's a subset of that that a lot of people don't really realize.

00:09:45In 2026, and it's been this way for a long time, just the process of televising horse racing

00:09:52in general is a for almost every TV network is a money losing proposition.

00:10:00It just is.

00:10:01I mean, Fox can get past that because the New York Racing Association already has essentially

00:10:07its own production, its own talent, its own set, its own TV network.

00:10:13Anytime NBC, for example, goes on the road to do a horse race, it's not like the NFL or the

00:10:20NBA

00:10:20or Major League Baseball, where every stadium is pre-wired for television and all the network

00:10:26has to do is just pull in a production truck.

00:10:29All the camera positions are already wired.

00:10:32Plug in the cameras and you're ready to roll.

00:10:34There's no racetrack like that.

00:10:36It's a tremendously expensive proposition to bring all these people in early to run hard

00:10:43wires from the truck to every single camera location.

00:10:46The advertising revenue, unfortunately, in the United States for horse racing, unless you're

00:10:52talking about the Triple Crown or maybe the Breeders' Cup, it does not exist to the level

00:10:58that can make these shows profitable.

00:11:01And really, the only reason why NBC does as many as they do is because the Triple Crown is

00:11:06profitable, the Derby in Preakness.

00:11:09And the rest of the races they have are pretty much sponsored by either the Breeders' Cup or

00:11:15some other entity.

00:11:16When I first proposed seven, eight years ago, doing all these Kentucky Derby prep races like

00:11:23I used to do at ESPN, they were some of the most highly rated shows on ESPN back in the

00:11:28day.

00:11:29All the preps, San Anita Derby, Arkansas, there's no telling how many I did with ESPN.

00:11:33Again, NBC was doing very few of them because they would lose a million dollars a pop in

00:11:40televising them.

00:11:41And so I went to NBC and said, you know, we got all these races sitting there that could

00:11:45be tremendously popular.

00:11:47Well, it will lose money.

00:11:48Well, let's do it from the studio.

00:11:50And so that's what we've been doing to save money, to make it worthwhile to televise these

00:11:56races.

00:11:56You'll notice that, you know, Brittany Erton, Jerry Bailey, myself, we're all doing it from

00:12:01the studio in Connecticut.

00:12:02So that's just the basic of televising horse racing.

00:12:07It's very challenging right now in the United States.

00:12:10And a TV network in general, starting a TV, that's just not going to happen, Bill.

00:12:16You're right.

00:12:17All right.

00:12:18So that's not good news in horse racing.

00:12:20But there was some good news that finally, that Churchill announced Heisa the fiasco that

00:12:27had, we kept saying it was never going to happen, but there was this threat that there would

00:12:31not be the simulcasting of the Kentucky Derby.

00:12:34They came out last week and they said they've reached an agreement so we can all breathe

00:12:38easily, more easily.

00:12:40The Kentucky Derby will be simulcast.

00:12:42If you're sitting in your home in Idaho, you can bet it on your ADW, et cetera.

00:12:47All good news.

00:12:49But I'd like to make a point that we've made before.

00:12:52I know that I've made.

00:12:54One thing that I don't like about this is there were no details.

00:12:59Zero transparency in so far as why they came to this agreement, what happened, what they

00:13:06agreed to, and what happened next.

00:13:09And Randy, I'll throw this to you because you've been really on top of this issue.

00:13:17If Churchill announced is eventually allowed to pay a lesser fee or at a lesser rate than

00:13:23other racetracks, how is that going to be fair and how are the other racetracks going

00:13:27to react to that?

00:13:29But we don't know.

00:13:30And look, I know this is complicated.

00:13:32There's lawsuits and everything.

00:13:33But here we go again with horse racing.

00:13:36This is an important issue.

00:13:37I'd like to have some answers on this.

00:13:39Well, I think, you know, I think you could read between the lines and pretty much know

00:13:43what the settlement was.

00:13:47Originally, Heisa was declaring that CDI, Churchill Downs Incorporated, owed, you know,

00:13:55upwards of $4 million, between $4 and $5 million.

00:13:59Churchill Downs and Naira initially, before they settled, argued about that amount, said it

00:14:05should be about half that.

00:14:06So, Heisa offered an olive branch to Churchill Downs and said, look, okay, use the calculations

00:14:13that you think are fair, which comes to $2.4 million owed.

00:14:18Just pay us that.

00:14:20We'll agree to that.

00:14:21And then we'll see what the judge says.

00:14:23And if the judge rules that you actually owe $4.7 million, then at that point, you can

00:14:31pay the difference.

00:14:32If the judge rules in your favor, then you've already paid your $2.4 million.

00:14:36I don't think Churchill would voluntarily offer to pay more than $2.4 million as, you know,

00:14:41as a settlement.

00:14:42So, now it's just, you know, I mean, the good news is that there's no simulcasting interruption

00:14:48like we knew there wouldn't be.

00:14:50And we're just waiting on Judge Benjamin Beaton of the Western District of the U.S. District

00:14:58Court to make a final decision.

00:15:00And who knows when that would be.

00:15:01One of the more interesting things about this and what may have led Churchill Downs to settle

00:15:07in addition to the simulcasting, which is obviously the biggest reason, but this is

00:15:10the same court, the Western District, that consistently ruled in favor of Churchill Downs in its court

00:15:18battles with Bob Baffert involving Medina Spirit several years ago, right?

00:15:24And I know Churchill Downs will say, well, that's because, you know, we won on the merits

00:15:27of the case.

00:15:28Okay.

00:15:28But it's the same court.

00:15:30And I think when Churchill Downs filed the lawsuit against HISA originally with Naira, and

00:15:36then Naira dropped out when they settled, I think they assumed maybe that the Western

00:15:39District would be a good place, would be a good place to hear that case.

00:15:43Well, when they had the hearing about a week and a half ago, Judge Beaton at one point made

00:15:49a comment when it became known that the $2.4 million fee that at that time Churchill didn't

00:15:56want to pay, even the settled pay, right, was one-tenth of one percent of Churchill Downs

00:16:04profit, Beaton said, I find it interesting that the biggest racetrack would poke its regulator

00:16:12in the eye over a number that is listed as negligible on its balance sheet.

00:16:19So clearly at that point, it became apparent that Judge Beaton was, you know, sort of siding

00:16:28with HISA on that particular part of it.

00:16:30And I'm sure that that message was heard loud and clear by CDI.

00:16:36Well, what does this mean for everybody else?

00:16:38Does everyone else just say, well, I'm not going to pay.

00:16:41I'll just take a settlement.

00:16:42Is every track in the nation going to be like, well, Churchill did it.

00:16:46Why can't I do it?

00:16:47And then we can just pay half.

00:16:50What's the stop of anyone else doing that?

00:16:52That was my point.

00:16:53And I think that's a good point.

00:16:54That's why I think, you know, we have to see where this goes later.

00:16:58You know, this is whatever this judge decides.

00:17:00And Randy has given us some good evidence that this judge is kind of pro-Churchill.

00:17:06And, you know, this could change the entire funding system.

00:17:10And if you're, you know, whatever, I'll pick if you're parks, racetrack, you can say, wait

00:17:17a minute, I'm paying less money, too, because this is what the judge decided.

00:17:22So, anyways, hey, by the way, so we'll, I don't think we need to talk about this anymore

00:17:28because they're going to be simulcasting on the Derby.

00:17:31And that's all that counts, really.

00:17:32Well, it's interesting.

00:17:33We do get a lot of comments from the readers on YouTube, Twitter, slash X, et cetera, about

00:17:40the podcast.

00:17:41And we encourage you to post these comments because if you keep them coming, we're going

00:17:47to answer them on the air.

00:17:49And a couple that we wanted to address this week, one comes from Kentucky Derby Boy, KY

00:17:58Derby Boy.

00:17:59And he says, why don't you bring Dylan Donnelly on to discuss his experience winning the NHC

00:18:04and his approach to handicapping?

00:18:06Kentucky Derby Boy, we're one step ahead of you.

00:18:09Stay tuned because Zoe Cadman did just that and is going to interview.

00:18:16We're going to play an interview with Dylan Donnelly on the weekly segment of First Things

00:18:20First.

00:18:21But thank you so much for that comment.

00:18:23Now, I want to move on to the comment from Relito Rita.

00:18:27And this is one that really resonates with me because we've talked a lot about the SAFE

00:18:36Act.

00:18:36And what Relito Rita, I assume this is a person that hangs out at Relito Park in Tucson, said

00:18:45that she's a big fan of the SAFE Act.

00:18:47That's the act that if passed would prevent horses from being shipped to Canada or Mexico

00:18:52for slaughter.

00:18:53And it's the same act that's been sitting around for forever and doesn't seem to really pick

00:18:58up any traction.

00:18:59And she said that she just cannot believe that there's this claim now that there's this

00:19:07slippery slope that cattlemen are against this bill because they think that it'll lead

00:19:14to a ban on cattle.

00:19:16She called this just ridiculous.

00:19:19Now, if you haven't watched our podcast last week, and maybe you have with Tom Rooney, we

00:19:25touched upon that very subject.

00:19:28But Zoe, I think Relito Rita hit it on the nose.

00:19:31This whole idea that if you ban every attempt to slaughter horses would lead to banning slaughter

00:19:42of cattle is absolutely ridiculous.

00:19:46That's never going to happen.

00:19:48As the person, as Relito Rita said, this is the ultimate apples and oranges.

00:19:52The difference between horses and how they're regarded in our society.

00:19:56We don't eat horse meat in the U.S.

00:19:59We do eat beef.

00:20:01I'm going to go out to McDonald's tonight and have a Big Mac, as a matter of fact.

00:20:06This blows my mind that this is something that a particular lobby and Tom Rooney told us

00:20:13it's Western Republicans representing cattlemen have come up with this just ridiculous excuse

00:20:18not to pass this act.

00:20:20Yes and no.

00:20:21I'm a vegetarian.

00:20:23Obviously, I'm not going to go to McDonald's anytime soon.

00:20:28But it kind of goes.

00:20:30I think it goes along the same lines as greyhound racing, right?

00:20:35They're banning greyhound racing all the time.

00:20:37And people in horse racing were thinking, whoa, that's OK.

00:20:40Let them ban it.

00:20:41One thing leads to another eventually.

00:20:43Now, I don't think there's any way in hell they're ever going to ban, you know, the slaughter

00:20:48of cows.

00:20:49I wish the SAFE Act would pass, but I can kind of see a little inkling of where they're

00:20:55going with that.

00:20:56I wish they wouldn't.

00:20:58It's politics.

00:20:59It's politics.

00:21:00Totally.

00:21:00I can.

00:21:01You know, I mean, it's just reality.

00:21:03It's the same thing with the NRA.

00:21:05The NRA is going to be always against any sort of restrictions on firearms, you know, concealed

00:21:13carry, assault rifle bands, you name it, because of that same notion.

00:21:17It's a slippery slope that if they give in on this one, then that's going to embolden

00:21:21their opponents and they're going to go for more and more and more.

00:21:24That's the same thing we heard from Tom Rooney about the cattle industry.

00:21:27Yeah, I know what you guys are saying, but but it just I think the whole thing is just

00:21:31ridiculous.

00:21:32So my favorite post of the week came from Tip Oppsit, who, by the way, Zoe, maybe this

00:21:39is your mother because comment was who doesn't love Zoe?

00:21:45See, we all love Zoe.

00:21:48Well, isn't it nice that your fans are reaching?

00:21:51Nobody said anything nice about Randy and myself.

00:21:54Well, I mean, you said yourself when we came on, you're two grumpy old men.

00:21:58So, you know, there are a couple of people that don't love Zoe, see, but they were obviously

00:22:02just terrible human beings, just dreadful people.

00:22:07So, yeah, thank you.

00:22:09Even Pumas love Zoe Cadman.

00:22:12Exactly.

00:22:13Even Pumas.

00:22:14Right.

00:22:14So anyway, thanks for the comments and keep them coming.

00:22:18You can post them on when we put the podcast up on YouTube, Twitter.

00:22:22There's a thousand ways to get in touch with the TDN through all the social media things.

00:22:27And we'd love to get our many listeners and viewers involved.

00:22:33So we're going to take a break and we come back.

00:22:36We're going to hear from the Gainesway guests of the week.

00:22:38Cherie DeVoe has got a big horse in Saturday's Bluegrass Steak.

00:22:43Stay with us.

00:22:44We want to remind you that the TDN Writers' Room is brought to you by Keeneland.

00:22:48Keeneland kicks off a blockbuster 2026 this coming Friday, April the 3rd, with the opening

00:22:53of the spring meet.

00:22:54It's 15 days of spectacular racing featuring the public opening of the paddock building,

00:23:00along with an offering of popular special events and exciting wagering action.

00:23:05The first Saturday of the meet is Toyota Bluegrass Day, one of my favorites.

00:23:10It's an 11 race card featuring five stakes worth a combined $3.15 million, led by the

00:23:17running of the 1.25 million Toyota Bluegrass Stakes, which will be broadcast live on NBC,

00:23:24SN and Peacock.

00:23:25You'll be able to see the one and only Randy Moss there as well.

00:23:28The entire season will present 19 stakes worth a spring meet record of $9.55 million.

00:23:36We'll be right back after this message from Keeneland.

00:23:40We do this so your granddaughter can work on a farm someday, so the stands will still

00:23:47be packed in 50 years.

00:23:50That's why we come to work every day, obsess over every single detail.

00:23:57Because the story of racing is written one moment at a time, and the future of our industry

00:24:05deserves nothing less.

00:24:07Keeneland.

00:24:08Every moment matters.

00:24:10The fastest horse of the week, or horses this week, brought to you by the fast sires at

00:24:15Windstar Farm.

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00:24:31You remember all that.

00:24:32When it came to being fast, Cogburn was very good at his job.

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00:24:56Cogburn stands at Windstar for just $25,000.

00:25:00Now, the fastest horses of the week.

00:25:02We've already discussed Commandment, who won the Florida Derby with a buyer's speed figure

00:25:06of 100.

00:25:08Another promising three-year-old won an allowance race on Sunday at Aqueduct.

00:25:13His name, Hedge Ratio.

00:25:15You can tell by the name.

00:25:16He's owned by Seth Klarman of Klarovich Stables, trained by Chad Brown.

00:25:19It was a one-mile allowance race, and it's a horse that might have a bright future.

00:25:25The other one earning a 100 buyer's speed figure, a trio of them this weekend.

00:25:29Celtic Contender, who won a six-furlong allowance sprint at Laurel on Sunday.

00:25:35Three co-fastest horses of the week.

00:25:43Welcome to our Gainsway Guest of the Week, Cherie DeVoe, who is looking forward to what

00:25:48could be a very big weekend for her stable as she saddles Reagan's honor in Saturday's

00:25:55Toyota Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland.

00:25:57Cherie, welcome and thanks for joining us as the Gainsway Guest of the Week.

00:26:01Thank you so much.

00:26:02So, Cherie, everybody was so impressed by this horse's last win, an allowance race by six

00:26:08and a quarter lengths over older horses, got a huge buyer number.

00:26:12Can he run even better in the Bluegrass, and does he need to run better in the Bluegrass?

00:26:19Um, he's a colt that he has the talent, it's been his physical, um, that we've given him

00:26:25some time on, just because he's, um, he was a bit light, you know, as he's grown, and he's

00:26:32trained forwardly, um, and he did make each race that he has run in, he has made steps, um,

00:26:41forward in his training and subsequently on the track.

00:26:43So, um, I do think that it's in him, you know, to be a bit faster, um, but he's, you

00:26:50know, again,

00:26:51it's a tough field.

00:26:52It looks like it's going to be a tough field, and, um, he's going to have to run, you know,

00:26:57another top race, um, and then continue on if he does make it into the Derby.

00:27:03All right, let me ask you a question that most handicappers would want to know, or at least

00:27:06your opinion of, and I'm looking at the prospective six-horse field.

00:27:10We're taping this on Tuesday, and the draw and post positions will be today.

00:27:14Um, looking at the field, it looks like Reagan's honor might be able to set the pace, depending

00:27:22on the draw, depending on jockey intent or trainer intent.

00:27:26He's gone wire to wire in each of his last two races.

00:27:30Uh, how confident are you that if he doesn't make the early lead in the bluegrass, he'll be

00:27:36able to be just as effective?

00:27:38Um, I, I feel like he'll be fine.

00:27:41Um, I do think he needs to be forwardly placed, but, um, he's not a speedball.

00:27:46He settles in nicely in his works.

00:27:48Um, he works in company most of the time.

00:27:51Um, so I, I think he'll be fine if he doesn't get the lead, but I do think he needs

00:27:56to be

00:27:56forwardly placed.

00:27:57I don't, he's got a high cruising speed.

00:28:00Um, and that doesn't usually translate if they have to come from behind, you know, he kind

00:28:04of has to be in his rhythm, um, and just be relaxed.

00:28:07And I think that's the key.

00:28:08Um, you know, as long as he's forwardly placed and he's relaxed, he'll be able to fire at

00:28:12the end.

00:28:13Um, how's he settled into Keeneland?

00:28:16Oh, yeah, no, he's, he settled in well.

00:28:19He was actually here, um, as an early two-year-old before he needed some time.

00:28:24Um, but he, he had a nice work over the track.

00:28:27Um, it was quite impressive with a really strong gallop out.

00:28:31So he handled the surface just fine.

00:28:33Um, you know, so hopefully that on Saturday we get the same, um, showing of him.

00:28:39So your, your husband, David and Gordo, for people that don't know, I mean, this is, you

00:28:43guys are quite the power couple.

00:28:44He's one of the best bloodstock agents in America.

00:28:47You've become one of the best trainers in America.

00:28:49He's not only a co-owner of this horse, he's also a co-breeder with Jerry Moss.

00:28:53Tell us how that came about.

00:28:55Um, so the mayor, um, she was having some trouble, reproductive trouble.

00:29:02If you look at her produce record, she had some bad luck.

00:29:06Um, and Jerry, he had, you know, just said to, to David, you know, way back, um, when

00:29:13this, she was a young mayor, um, you know, do you want to.

00:29:19Do you want the, the Philly or the mayor?

00:29:21And, um, David took it, but he said, I'm not, I'm not just going to take her, you know,

00:29:26and, and whatever I sell these horses for, I'll give you half.

00:29:29And the first one was an into mischief.

00:29:33Um, I think it was a cult and it was for a lot of money.

00:29:36I want to say 900,000.

00:29:38Um, so right off the bat, David had really good luck with her.

00:29:41And then she's, she's subsequently had some bad luck.

00:29:48Um, you know, I, I don't do breeding.

00:29:51I watch them when they come in and they're ready to have a saddle on.

00:29:55Um, but she was, you know, some red bags, some, her most recent one did not make it.

00:30:02Um, it was born with, um, a deformity.

00:30:05So, uh, you know, she's just had bad luck, but she's a really nice mare.

00:30:09And she's very well bred.

00:30:10It's not often that when you name a horse after your daughter, it pans out because this

00:30:16is named for Reagan, correct?

00:30:18Correct.

00:30:19I mean, that's pretty cool.

00:30:21She's got to be excited.

00:30:23Um, she, so Reagan, this all started with Reagan's edge when she was young.

00:30:29Um, Reagan is not, she's slowly getting excited about the racing.

00:30:34Um, but I think, you know, whenever you're, you're young and you're born into something

00:30:40like this, you kind of have to make it your own.

00:30:42Um, so she's getting really excited and, um, she's very excited to be here for a Saturday

00:30:48for his race.

00:30:48And, um, she's not told me, but I know like the pressure's on to get him into the derby.

00:30:54How old is Reagan?

00:30:56Reagan is 15.

00:30:57Okay.

00:30:59Cherie.

00:30:59Well, most of the attention has been on Reagan's honor.

00:31:01And let's not forget that you have another horse that looks like it's going to make the

00:31:05Kentucky Derby field and golden tempo.

00:31:07And, um, he keeps knocking on the door.

00:31:10He did improve in the Louisiana Derby.

00:31:13He ran third beat in the length.

00:31:15Um, what's the latest on him.

00:31:17And have you been a little bit frustrated by him?

00:31:20He, he's a horse that doesn't have a lot of speed.

00:31:22I know you tried blinkers keeps coming close.

00:31:25He did win the Lecomte, but in his last couple of races, he just hasn't quite gotten over

00:31:30that hump.

00:31:30What, what are your thoughts about him going forward and his chances in the Kentucky Derby?

00:31:35Um, so he's doing really well.

00:31:38Um, he's, he's the kind of cult that he came in.

00:31:42He Barry Eisman.

00:31:44I do.

00:31:44He breaks most of our two-year-olds and, um, he, he came in and, and he didn't have a

00:31:51lot

00:31:51of expectation because he never showed speed ever.

00:31:55Um, so now I, I bust on Barry, um, that the horse that he knocked, he likes all these other

00:32:02ones, but the one, and I wouldn't say knocked, he just said the horse really didn't show a

00:32:06whole lot, which it, yes, as when he first came in, he kind of, he had to get a bigger

00:32:12track as the distance got better or longer.

00:32:15Um, he had, he had shown a whole lot more, um, you know, with him, this was a conversation

00:32:22that, um, the ownership group and I had is he's the kind of horse that's going to need

00:32:28some racing.

00:32:29And, um, you know, and, and we said, well, we're going to run him in the campaign because

00:32:34we do think he is the classic, classic distance horse.

00:32:38Um, and as long as he's improving, we're going to take a shot in the Derby because, you

00:32:44know, we, he's, he's run every four weeks.

00:32:46Now we're going to give him a little freshening, um, and he continues to improve.

00:32:50So we're just hoping that he can prove with the mile and a quarter and with some time.

00:32:56Let's talk about the Englishman.

00:32:58I know we're supposed to be talking three-year-olds, but I want to know all about the Englishman because

00:33:02he looks to me, I saw that picture you posted on X, just beautiful.

00:33:07He is the epitome of a racehorse.

00:33:11Uh, he is gorgeous.

00:33:12Um, and he is a really, really nice horse where, um, again, he tipped his hand, uh, once when

00:33:20we breezed him out of the gate and he went really fast on cruise control.

00:33:25Um, and he kind of just does what you ask him to do.

00:33:29Um, but he is, you know, he's got so much speed and, um, he's, he's not that when I

00:33:37say hard to train, he's not hard on himself.

00:33:39He doesn't, you know, he'll do what the rider asks him to do.

00:33:42Um, but he's, he's one that, you know, super excited to see what his future holds.

00:33:50Um, you know, we're, when he broke his maiden, we were pointing to a one-turn allowance race,

00:33:57um, in November at Churchill and he got injured.

00:34:01Um, so, you know, this, we're going to go to the one-turn mile, but we're, nobody is in a

00:34:06hurry to, to really take him to the mile and a quarter.

00:34:09He's so fast.

00:34:10Um, you know, we just want to see how he develops and how far he can carry that.

00:34:15So, um, you know, right now we're going to go to the pathe mile, um, and, you know, we'll

00:34:20just see how he runs.

00:34:21But if, you know, we, we think it might be a stretch to go two turns, we'll just keep

00:34:26him at the one-turn distance.

00:34:29And Cherie, I have a question about another horse that, um, we haven't brought up.

00:34:33And, uh, I, I, I'm going to butcher the name because I do it every time, but Naimui, is

00:34:38that the name of Zenyatta's call?

00:34:41Nemoie.

00:34:42Nemoie.

00:34:43Okay.

00:34:43I'm going to remember that.

00:34:44Now, the story is Zenyatta, as great a racehorse as she's been, has really, to be polite, has

00:34:51not been a good broodmare at all.

00:34:53She has not had a single winner, but, um, this, I believe is her last ever fall.

00:34:58I've also heard good things about this horse by Warfront.

00:35:03Give us an update on him.

00:35:05What kind of prospect is he?

00:35:07And when do you expect he'll make the races?

00:35:10Um, so Naimui is a filly, um, that's okay.

00:35:14And she's a June full.

00:35:16And to put it in perspective of how big she is, we, um, we measured her at the end of

00:35:24Saratoga and she was 16, three, and she got really growthy.

00:35:28Um, and just had some issues that come along with that.

00:35:32So we gave her some time and we just measured her a couple of weeks ago and she's 17, one.

00:35:37Um, so she is a very big girl and, um, she's, she's a filly that, that when we run her,

00:35:45she's

00:35:46going to have to run a route of ground because she doesn't have that speed, but she does carry

00:35:50it throughout in her works.

00:35:52Um, right now we've had, um, she's not a problem in the gate.

00:35:57She just isn't really wanting to come out.

00:35:59She knows she's in the gate.

00:36:01She's fine.

00:36:01And she, when she comes out of the gate, but she doesn't have that quick break yet.

00:36:05So that's really been, um, we're trying not to rush her.

00:36:08Um, cause if you get into a fight with her, you're going to lose or somebody is going to

00:36:12get hurt.

00:36:13So that's just something we've been trying to work with her.

00:36:16Um, and once she gets over that and we can work her, um, she'll be ready to run.

00:36:20Um, and like I said, it's going to have to be probably two turns.

00:36:24So, so she's going to, uh, you know, just need a deep base of fitness to be able to handle

00:36:29that.

00:36:31Now, apparently we're supposed to also ask you about a goat and I'm not talking about Tom

00:36:37Brady.

00:36:37I'm talking about an actual goat goat.

00:36:40What's the story here?

00:36:41What's the, tell us.

00:36:42All right.

00:36:43So, um, she feels pretty was announced to be retired yesterday.

00:36:47It's something that we've been working on.

00:36:51Um, you know, she had some stuff going on, nothing major.

00:36:55Um, she didn't have an injury.

00:36:56We gave her some time off, but sometimes when, um, horses get time off and their bones start

00:37:01to settle and we get some regeneration.

00:37:03Um, and it was just one of those things where she was going to need more time to where we

00:37:09really couldn't have a, uh, a year to where we could have a prep and then when the Breeders'

00:37:15Cup, because winning the Breeders' Cup is all that's left on her resume.

00:37:18Um, so we, you know, so Gretchen, uh, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson and Doug Cawthon, um, you know,

00:37:27made, made the decision to retire her, which, um, is best for her.

00:37:31And she had her goat that went with her everywhere in Mickey and she doesn't, when horses are

00:37:40at the racetrack, they're in the stall for a longer amount of time when they go and their

00:37:44broodmares are turned out a lot and they're with the herd.

00:37:47And, um, so Mickey was her companion when she was at the racetrack in, you know, in the

00:37:52stall.

00:37:53And it's a bit of a more stressful environment.

00:37:55Um, so, um, Mickey, so she feels pretty is now at Denali stud and Mickey is still in

00:38:02Ocala and, um, Gretchen really wants Mickey at her farm, but, um, he's cantankerous and

00:38:11the riders play with him a lot and they headbutt him.

00:38:14So he thinks it's, thinks it's okay to be able to do that with people.

00:38:17So I'm a little worried because, um, Gretchen's elderly.

00:38:19And, um, but what we did do is they have a two-year-old filly, another chestnut, but with

00:38:26a white face, um, and there, she looks like she could do with some company.

00:38:30So Mickey's, um, being paired up right now to see if that is a good fit.

00:38:35And, um, and she, he will probably be joining the barn one way or another.

00:38:41So is this the old bait and switch, another chestnut with a white face?

00:38:44You're going to try to fool Mickey.

00:38:46Is that the plan?

00:38:46Um, I guess, I guess when she feels pretty went to Canada and he couldn't go to Canada

00:38:51for the EP Taylor, we tried to put her, uh, we really tried to do the bait and swish and

00:38:56go with, she feels stunning.

00:38:57Who looks exactly like she feels pretty.

00:38:59Um, but she was not a fan and Mickey was, um, might not have lived, survived the night.

00:39:05So, so that was, that was a no go.

00:39:09Do we know, uh, breeding plans for she feels pretty?

00:39:13Has that been discussed?

00:39:14Um, this has all happened really quickly and she actually got here, um, I think yesterday,

00:39:22uh, yeah, yesterday.

00:39:23And she's, she's cycling and, and she's actually almost ready to be bred, um, miraculously.

00:39:29So that's something Doug, um, and the Jacksons have to discuss.

00:39:33And again, that's out of my wheelhouse, but I'm not, I'm not quite sure.

00:39:37Cause you know, um, um, the popular stallions are booked and busy.

00:39:42So just trying to find what can fit along with her readiness to be bred.

00:39:47They can always make room for a multiple graded steaks.

00:39:50I would think so.

00:39:51I would think so.

00:39:52There's always room.

00:39:55Jeree, before we let you go, I'm going to resort to the old cliche question, but as successful

00:40:01as you've been, you haven't been in this business all that long, you already have one horse that's

00:40:07qualified points wise for the Kentucky Derby.

00:40:09If Reagan's honor runs as well as most people think he will, you potentially could have two

00:40:15horses in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby.

00:40:19Can you put this in perspective?

00:40:20And how's your case of Derby fever?

00:40:23Um, having a horse in the Derby is something that I don't care how much any trainer says.

00:40:31It's something that you dream about.

00:40:33Um, I've always wanted a horse in the Derby starting gate, but I want those, my opportunities.

00:40:41Um, hopefully there are more, um, in the future and, and everybody, uh, in Reagan's honor and

00:40:47golden tempo, stay sound and healthy and happy.

00:40:50Um, I want to bring the right horses.

00:40:53So not just horses that you believe you, you belong there and they have a good chance, um,

00:41:00to have a good showing of themselves.

00:41:02So, um, you know, it's, it's very stressful.

00:41:06It's a fun week, but for everybody involved, it is stressful.

00:41:10Um, and I just, you know, want to make sure that the stress is worth it ultimately, but,

00:41:16um, it's super special.

00:41:17Um, you know, I had a conversation with someone a few days ago and, um, if you asked me a

00:41:25few

00:41:25years ago, if I thought I'd be in this position, I would probably scoff, um, because, you know,

00:41:31it didn't look like it was in the cards.

00:41:33Um, but just so thankful and grateful.

00:41:37And, um, the clients that have supported throughout, it's not just these two horses.

00:41:43It's every client up to now that has put their trust and faith in, um, me as the trainer

00:41:48and our program.

00:41:49So, um, super special and I'm looking forward to it.

00:41:53Hopefully knock on wood.

00:41:55Well, Sharif, uh, congratulations on all your success.

00:41:59Good luck Saturday in the bluegrass.

00:42:01Good luck down the road.

00:42:02If knock on wood, both horses make it to the Kentucky Derby.

00:42:06And as always, thanks so much for your time and being the Gainesway guest of the week here

00:42:09on our podcast.

00:42:10Thank you for having me.

00:42:13Our guest of the week, Cherie DeVoe brought to you courtesy of Gainesway home to Olympiad

00:42:19who had a pair of his first crop two-year-old sell for $300,000 at OBS March.

00:42:25Olympiad, of course, was a track and stakes record setter with speed and stamina.

00:42:30He won from seven furlongs to a mile and a quarter.

00:42:33His career highlighted by his win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga.

00:42:36But on paper, he ran eight buyers of 100 or more.

00:42:39Two of them won 11 buyers.

00:42:42And he was also good right from the start.

00:42:44He won a maiden race at two.

00:42:46And then in his first start at three, he ran a 105 buyer.

00:42:49And he had a five-graded stakes winning streak as a four-year-old.

00:42:53That's a lot on his resume.

00:42:54And Olympiad stands for $20,000 at Gainesway.

00:42:58And you can look for more of those first crop juveniles at OBS April.

00:43:16Olympiad gets the gold in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

00:43:24$450,000.

00:43:26$350,000.

00:43:27$325,000.

00:43:33On this week's edition of First Things First by Popular Demand, I caught up with a very special guest.

00:43:44It is my great pleasure to be with the one and only Dylan Donnelly, newly crowned NTRA Handicapper of the

00:43:53Year.

00:43:53He's got a whole bunch of other titles as well, but we're going to go with that one.

00:43:56How are you feeling, Dylan?

00:43:57I feel fantastic.

00:43:59Beautiful day.

00:44:00Bank account has a few more zeros.

00:44:03I got zero complaints.

00:44:05So we've all seen the clips of you winning by 84 cents.

00:44:10Can you talk me through that moment again?

00:44:12And what you were feeling when that actually happened?

00:44:17Just coming down the lane, I didn't know if I was going to get there, even if the horse won.

00:44:23So they were literally a 16th to go.

00:44:25He took the lead, and I was just kind of numb.

00:44:28I didn't know if my total would be enough.

00:44:30I was happy.

00:44:30At least I would have came in second.

00:44:32But, I mean, you want to win it so bad.

00:44:35And, you know, the two minutes of adding up the totals was pretty crazy.

00:44:43Luckily, we got there.

00:44:44Zero complaints.

00:44:4684 cents.

00:44:46It doesn't matter how small.

00:44:48It still matters.

00:44:49Dylan, for those of you that don't know, talk us through your story and what made you love horse racing.

00:44:55Because you're not only a great handicapper, but you also have skin in the game.

00:44:58Like, you literally own horses.

00:45:00Talk us what got you into racing.

00:45:02I know it was a bit emotional.

00:45:03You were talking about your granddad.

00:45:04Yeah, yeah.

00:45:05My grandpa, he lived five minutes from here.

00:45:07He would babysit me Wednesday, Thursday, Fridays, and we would come to the track.

00:45:12He would give me 20 bucks, and he'd lift me up, and I would bet on the machines.

00:45:19Yeah, I just got older, got a little bankroll, and I just wanted to purchase some horses and get really

00:45:25involved.

00:45:26I even got to name a horse, you know, so it comes all around.

00:45:32I mean, there'd be no horses running.

00:45:33You need bettors.

00:45:34You need gamblers.

00:45:36And so I kind of, I'm all in there.

00:45:39Yeah.

00:45:39What is it you love about this game?

00:45:41Other than the gambling aside, if you never bet on a horse in your life, what would still bring you

00:45:46to the racetrack, Dylan?

00:45:48Um, you know, I just, it's just, it's very relaxing being out here.

00:45:52There's no stress.

00:45:53Um, even when I do make a bet, like, there's no stress.

00:45:56It's just, it's relaxing.

00:45:59It's beautiful.

00:46:00Um, get to see friends out here.

00:46:02Um, yeah, and you can make a little bit of money if you're smart.

00:46:06So, it's, uh, it's very fun.

00:46:09What did your family think of the win?

00:46:11The missus, the kid?

00:46:12Yeah, no, my wife was right there with me.

00:46:15She was giving me snacks in between the races.

00:46:18Um, my son couldn't believe it.

00:46:21Um, but, you know, we were all kind of like, I was confident.

00:46:25So I was kind of, I knew this, you know, I was going to do really well in it.

00:46:29And, uh, it kind of felt weird that it actually was like so soon to me, like saying I'm going

00:46:36to win it soon.

00:46:37And, uh, so now I'm just hungry to try to get another one.

00:46:41Um, how did you know?

00:46:43What's your secret?

00:46:44I just, you know, just go, there's this cool thing, ChadGBT, just go like, which one is the fastest?

00:46:50And it's like, dude, pick this one.

00:46:52And, uh, no, no, you know, it's a lot of, uh, I've spent a lot of money to get better.

00:46:58And, uh, you, you learn from your losses and you, you have to be honest with yourself.

00:47:03And what are your flaws?

00:47:04What are your strengths?

00:47:05And, um, just don't be afraid not to bet.

00:47:08So only bet when you really have a good opinion.

00:47:11So that's what I would say.

00:47:13Dylan, bloody well done.

00:47:15Congratulations.

00:47:15We love you here at Santa Anita.

00:47:19Dylan Donnelly.

00:47:20He's a star.

00:47:26Many thanks to Dylan Donnelly.

00:47:28He certainly has a great story and we wish him the best of luck.

00:47:32I'll tell you where he'll be this weekend.

00:47:33He'll be right here at Santa Anita at the Great Race Place.

00:47:37Now, a reminder to you folks out there, we have a four day week racing weekend.

00:47:42We will run on Thursday and eight race cards starting at 1 p.m.

00:47:46On Saturday, we'll have a 12 race card.

00:47:49It is the first racing tour that kicks off at 12 p.m.

00:47:53Five stakes, of course, highlighted by the grade two Santa Anita Oaks and the grade one Santa Anita Derby.

00:48:00If you want to get up really early and come run with us, you can run the 5k with me.

00:48:04I know Randy's about to zip on his running shoes.

00:48:08Could you run a 5k, Randy?

00:48:09Come on.

00:48:10Zoe, if you see me running, call the police.

00:48:13There is somebody chasing me and it is probably armed.

00:48:17All right.

00:48:18Well, I'm going to be running the 5k.

00:48:20If you'd like to sign up, there is still room at Santa Anita dot com.

00:48:25Well, once again, it's that time of year.

00:48:27Tons of big races run over the weekend.

00:48:30Most of them that get the most attention are the ones that focus the attention on the Kentucky Derby.

00:48:37And the Florida Derby was the highlight Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

00:48:41It was as advertised.

00:48:43An absolutely excellent race with Commandment winning by a nose over the Puma.

00:48:49Chief Wallaby was third.

00:48:51There was a half length separating the three at the wire.

00:48:54Randy, please correct me if I'm wrong.

00:48:56But I believe Commandment got a 100 buyer.

00:49:00And the horse that probably was the disappointment, not probably was the disappointment, was nearly.

00:49:07I'm surprised they made him the favorite, but they did.

00:49:10He didn't look like he really wants to go that far.

00:49:14Maybe his future is as a sprinter.

00:49:17But a couple things to keep in mind.

00:49:21Well, Chief Wallaby did not win the race.

00:49:23Remember that Bill Mott ran sovereignty in the same race last year.

00:49:26And he finished second, beaten a length in a quarter.

00:49:28And he continued on to win the Kentucky Derby.

00:49:30So even though he was beaten, I certainly wouldn't downgrade Chief Wallaby's performance.

00:49:37Randy Moss, you were covering the race for NBC.

00:49:40So you were getting an up-close-and-personal look.

00:49:43I think any one of those three horses, the Commandment, the Puma, or Chief Wallaby, could win the Kentucky Derby

00:49:50and are legitimate contenders.

00:49:53I may be wrong about this.

00:49:55In my opinion, if Chief Wallaby was going to defeat Commandment or the Puma, it was going to be Saturday.

00:50:04And he didn't.

00:50:06And he was once again looked in the eye and out-gamed to the wire by Commandment.

00:50:11So, to me, Commandment, given the way the race played out, was solidly the best horse in the race.

00:50:21I mean, he was very surprisingly to everyone last going down the backstretch behind what so far has been the

00:50:28slowest pace of any of the Kentucky Derby prep races.

00:50:32That should have been a huge disadvantage for Commandment.

00:50:35And the Puma wasn't that far in front of Commandment.

00:50:38And yet, those two managed to run 1-2 at the wire in the closest possible finish.

00:50:44Commandment's so, therefore, I think he's even better than the 100-buyer speed figure that he got.

00:50:53Personally, I not only expected Nearly to be the favorite, I thought he would be a solid favorite.

00:50:59But after the scratches, just because of the tactical advantage he had, we knew the pace wasn't going to be

00:51:05particularly fast.

00:51:07Nearly was either going to be sitting on an easy early lead or he was going to be stalking a

00:51:11long shot like Wayne's Law in slow fractions.

00:51:13He had everything set up his own way.

00:51:16He had shown he didn't have to be in front.

00:51:18And at the quarter pole, he was on E.

00:51:22I initially said the same thing you did, Bill, that it exposed him, his distance capabilities.

00:51:29He didn't want to go a mile in an eighth.

00:51:31My colleague, Jerry Bailey, had a very good point afterward.

00:51:34He disagreed with that.

00:51:37He said that at the quarter pole, that's seven furlongs.

00:51:42Nearly's got no problem going seven furlongs.

00:51:44And he was out of gas at that point.

00:51:47So he thinks it was just the horse didn't have it.

00:51:51And mainly, probably because the Holy Bull was such a gut-wrenching race, going after Confessional in the early part

00:52:02of the race, going 45 and change for the half mile, that that might have taken more out of him

00:52:06than anybody realized.

00:52:08But out of that race, it's only commandment for me going forward.

00:52:14I think nearly just had a bad day.

00:52:17I could draw a line through that.

00:52:19So I'm not terribly worried about that.

00:52:21Commandment was very good.

00:52:23Flavian Pratt simply saying he wasn't quite sure why he was so far back there.

00:52:27That's just where he wound up and was glad that he managed to tip him out and get up just

00:52:33in time.

00:52:34He galloped out terrifically.

00:52:35Chief Wallaby galloped out very well indeed.

00:52:37The only one who really didn't was the Puma.

00:52:39He might have a little bit of distance limitations or not.

00:52:43I mean, he's bi-essential quality.

00:52:45He was no problem getting a mile in the quarter.

00:52:48It's a good race.

00:52:49The top three coming out of there.

00:52:50I wouldn't sleep on Chief Wallaby.

00:52:52I just think he's just a big baby Huey that doesn't know what to do just yet.

00:52:58I'm sure we're going to hear a lot of comments if he does indeed train up to the Kentucky Derby

00:53:02on how hot he got.

00:53:04Just like Sovereignty last year.

00:53:05Oh, he's hot.

00:53:06He's hot.

00:53:07Who cares?

00:53:08That's just he gets hot.

00:53:09He got hot in the Florida Derby.

00:53:12The top three were good, but I would take Commandment, but I wouldn't cross off Chief Wallaby by any means.

00:53:18Normally, when you get three horses that hit the wire together like that, in most instances, it's the sign of

00:53:24a slower than expected race because none of them are good enough to separate.

00:53:29But in this case, I don't think that's it.

00:53:31This is just a really, really good race among three horses.

00:53:34Let's move on to the Arkansas Derby, but Randy, I'm going to tell you, you're underestimating Bill Mott at your

00:53:41own risk.

00:53:42He's a master trainer, and I still don't think we've seen the best of this horse, but that'll be proven

00:53:49in the Kentucky Derby.

00:53:50And maybe you and I should make one of those dollar bets that you make with Jerry Bailey all the

00:53:56time.

00:53:56OK, so the Arkansas Derby, Renegade was huge.

00:53:59I mean, there's no doubt about that.

00:54:01The field that he faced was not nearly as good, I don't think, as the field that lined up for

00:54:08the Florida Derby.

00:54:10But boy, did he have a just huge stretch kick.

00:54:14I mean, when I read Ortiz got him to the outside, he powered down the middle of the track, just

00:54:19ran away from those horses.

00:54:21I was a little bit surprised that the voters have now made him number one in the NTRA pool, a

00:54:29poll over commandment.

00:54:31But I guess everybody, so many people were that impressed by his performance.

00:54:38And he's co-owned by Mike Rapoli.

00:54:41So I'm sure Mike Rapoli will have many, many, many, many things to say derby week when the microphones are

00:54:48put in front of him.

00:54:50But he has has he's co-owned with the low the lows.

00:54:57But he has not won a Kentucky Derby, one of a few things he hasn't done.

00:55:01So Mike Rapoli will be looking to get his first Kentucky Derby winner.

00:55:06Zoe, what did you think of the Arkansas Derby?

00:55:09Wow.

00:55:10Basically, that's it.

00:55:12Let me eat my words right here from last week, because I was like, there's no standouts in the Arkansas

00:55:19Derby.

00:55:20Boy, was I wrong.

00:55:21He was awesome.

00:55:23A sub 12 final eighth of a mile.

00:55:26He did what sub six in the Sam F. Davis.

00:55:28This is a horse who can motor home.

00:55:31And there is a reason that Irad Ortiz chose to take off Commandment and go to Arkansas.

00:55:38It was a big wow for me.

00:55:40He's a serious horse moving forward.

00:55:42And I definitely underestimated him.

00:55:45To me, it's almost a coin flip, almost a coin flip between Commandment and Renegade.

00:55:49And I think that was borne out in the NTRA poll where they were like seven points apart, total voting,

00:55:55something like that.

00:55:56You can make a strong case for either one of them.

00:55:58I tend to lean toward Commandment just because, as you said, Bill, he beat a stronger field.

00:56:03And also because the pace of the Arkansas Derby was faster than the pace of the Florida Derby, even when

00:56:09you factor in the speed of the racetrack.

00:56:11And, you know, that benefited Commandment a little bit because they were both in last at the same point on

00:56:17the backstretch at about the four and a half furlong mark.

00:56:20And they both rallied from last place to win it very impressively.

00:56:24But visually, and again, some of this might just be because of the competition.

00:56:29But visually, I thought Renegade was more impressive than Commandment.

00:56:33And that's important also, how much energy a horse has for the last part of a race.

00:56:39So, to me, both races were just exceptional.

00:56:42And I think right now, depending on what we see at the Santa Anita, which we'll talk about later, and

00:56:47maybe Keeneland, they deserve to be number one and number two.

00:56:50One more quick point about people who analyze fractions, especially come-home fractions.

00:56:57The Oaklawn stretch is downhill.

00:57:00A lot of people don't realize that.

00:57:02There's about a 10-foot drop from the quarter pole to the wire.

00:57:05It doesn't sound like much, but when you get horses like Renegade rolling down the stretch and they're going slightly

00:57:12downhill, it will make that final eighth of a mile and even the final quarter of a mile faster than

00:57:18you would get on most other racetracks.

00:57:20Tampers isn't downhill.

00:57:22Nope.

00:57:23I'll just say that.

00:57:24Oh, you want to go for a third bottle of wine that you don't want to give me?

00:57:27Silver Oat.

00:57:30Commandment versus Renegade, who finishes closer in the Derby.

00:57:34I'll take it.

00:57:35You'll take Renegade?

00:57:37Yeah, I'll take Renegade.

00:57:38Yeah.

00:57:38Okay.

00:57:39Why not?

00:57:40I'll take Renegade.

00:57:40Bottle number three.

00:57:41Zoe, hold on a second here.

00:57:44Randy's never paid you these other bottles of wine.

00:57:47That's what I mean.

00:57:48He's going to finally own up to the...

00:57:50Never doesn't mean I never will.

00:57:54Well, they're just getting more vintage.

00:57:57More vintage.

00:57:58We're on our third bottle of Silver Oak.

00:58:00They're in my wine area.

00:58:03I'm letting them age gracefully.

00:58:05Okay.

00:58:06All right, Randy.

00:58:07If you lose this one, we're going to hold you to this.

00:58:09You owe Zoe some bottles of wine.

00:58:11Okay.

00:58:12So having nothing to do with the Kentucky Derby, but the big show in Dubai over the weekend,

00:58:18the Dubai World Cup.

00:58:19You know, a lot of big stories.

00:58:20Callan Dagan won the Dubai Shima Classic, the 2025 World's Top Rated Horses in the Long Jeans.

00:58:27His ratings, Romantic Warrior won the Dubai turf.

00:58:30But of course, for American fans, the story was Magnitude winning the Dubai World Cup.

00:58:35And I got to be honest with you.

00:58:37I mean, I'm glad.

00:58:38I'm always glad the home team wins.

00:58:40You know, it's easy to root for the connections and Steve Aspies and Jose Ortiz and Ron Winchell.

00:58:47But to be honest, I was a little bit disappointed that Forever Young didn't win because, you know,

00:58:53to me, we were building him up as this super horse and for good reason.

00:58:58I mean, his accomplishments were just off the charts and he just got beat.

00:59:03He didn't have any excuse.

00:59:04I mean, I thought Jose Ortiz on Magnitude rode a very smart race, went to the lead.

00:59:08But, you know, Forever Young stalked him, had every chance to run by him and didn't.

00:59:15Randy, I want to get your opinions, but I want to ask you one question.

00:59:18Is perhaps the Saudi Cup to the Dubai Cup double, maybe a little bit harder than even a Forever Young

00:59:27can pull off?

00:59:28It certainly looks that way.

00:59:30I mean, last year he had other excuses.

00:59:32There were problems in the receiving barn that apparently got him all shaken up.

00:59:36And also he had just an incredibly gut-wrenching win in the Saudi Cup against Romantic Warrior.

00:59:43And both horses came back and lost in Dubai.

00:59:44This year he didn't have such a hard race in the Saudi Cup.

00:59:48He won seemingly, you know, fairly comfortably.

00:59:52So the thought was that the double wouldn't be quite as hard to pull off.

00:59:56But obviously it was.

00:59:57Now, Magnitude's a very good horse and you spot him a comfortable early lead.

01:00:02And as we've seen, as we saw in the Risen Star a year ago, he becomes even tougher to catch.

01:00:08And so you knew at that point that he was going to be, was going to take one of Forever

01:00:11Young's A efforts in order to run down Magnitude, a loose on the lead Magnitude.

01:00:17I'm going to estimate, and we do this not officially, Magnitude got about maybe a 107 or a 108 buyer

01:00:24speed figure, the equivalent, which would put Forever Young at about a 105 or a 106.

01:00:30So Forever Young did not run one of his very, very best races in it.

01:00:35The only thing you can assume is that it might be because that double of Saudi and Dubai is awfully

01:00:41tough.

01:00:43I thought he ran a very game second, but I don't think he really had the horse.

01:00:48He was scrubbing on him down the backside, just trying to keep track.

01:00:51Now, the connections have said that maybe he's just not a fan of the racetrack there.

01:00:56He did win the UAE Derby, but did it in kind of workmanlike fashion.

01:01:00He's never really run a great race in Dubai for whatever reason.

01:01:05Some horses don't like that racetrack.

01:01:07Some horses don't like Keeneland.

01:01:09Some horses don't like Arkansas.

01:01:10So maybe it's that.

01:01:12Maybe it's just a little too close to Saudi.

01:01:16I don't know, but we didn't see the real Forever Young.

01:01:18He was just game enough and a good enough horse to run second.

01:01:22Take nothing away from the winner.

01:01:23Magnitude was absolutely brilliant, and I'm delighted for all the connections.

01:01:28On the 30th running, I'm also happy that nothing happened with everything going on over there.

01:01:36I was crossing my fingers just hoping they got through the night, and they did, which was great.

01:01:40I got one other quick point about Dubai World Cup night.

01:01:44Breeders' Cup winners were 0 for 2 on the night because Ben Tornado, the winner of the Breeders' Cup Sprint,

01:01:50was upset in the Dubai Golden Shaheen at six furlongs by a horse named Dark Saffron.

01:01:56When you do the numbers for Dubai, amazingly, Ben Tornado ran his race.

01:02:02He ran just as well, pretty much, as he did in the Breeders' Cup.

01:02:06And Dark Saffron just ran a hole in the wind and outfinished him.

01:02:13So when Ben Tornado comes back to the States, you know, don't view that race in the Dubai Golden Shaheen

01:02:18as him going off form.

01:02:20He ran his race and was just beaten.

01:02:23I just want to go back to one thing and what Zoe said.

01:02:26And the quote from Yoshida Yahagi, the trainer of Forever Young, was,

01:02:32the track doesn't seem to suit this horse.

01:02:36And he, that's the worst excuse in horse racing.

01:02:41Oh, yeah.

01:02:41Yeah.

01:02:42I mean, every single, I mean, he must have, he must have studied the American Trainer playbook

01:02:46because every single time a horse doesn't run up to expectations.

01:02:49And he did win the UAE Derby over the same track.

01:02:53I can't see blaming the racetrack.

01:02:55No, I think the track was too cuppy.

01:02:58Okay.

01:02:58Two cuppy.

01:02:59Yeah.

01:03:00I've been covering the sport for 40 years.

01:03:02I still don't understand what cuppy means.

01:03:04I really don't.

01:03:06Okay.

01:03:07All right.

01:03:07So that's a wrap up of the Dubai World Cup and the Florida Derby and Arkansas Derby.

01:03:11We're going to take a break.

01:03:12We come back.

01:03:12We'll hear from our friends at the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.

01:03:15We'll also find out what's going on with First TV.

01:03:19And after that, we will talk about the big races coming up this weekend.

01:03:23Stay with us here on the TDN Riders Room Podcast.

01:03:26The TDN Riders Room also brought to you, as always, by our friends at the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, the

01:03:32PHBA.

01:03:33If you're looking to breed and race, I have some numbers for you.

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01:03:40331.

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01:03:49321.

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01:03:58And that's not just a one-off.

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01:04:09The PHBA encourages you to listen to those numbers and compare them to the numbers offered by your state.

01:04:16And if you want more information about the PA Bread Program, then you can visit www.pabread.com or call

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01:04:27The Pennsylvania Breeding Program is the best program in the country.

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01:05:27The TDN Writer's Room Work of the Week is brought to you by First TV.

01:05:32Let's take a look at Patenti.

01:05:33Perhaps the Santa Anita Derby winner.

01:05:36I think so.

01:05:37Here he is working on the inside of stablemate Crude Velocity.

01:05:41Crude Velocity and OBS Buy.

01:05:43He was a TDN Rising Star.

01:05:44He actually runs on Saturday in the second race at Santa Anita.

01:05:48They both worked five furlongs in 59 and 1 on Friday at Santa Anita.

01:05:53It was the fastest, no surprise here, of 12 works at the distance that day.

01:05:58Patenti was a $2.4 million Saratoga yearling who will be looking to run his record a perfect three for

01:06:04three in the Santa Anita Derby on Saturday.

01:06:07It's a punches ticket, hopefully, to Churchill Downs.

01:06:11Well, it's the last big weekend of preps for the Kentucky Derby.

01:06:15Then we'll have the lull before the Derby, which is four weeks plus a couple days as we are recording

01:06:23this on Tuesday.

01:06:25But before we get into the preps for the males, the Central Bank Ashland at Keeneland on Friday is, by

01:06:32the way, the only grade one prep for the Kentucky Oaks, where there's four grade one preps for the Kentucky

01:06:39Derby.

01:06:39And it's a very interesting race.

01:06:42Zany, who has been number one in my poll from day one in my top ten poll sponsored by Fasic

01:06:50Tipton for the Kentucky Oaks, she makes her long-awaited return after winning the Suncoast Stakes.

01:06:57And that race looks a lot better after Life of Joy came back to win the Fairgrounds Oaks in her

01:07:04last start.

01:07:04But I got to tell you, I'm going to pick her, but I got to tell you, she doesn't exactly

01:07:09jump off the page.

01:07:10I don't think she's any cinch.

01:07:12And, Randy, I'll start with you because based on the numbers, she ran an 82 in the Suncoast, and that's

01:07:19okay, but it doesn't tower over the field.

01:07:23We have some interesting competitors in here.

01:07:25Percy's Bar will be making her first start since the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Phillies, but she was a really good

01:07:33two-year-old filly.

01:07:34She won the Alcibades.

01:07:35She won it crossing the wire first, but was de-cued.

01:07:38And you have this kind of mystery horse, French Friction, who for our friend John Green and DJ Stables, John

01:07:44and Len Green, has just looked fantastic, but has done its sprinting.

01:07:47So I'll go with Zany, but I don't think she's necessarily a cinch in this spot.

01:07:53All right.

01:07:54I would caution you and all of our viewers who bet not to view Zany as an 82 buyer speed

01:08:03figure type of horse.

01:08:05The pace in that race would automatically depress any final buyer speed figure.

01:08:14They went 49 and change for the half mile.

01:08:16And when you look at other races that day, it wasn't just that the track was slow.

01:08:20It was just a significantly slow-paced race.

01:08:24That combined with the way Zany ran like a snake from the quarter pole to the wire when she was

01:08:29apparently bored because she was in front so easily,

01:08:34I think leads me to believe that Zany is probably more like a 90 or a 91 or a 92

01:08:42type horse in the buyer's scale than she is an 82.

01:08:46So I think I agree that Zany is the number one rated three-year-old filly in America right now.

01:08:52And I'm anxious to see how she runs in her final Oaks prep.

01:08:55I can't wait to see her.

01:08:57I think she's terrific.

01:08:58She's just got to go in a straight line.

01:09:00She'll have to deal with a lot of things going on at Keeneland because it'll be very, very busy.

01:09:06But if you've ever been to Tampa Bay Downs, it gets extremely busy there as well, especially on a day

01:09:13like the Suncoast was held.

01:09:15There'll be lots of people in the paddock.

01:09:17So she's handled herself very well before, and she is without question the horse to beat.

01:09:23So let's turn our attention to the Bluegrass.

01:09:26We do not have the past performances at this point.

01:09:29As Randy pointed out, we are recording this on a Tuesday afternoon.

01:09:33He's got the pre-past performances, but we don't have the official past performances.

01:09:38And frankly, I have a hard time making a pick until I can really dive into the DRF.

01:09:43But it's going to be a very good race.

01:09:45Not as good now with the news that Paladin was hurt last week and will be out.

01:09:49But you have Reagan's honor further ado and a class president headlining the field.

01:09:56Again, I'm reserving the right to change my mind.

01:09:59But we talked to Cherie DeVoe earlier, and I was super impressed with Reagan's honor and that allowance win at

01:10:05fairgrounds.

01:10:06So for now, until and unless I change my mind, Randy, that'll be my pick.

01:10:14Oh, you know, it's it's a pretty on paper, figure wise, if Reagan's honor runs his race back again that

01:10:21he ran at the fairgrounds in that allowance race against older horses, by the way, he should win, especially if

01:10:28Cherie DeVoe is correct in her thought.

01:10:31And, you know, I got to couch it by saying all trainers think this, but that hers will be just

01:10:36as good stalking as as he was on the early lead in his last two starts.

01:10:41Well, a class president ran a decent race in the Rebel out gaming silent tactic who came back and ran

01:10:48a good second in the Arkansas Derby.

01:10:50Well beaten, but OK.

01:10:51Further ado, was beaten just three quarters of the length by the Puma at the Tampa Bay Derby.

01:10:57Sorry, Zoe, I'm not going to let you get away from that one.

01:10:59And that was his first start of the year, and that was a pretty good effort.

01:11:03And it just I'm just interested.

01:11:05I don't think he's good enough.

01:11:06I don't think he really wants to go a mile and an eighth.

01:11:09Trainer John Ennis tells me that the gelding great white, if he manages to make it to the Kentucky Derby,

01:11:17will be easily the largest horse in the field.

01:11:22Apparently, this horse is approaching 18 hands.

01:11:25He's gigantic to the to the point that he has trouble fitting inside the starting gate.

01:11:32So I'll be interested to see the well-named gray named great white, the huge horse, to see how he

01:11:42looks and how he runs.

01:11:43How can you not vote for him?

01:11:45Great white.

01:11:46Terrific name.

01:11:47Honestly, I don't have a massive opinion in the bluegrass.

01:11:50I'm just going to take a sit back and enjoy the race.

01:11:54All right.

01:11:55Well, let's turn our attention to the Santa Anita Derby.

01:11:57Zoe Cabman will be on hand, I'm sure, on Saturday at Santa Anita, filling in all the simulcasting viewers.

01:12:05No surprise, Bob Baffert has won this race nine times, but hasn't won it since 2019.

01:12:11The last Santa Anita Derby winner to win the Kentucky Derby is justified in 2018.

01:12:17And Zoe, this is I guess I have to go with Cherokee Nation.

01:12:23This is a very hard horse to understand.

01:12:26It took him six starts to break his maiden.

01:12:30But when he broke his maiden in his last start, he was sensational getting a 100 buyer figure.

01:12:37That is 11 points faster than anyone else in this field ran in their last start.

01:12:45I know you're a Potente fan because, to your credit, you and your partner, I'll pick this horse out at

01:12:52the sales.

01:12:53That's Baffert's other horse.

01:12:54But, Zoe, before I get you a pick, what's your take?

01:12:57What did Baffert figure out about Cherokee Nation?

01:13:00Why was he a totally different horse in this race where he just, I mean, he was running 70 buyers.

01:13:06All of a sudden, he runs 100.

01:13:09Did you talk to Bob?

01:13:11What the heck happened?

01:13:13And can he run back to that race?

01:13:15It was the first horse that Bob actually ever put Amici Al Jaramillo on.

01:13:20And I saw Bob before the race.

01:13:22He's like, hey, what's that guy like?

01:13:23I'm like, he's great.

01:13:24You know, if you want your horse on the lead, he can get him out the gate.

01:13:27He's like, I'm not sure I want him on the lead.

01:13:30So, anyway, the horse breaks like he's never broke before.

01:13:33Breaks five in front and just runs off with Jaramillo and wins by 10.

01:13:38And Jaramillo comes back and he looks at Bob and he's like, Bob said to him, just get him out

01:13:43the gate with the instructions.

01:13:45And he was like, that won't be a problem.

01:13:47I get him out the gate.

01:13:48And he got him out the gate.

01:13:49Unfortunately for Jaramillo, he has an allegiance to Doug O'Neill.

01:13:54Jaramillo is now the leading rider at Santa Anita.

01:13:57Great job by Tom Canutes, his agent.

01:14:00Just getting him on all kinds of horses.

01:14:03But predominantly a lot of his wins have come for Doug O'Neill, who's having an amazing win.

01:14:08And he sticks with Robusta in here, who was just beaten by Patente in the San Felipe.

01:14:17So, Cherokee Nation draws a one hole.

01:14:19We'll get Flo, who will go on the rail.

01:14:23He'll try and get him out the gate as quickly as Jaramillo did.

01:14:26And Patente will be waiting in the winds.

01:14:28I love Patente.

01:14:29Patente worked in company.

01:14:32His first work back with Cherokee Nation.

01:14:34You can watch that on First TV.

01:14:36Almost got the better of him, in my opinion, in the work.

01:14:39And then he just worked with Crude Velocity as well, who run an allowance race on Saturday.

01:14:46I'll take Patente.

01:14:47I'm obviously biased.

01:14:49And we'll see what Cherokee Nation can do.

01:14:55So, Bob didn't figure anything out about Cherokee Nation.

01:15:01He really didn't think Cherokee Nation was going to win that race.

01:15:04He thought his second-place horse, Winston Ave, was probably the horse to beat.

01:15:08He was frustrated because I mentioned Great White as being this massive horse that's claustrophobic in the starting gate and

01:15:16has trouble fitting.

01:15:17Cherokee Nation's a big boy, too.

01:15:19A big boy.

01:15:20Weighs about 1,300 pounds.

01:15:22And he's 17 hands or more.

01:15:25And he has repeatedly had trouble getting out of the starting gate in most of his races.

01:15:32Juan Hernandez couldn't get him out of the gate before.

01:15:37Flabby and Pratt couldn't get him out of the gate.

01:15:40Fray Sue couldn't get him out of the gate.

01:15:42The only time before that maiden win that he had actually left the starting gate quickly, on time, was a

01:15:50maiden race before the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last year run at Santa Anita, in which he broke well.

01:15:56And he hooked up with this horse named Mr. AP.

01:15:59And they went head and head all the way around the track, going a mile at Santa Anita.

01:16:04And Cherokee Nation ran an awesome race.

01:16:06He got beat in a photo by Mr. AP, who came back to be second to Ted Noffey in the

01:16:12Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

01:16:13The buyer only comes back in 81 in that race.

01:16:16But almost every horse that has run back out of that race has run 15, 16 points faster than that

01:16:24in their very next starts.

01:16:26So I'm looking at that 81 on paper for Cherokee Nation as more like a 95 or a 96 in

01:16:32my handicapping.

01:16:32And that was the only other time he's gotten out of the starting gate until they put Ernesto Jaramillo on

01:16:38him.

01:16:39And he breaks like a shot and just looked unbelievably good.

01:16:43Now, what do you do here?

01:16:44What do you expect?

01:16:47I mean, he's had what?

01:16:49He's had six lifetime starts.

01:16:50He's broken slowly four of the six.

01:16:52He's got the number one post.

01:16:54So he's going to be standing in the gate longer than any other horse in the field.

01:16:57And I know that's not what Bob wanted.

01:16:59Is that going to matter?

01:17:01He's had the number one post before, and he did not break well at all in his maiden win three

01:17:06starts back.

01:17:08If he breaks, he wins, in my opinion.

01:17:11But Potente is a good horse as well who's rapidly improving.

01:17:15And I think it's going to come down to those two.

01:17:19And I think it's going to be decided about three strides out of the gate when you see how well

01:17:25Cherokee Nation breaks or doesn't break.

01:17:28So the other big prep race of the weekend is the Wood Memorial.

01:17:33And, you know, this poor race is really struggling and hasn't produced a Kentucky Derby winner in an awful long

01:17:39time.

01:17:39Poussiasti Pegasus was the last horse to win the Wood and to come back and to win the Kentucky Derby.

01:17:46And to me, this looks like it's a 13-horse race.

01:17:49And it looks like everybody and their brother threw their horses in here just hoping to pick up enough points

01:17:54to get into the Kentucky Derby.

01:17:56The Chad Brown horse, Iron Honor, on paper, just jumps out from the buyer figures much faster.

01:18:04Chad Brown has had nothing but bad luck this week with his horses falling off the trail to the Kentucky

01:18:13Derby.

01:18:13But Iron Honor does draw the 13 post.

01:18:16I'm going to get a little crazy here.

01:18:18I've already said that I'm, you know, I'm the president of the Bill Mott Fan Club.

01:18:22I thought this horse, Steele, even though he didn't get any number, was very impressive breaking his maiden at Gulfstream

01:18:27and broke very slowly.

01:18:30It was way back and closed very sharply to get up.

01:18:34So just a kind of an off-the-wall pick or an outside-the-box pick.

01:18:39I'll go with Steele.

01:18:40But Iron Honor, Zoe, is the horse to beat.

01:18:44The post position is a little tough, but Manny Franco certainly knows his way around Aqueduct as well, if not

01:18:50better than anybody else.

01:18:51So I think he's the horse to beat.

01:18:53But I'll just take a chance on a long shot in what is a race that perhaps could produce an

01:19:00upset victory.

01:19:02Don't be surprised if Steele takes some money.

01:19:05That maiden race was very visually impressive.

01:19:08While he didn't run a huge number that day, he did it the right way.

01:19:12So you're definitely onto something with Steele.

01:19:15Horrible post for the favorite Iron Honor in post position number 13.

01:19:20Maybe take another look at Brevaro, who'll get the blinkers on for Safi Joseph.

01:19:24Although I just checked Safi's stats.

01:19:26He's 2% putting blinkers on horses.

01:19:29So he's obviously won with one of them, but there's been a lot of others that didn't.

01:19:35Brevaro is a pretty good horse.

01:19:37He's a New York bred.

01:19:38He likes that track up there.

01:19:40So perhaps take a swing with him.

01:19:42I don't know what Napoleon Solo is going to do down on the rail.

01:19:46I don't know what's happened to the poor Wood Memorial.

01:19:49I mean, this used to be such an A-list Kentucky Derby prep race.

01:19:53And not only has it not had a winner of the Wood come back to win the Derby since Fusayichi

01:19:58Pegasus,

01:19:59it hasn't had a horse run in the Wood that went on to win the Kentucky Derby since Funnyside in

01:20:052003.

01:20:06As a matter of fact, since 2003, the Wood Memorial has only had one horse.

01:20:11One horse finished first, second, or third in the Kentucky Derby.

01:20:16And that one horse was Tacitus, who finished third only because he was put up by disqualification from fourth when

01:20:23they took down maximum security.

01:20:24This race has just become an afterthought.

01:20:26And then you look at the field here.

01:20:29And again, I mean, it looks like it's it's an afterthought.

01:20:32The good news is, though, that because it's such a evenly matched race with sort of mediocre Kentucky Derby contenders,

01:20:41it's a big burst.

01:20:43Everybody wants to run.

01:20:44So it's a big field and it's a good betting race.

01:20:47Well, we will find out what happens this weekend.

01:20:50And when it's all said and done, we will pretty much have a very good idea of who's going to

01:20:57be the going to be in the Kentucky Derby field, barring the always last minute defections.

01:21:03But it's going to be a very important week of racing.

01:21:06And we'll certainly have a lot to talk about when we review things next week on the TDN Writer's Room

01:21:11podcast.

01:21:12TDN Writer's Room also brought to you by West Point Thoroughbreds.

01:21:15Here's another ticket puncher that we can talk about.

01:21:18West Point is still celebrating the fantasy stakes last week at Oakland.

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01:21:30It's sort of like a front row ticket.

01:21:32We'll see how zany runs in the Ashland at Keeneland.

01:21:35But you've you know, you've got Life is Joy in the Fairgrounds Oaks who look good.

01:21:38Counting Stars look really good.

01:21:40You've got Prom Queen look good in the Gulfstream Park Oaks.

01:21:43But look, Counting Stars is right there.

01:21:45And it comes at a good time for West Point because their champion, Super Corridora, also a three-year-old

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01:22:37That's a wrap on this week's show.

01:22:39I want to thank Cherie DeVoe, our Gainsway Guest of the Week.

01:22:42I want to thank my partners, Randy Moss and Zoe Cabman.

01:22:46And also, as I always do, want to thank the people that work behind the scenes.

01:22:49They're the real stars of this show as they make it look so good.

01:22:52And that's Sue Finley, Katie Petroniak, Anthony LaRocca, and Aliyah LaRocca.

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