Miguel Clement Talks Deterministic on TDN Writers' Room

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Trainer Miguel Clement joined this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss a memorable weekend, from his late father's Hall of Fame induction to Deterministic's GI Fourstardave victory. The team also recapped the four Grade I races on Whitney weekend at Saratoga and debriefed the Fair Hill shippers situation.

Transcript

00:00:17Welcome to another edition of the Thoroughbred Daily News Writer's Room podcast presented

00:00:22by Keeneland.

00:00:23My name is Bill Finley.

00:00:24I'm a correspondent for the Thoroughbred Daily News.

00:00:27How are you all doing?

00:00:28I am Randy Moss with NBC Sports and the Buyer Speed Figure Group, and I am not in a location

00:00:35that's quite as cool looking as that.

00:00:38I'm Zoe Cameron with First Racing and First TV.

00:00:41I don't have the fabulous Lucy behind me, but I am at the sale here at Fazek Tipton.

00:00:48But don't worry, there's plenty of horses to go around.

00:00:51Today is Tuesday.

00:00:52We've had day one of the sales, and it was very hard to try and buy a horse.

00:00:57We'll see how they do on day two.

00:01:01Lots of very, very nice horses here.

00:01:03But don't despair.

00:01:04If you get outbeared, you can just go next week, next couple of weeks to Keeneland that starts on September

00:01:09the 14th.

00:01:10But it's going to be hard to buy horses.

00:01:12We sold one last night.

00:01:14It was sold for $3.2 million.

00:01:16There were a couple of 2.3s.

00:01:18This is a place where people like to drink a few adult beverages and buy horses.

00:01:25So if you don't get one here, we've got Keeneland a couple of weeks away.

00:01:28And we'll have a full update on the sale in next week's Writer's Room podcast.

00:01:33Yes, we will do that.

00:01:35And, of course, we look forward to Keeneland September.

00:01:37So a wonderful weekend of racing at Saratoga with four grade ones.

00:01:42And we have to start, of course, with Whitney.

00:01:44And, Randy, you called it last week.

00:01:46You picked Somerty and for all the right reasons.

00:01:49And you know what?

00:01:50It's good to see him back.

00:01:53I mean, he was such a big star last year.

00:01:56I kind of wondered.

00:01:57You gave him a pass on his first two races.

00:01:59I really wasn't that keen on giving him a pass.

00:02:03I didn't think he ran all that well.

00:02:04And I was wondering if he was the old Sovereignty.

00:02:07And certainly he is.

00:02:10And one take I have, and I'll see what Zoe thinks about this.

00:02:14But it's kind of a little bit like we talked about with Renegade the week before.

00:02:19In the Oakland Handicap, he actually went to the lead.

00:02:22In the Stephen Foster, he was pretty close to the pace.

00:02:24He was only two and a half lengths back.

00:02:26Junior Alvarado rode a totally different race.

00:02:29He let him settle him to stride.

00:02:30He was eight and a half lengths back.

00:02:31Boy, that big motor kicked in, and he just blew him away in the stretch.

00:02:37Jockey Club Gold Cup will be next with a showdown with Forever Young.

00:02:41Boy, that'll be worth the price of admission.

00:02:44But Zoe, good to have this guy back.

00:02:46He's back on top.

00:02:47And if things break his way, he very well could be Horse of the Year again in 2026.

00:02:53There's a lot to unpack in this race.

00:02:55There really is a lot.

00:02:56First, there was a deluge of rain.

00:02:58We'll discuss Wider Barrio, the moisture in the track, his retirement now to Gainesway.

00:03:05Magnitude, inside track.

00:03:07The outside was the place to be on Saturday.

00:03:10He got stuck down on the rail.

00:03:11Nitrogen, she ran an absolute blinder to go through those kind of fractions.

00:03:1746 and change for the half, 109 and 3, to get run down by a horse that won the Kentucky

00:03:23Derby.

00:03:24She ran an absolute blinder.

00:03:25But it was so cool to see Sovereignty back.

00:03:29And, yes, there was a definite outside bias.

00:03:32A lot of the horse races were won coming down the middle of the racetrack.

00:03:36But I don't think anybody was beating Sovereignty that day.

00:03:41I heard a few comments about, and I never really got to listen to all the comments.

00:03:45There was some kind of different riding instructions from Bill Mock given to Junior Alvarado.

00:03:50I don't know if it was warm up or what it was.

00:03:52But apparently it was something different.

00:03:54I wish I could elaborate.

00:03:56Whatever it was, keep doing it.

00:03:57It worked.

00:03:58He's back in his stall over on Oklahoma, right over there.

00:04:01And he looks like he never ran.

00:04:04He is most definitely back.

00:04:06And you know what?

00:04:07Bill Mock's such an astute horseman.

00:04:09He put draw reins on that horse the last couple of weeks.

00:04:12And I don't know to build up his hind end, but he's looked like a different horse working.

00:04:17His last couple of weeks have been a – last couple of works have been an awful lot sharper.

00:04:23And, yeah, he's going to be a force to be reckoned with.

00:04:26And, you know, he does love Saratoga.

00:04:28Let's not leave that out of the equation as well.

00:04:31Yeah, the post-race comments, it was either Mott or Alvarado or Junior.

00:04:37But apparently the only instructions from Mott were just let the horse do what the horse wants to do.

00:04:43Don't get in his way.

00:04:45Just let him decide how he wants to run.

00:04:48And, you know, I don't really think if you just looked at the rate of speed that he was going

00:04:54any more slowly at the beginning of the Whitney than he was in, let's say, the Stephen Foster.

00:04:59I mean, they went 109.65 for six furlongs, and that's about six or seven lengths faster than they went

00:05:06in the Stephen Foster.

00:05:08So I think that had a lot to do with why Sovereignty was so far back.

00:05:12I agree.

00:05:13Nitrogen ran an unbelievable race.

00:05:15And I thought it was a great ride by John Velasquez to be as aggressive as he was.

00:05:21I mean, he didn't know which Sovereignty we were going to see, but Magnitude was the favorite.

00:05:26Magnitude was the horse to beat.

00:05:27And by aggressively going after Magnitude on the front end and then dropping over in front of Magnitude and putting

00:05:35Magnitude in a pocket with dirt kicked in his face,

00:05:38you're putting him in a completely different circumstance than he was in in the Stephen Foster.

00:05:42And the question was just going to be how comfortable would he be?

00:05:46And clearly, either he just wasn't the same horse or he wasn't comfortable in that position because he clearly didn't

00:05:53fire.

00:05:54But it's great.

00:05:54I agree with you, Bill.

00:05:55It's fantastic to see Sovereignty back in the winner's circle.

00:06:00Great fan reaction that Mott noted after the race.

00:06:03And yeah, maybe he'll continue this all the way to the Breeders' Cup Classic.

00:06:08So before we put a button on this, a couple other things that I want to bring up.

00:06:12I just I know Zoe said it, but I wanted to add to the conversation on Nitrogen.

00:06:18What a great race she ran.

00:06:19And in defeat, she improved her resume.

00:06:24I think people think more of her now than even they did after that scintillating win in the Ogden Phipps.

00:06:30And again, a horse that's on track to win two straight Eclipse Awards.

00:06:34Sad to see White Iberio really not run a step, but they did the right thing retiring him.

00:06:41And boy, what a career he's had.

00:06:42The other thing we haven't mentioned, guys, is Baeza.

00:06:46This guy cannot get out of the gate.

00:06:49He's such a good horse.

00:06:50And he didn't run as well this time around as he ran in the Stephen Foster.

00:06:55But Bill Mott's got his work cut out for him.

00:06:59If he can't get out of the gate, he's not going to win anything.

00:07:01So I don't know what else they can do.

00:07:04They tried those pads that they put in the gate to try to straighten him out.

00:07:09But he had those right now.

00:07:11He's just got those awful gate problems.

00:07:14He's like, what's the old cliche, a puzzle wrapped in an enigma.

00:07:18I mean, that's that's kind of Baeza.

00:07:20He's he's always been a tremendously talented horse.

00:07:24And he's always been an unreliable horse for various reasons, like you saw.

00:07:30I mean, he broke.

00:07:31He didn't break again.

00:07:33But, OK, that's all right.

00:07:34He ran so well on the Stephen Foster coming from off the pace.

00:07:36He'll be OK.

00:07:37And he just didn't fire.

00:07:39I mean, that's kind of been Baeza's M.O., unfortunately.

00:07:44I would imagine they give him a full workup just to see.

00:07:47Sometimes horses have trouble breaking out of the gate for various reasons.

00:07:51He's getting worse.

00:07:52It's not better, not better whatsoever.

00:07:54And they use the pads on him.

00:07:56And if you don't know what the pads are, they're basically they can find the horse a little bit more.

00:08:01Some horses get claustrophobic and this helps them.

00:08:04You don't feel the metal gate on their sides and it kind of levels them out.

00:08:08He had those.

00:08:09So it was a whole famed trainer for a reason.

00:08:12Hopefully he'll try and figure something out.

00:08:15I have no idea.

00:08:16Maybe next I need to try Emisail Jaramillo.

00:08:19Put him in the saddle.

00:08:21You'll get him out of the gate.

00:08:23That's for sure.

00:08:25All right.

00:08:25So a horse that did fire was Explorer winning the test stakes.

00:08:29And boy, Bob Baffert has really figured this filly out.

00:08:33She wants to sprint.

00:08:35She's now three for four with one second at the seven furlong distance.

00:08:40And I know she's just a three-year-old, but right now the Breeders' Cup filly and mare sprint looks

00:08:46right up her alley.

00:08:48Matter of fact, that's a race that's been won by a lot of three-year-olds over the years.

00:08:51So Baffert's really got her in a good place.

00:08:55Movie night, who a lot of people were high on, what I believe was the second choice in the race,

00:09:00didn't fire to run six.

00:09:02But the story, Randy, certainly was Explorer.

00:09:05Yeah.

00:09:06Make a 97 buyer speed figure, which was a career high for Explorer.

00:09:10It puts her right in the mix for the filly and mare sprint.

00:09:13It's a loaded division, obviously, with Ways and Means and Grand Job and Eclatant and Maeda and all these other

00:09:21fillies.

00:09:22But she's, I mean, she deserves to be right there in the conversation.

00:09:25And what's interesting about the speed figure, it's a legit speed figure.

00:09:29I mean, it's based on the running times on the other races on the day.

00:09:34So 97 is an accurate figure.

00:09:36But in this particular case, she actually ran better than, in my opinion, than the 97 buyer speed figure would

00:09:43indicate.

00:09:44And here's why.

00:09:46Goodall finished third and was beaten six and three-quarters length.

00:09:50Sippin' Pretty finished fourth, was beaten nine and a half.

00:09:54On Time Girl finished fifth, was beaten 14 and a half.

00:09:57And Movie Night finished sixth, then was beaten 17.

00:10:00And all four of those horses were coming off races in which they ran buyers anywhere from 89 to 96.

00:10:08And yet they were that far behind Explorer at the end of the race.

00:10:13I mean, she just ran, as Zoe might say, an absolute blinder.

00:10:17She did.

00:10:18Anytime you can win a grade one at Saratoga by, what does she win, by seven lengths?

00:10:23I don't care who's in there.

00:10:25Five, yeah.

00:10:26Like, if you win one by that many, you're good.

00:10:29And she's good.

00:10:29She's a daughter of blame out of a Bernardini mare, much like Sovereignty, out of a Bernardini mare.

00:10:34It'll get you just about anything you want.

00:10:37She's won six of ten.

00:10:39She is absolutely fantastic.

00:10:41And Bob's done a great job with her.

00:10:43Terrific ride by Flavian.

00:10:45And she's going to be a force to be reckoned with.

00:10:47She really is.

00:10:49Four-star Dave Stakes.

00:10:50We'll be hearing from Miguel Clement, the trainer, winning trainer of Deterministic.

00:10:54In just a minute, he's the Gaines Way Guest of the Week.

00:10:56But, boy, talk about superlatives.

00:10:58I mean, this horse is so good right now.

00:11:01He's won six straight races on the grass.

00:11:03All stakes races.

00:11:04Excuse me.

00:11:05He won six straight races altogether.

00:11:07Seven straight on the grass.

00:11:08All of them, stakes wins, wins this race for the second straight year.

00:11:14And you know what?

00:11:14It's going to be interesting.

00:11:17You've got two really good grasshorses this year, but they run in different types of races.

00:11:24And Burnham Square winning the Arlington Million.

00:11:26Boy, he's got quite a resume as well.

00:11:28So this could be a very interesting Eclipse Award race.

00:11:31Normally, the turf division is, you know, a little bit, I wouldn't say blah, but it doesn't get the kind

00:11:37of recognition, obviously.

00:11:38The three-year-olds and the dirt horses do.

00:11:40But we've got some really good turf horses this year, Randy, including Deterministic, who, boy, I mean, talk about consistency.

00:11:47We haven't seen a horse like this in a while who just goes out there every time.

00:11:52Maybe, I mean, he reminds me of Wise Dan.

00:11:54He just, I think he's that good.

00:11:56I would right now rank him Deterministic one and Burnham Square two.

00:12:00And what's great about Deterministic is his running style puts him in a perfect position no matter what.

00:12:09He breaks unbelievably well from the starting gate.

00:12:12He loves being on the lead, but he's also content to sit second.

00:12:16And when he breaks so well, he's automatically in that spot regardless of what happens.

00:12:20If nobody wants the lead, he'll take it.

00:12:21If somebody wants it, he'll sit.

00:12:22And you combine that, Zoe, with his tremendous talent, and it makes him awfully hard to beat.

00:12:28Without question, the best horse that Kendrick Camus has ever ridden, and he rides him to perfection.

00:12:34I was glad to see he wasn't jumping around too much on him at the finish line because I absolutely

00:12:40hate that when these jocks jump up and down and wave their whips and knock horses off balance.

00:12:45He just, he pointed at the camera, which was fine, and galloped out.

00:12:49That's my little bitch for today.

00:12:51He was fantastic.

00:12:53The son of Liam's map.

00:12:55What a good horse.

00:12:56And he's tactical.

00:12:56He's tractable.

00:12:57You can do whatever you want on him.

00:12:59The ground doesn't matter.

00:13:01He's just a cool dude.

00:13:02He's won 10 of 16 and has been handled just so well, not only by Kristoff, but also now with

00:13:09Miguel.

00:13:10And, you know, we already spoke to Miguel.

00:13:13You're here later on.

00:13:13He said he doesn't play favorites, but this has to be his first grade one when it's got to be

00:13:19his favorite horse, at least for now.

00:13:22And everybody's going to be interested in hearing what Miguel told us about any possible distance limitations for deterministic,

00:13:28because you've got obviously not just the Breeders' Cup mile, but the Breeders' Cup turf out there with the higher

00:13:33purse.

00:13:33It'd be interesting.

00:13:34Yes, it will be interesting to see that.

00:13:36We have a good interview with Miguel coming up.

00:13:39Okay, the Saratoga Derby was on the card.

00:13:42And I give up.

00:13:44I'm never underestimating a European horse again.

00:13:48I learned to make a case for Glacius on paper.

00:13:50It was a group three horse.

00:13:51He ran third in a couple group threes.

00:13:53He then came into the race off of another third-place finish in a listed race, trained by Hugo Palmer,

00:14:01who obviously knows what he's doing.

00:14:03But, you know, facing the very best American three-year-olds.

00:14:07And he not only won, you don't see too many, Zoe, wire-to-wire European winners.

00:14:15But he was good, and he just took it to him.

00:14:19And, you know, we've said it a thousand times.

00:14:22We'll probably say it a thousand more if we're still doing this podcast ten years from now.

00:14:26These European horses, they're just better than our horses, on the grass at least.

00:14:31Yeah, did not have the resume whatsoever.

00:14:34I think the deluge and the rain certainly helped his chances a little bit.

00:14:38Louis Sayers rode him great, and that was the plan all along, just to get out there and go.

00:14:44And go he went.

00:14:44He just sprinted home like a little demon.

00:14:47I don't know where it came from.

00:14:49I was not expecting that.

00:14:50Hugo Palmer, brilliant job at spotting this horse and picking the spot and bringing him over and prepping him for

00:14:57it.

00:14:58So hats off to him.

00:14:59Good run by West End kid with the blinkers off for Pratt.

00:15:02Couldn't really go in a straight line very well with the blinkers off, but he was a game second.

00:15:07But I have no idea where Glacius came from.

00:15:10Randy?

00:15:11Here's a European that paid $21.24 to win.

00:15:15And you freaking believe that.

00:15:18And Hugo Palmer was brilliant.

00:15:20I mean, he has much to do with the win as the horse did.

00:15:24First of all, the decision, I think he was thinking about a race in France.

00:15:27Instead, they bring him over here for this.

00:15:29But he looked at the race.

00:15:31He looked at the noms.

00:15:33He looked at the likely runners.

00:15:34And he didn't see any speed, what he considered to be speed.

00:15:38And he said, well, Glacius has speed.

00:15:41So what better rider to get for him, if you want to put him on the lead, than Louis Sayers?

00:15:47And he rode him very aggressively out of the gate.

00:15:49The horse was pretty keen in the early part of the race.

00:15:51But then he got him to switch off.

00:15:52The fractions weren't slow by any stretch of the imagination, especially for that distance,

00:15:57mile and 316s on the turf at Saratoga.

00:15:59But he just was the best horse in the field.

00:16:03Yes, he was.

00:16:05So let's turn our attention to Del Mar.

00:16:07And I want to make mention of the best pal stakes.

00:16:09And just because you look at these Bob Baffert numbers, and you shouldn't be surprised by

00:16:17anything Baffert does with two-year-olds in California.

00:16:21Then you look at him.

00:16:22He's won this race 13 times.

00:16:24It's crazy.

00:16:25Five straight years.

00:16:27And this horse, Hughes, that won by seven and three quarters, this was a race he didn't

00:16:32have to win.

00:16:33This horse, Kenny 10, trained by Vladimir Seren, who had that, I believe, 91 buyer coming out

00:16:39of his maiden.

00:16:40And one ran off the screen.

00:16:41But when it comes to this, Baffert is just, I mean, virtually unbeatable.

00:16:47Now, I would like to mention of the 13 winners, none have won the Kentucky Derby.

00:16:51So he might have 10 more in the barn, better than Hughes.

00:16:55That's usually the case with Bob Baffert.

00:16:58But you can't say enough good things about Baffert when it comes to these races.

00:17:02And five straight years, 13 overall, Randy.

00:17:07I don't care that it's, you know, it's Baffert.

00:17:10It's, that's still just absolutely amazing.

00:17:13I mean, this is just typical, obviously, of Baffert to have a horse like this as, what,

00:17:18a $675,000 yearling.

00:17:21And he's now two for two lifetime, 13 and three quarters links margins.

00:17:25I'm not 100% convinced that this is going to be Bob's best two-year-old.

00:17:31He benefited from a couple of circumstances in the race.

00:17:34I mean, you mentioned a couple of the other horses he was in against.

00:17:37I mean, Kenny 10 didn't break as well as he did in the past.

00:17:41He was bumped at the start.

00:17:42So he didn't get out of the gate as quickly as he did in his debut.

00:17:45And then the really, really fast horse early in the race, it was going to go out and probably

00:17:50beat Hughes to the lead, was a horse called He Is No Lie, who was absolutely sudden in

00:17:56the first part of the races.

00:17:57And he didn't break at all.

00:17:58He was last early.

00:17:59So Hughes kind of benefited from circumstances in there.

00:18:03And to me, my opinion, Zoe, the jury's still out a little bit on Hughes.

00:18:09Yeah, but visually, Randy, he made those horses look like maidens behind him.

00:18:14He really did.

00:18:15I watched it again this morning, and the effortless way he moved across the ground, just every

00:18:21stride bigger and bigger towards the wire.

00:18:24That was effortless for him.

00:18:26Goodbye from Keeneland September, like you mentioned, for 6.75.

00:18:30He has got an owner's list as long as your arm.

00:18:34Like, I looked at it this morning.

00:18:36I was going to write them all down and reel them off, but it's too many.

00:18:38I was running out of pen.

00:18:41And that's what Bob does.

00:18:42He buys these horses.

00:18:44Tom Ryan's in there.

00:18:45And this is a good one.

00:18:47Hey, you want a piece of this?

00:18:48You want a piece of this?

00:18:49And the list is this long.

00:18:51Well, the list of owners that are involved with the Avengers is as long as your arm.

00:18:55This is longer.

00:18:59Yeah, I was very impressed.

00:19:01What was his figure?

00:19:0383.

00:19:04Okay.

00:19:05You know, what, yeah, visually, what, you know, what gives me cause for pause, the two

00:19:11horses I mentioned that didn't break.

00:19:13So, Hughes finds himself on the lead in 22.92 for the first quarter mile at Del Mar.

00:19:20I mean, that's walking at Del Mar.

00:19:23So, that's why I think he's got a little bit left to prove.

00:19:25But, boy, he was visually impressive.

00:19:28And I'm sure the Del Mar Futurity will be next for him.

00:19:31We're going to take a break.

00:19:33We're going to hear from Keeneland.

00:19:35We're going to find out who the fastest horse of the week is.

00:19:37Then we come back.

00:19:38Miguel Clement, our Gainsway guest of the week.

00:19:41I do want to remind you that the TDN Writers' Room is brought to you by Keeneland.

00:19:45Your next opportunity at the world's biggest stage begins Monday, September the 14th at

00:19:50the Keeneland September Sale.

00:19:52Keeneland graduates have had a productive weekend this past weekend at Saratoga.

00:19:56with Explorer winning the grade one test stakes and Deterministic taking the four-star day.

00:20:02Keeneland is a source for success at Saratoga.

00:20:05Learn more at www.keeneland.com.

00:20:09We do this so your granddaughter can work on a farm someday.

00:20:14So the stands will still be packed in 50 years.

00:20:19That's why we come to work every day.

00:20:22Obsess over every single detail.

00:20:26Because the story of racing is written one moment at a time.

00:20:31And the future of our industry deserves nothing less.

00:20:36Keeneland.

00:20:37Every moment matters.

00:20:40Our fastest horse of the week as always brought to you by the fast sires at Windstar Farm.

00:20:44Life is good at Windstar.

00:20:46Literally, life is good.

00:20:47It's their hot stallion.

00:20:49And Saturdays are good for life is good in Windstar.

00:20:52This past Saturday, life is good.

00:20:54Had his 12th two-year-old winner already.

00:20:58When Caribbean life won his debut at Ellis Park by three and three-quarters lengths.

00:21:02Life is good.

00:21:03He's now the number one first crop sire by black-type winners, black-type horses, and graded steak sources.

00:21:10And he's also the fastest sire to record four TDN rising stars in his first crop in the history of

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00:21:31Now, the fastest horse of the week.

00:21:33We've already talked about him, obviously.

00:21:35Sovereignty, the winner of the Whitney Stakes with his buyer's speed figure of 112.

00:21:39It wasn't his career-high buyer's speed figure.

00:21:41That happened in the Traverse Stakes, also at Saratoga, at a mile and a quarter.

00:21:46Probably a better distance, even, for Sovereignty than a mile and an eight.

00:21:49That was a 115 buyer's speed figure last year.

00:21:53But Sovereignty, clearly, back on the right track.

00:21:55And our fastest horse of the week.

00:22:01Welcome in now to Gainesway Guest of the Week, and it's Miguel Clamont.

00:22:05And what a week it was for Clamont and his family and his stable.

00:22:09Deterministic wins the four-star day.

00:22:11But, Miguel, what I'd like to start with is Thursday and the induction of your father into the Hall of

00:22:17Fame.

00:22:17Unfortunately, of course, he wasn't there to see it.

00:22:20Well, what would it have meant to him?

00:22:24He always considered it to be, like, the epitome of racing, and he would have loved it.

00:22:29He would have had a massive party.

00:22:31I'm sure there would have been plenty of rosé, and he would have loved to have been a part of

00:22:35it.

00:22:36What did it mean to you?

00:22:39That's great.

00:22:39It's great for the entire CC track.

00:22:41You know, the whole stable was there.

00:22:42I was very touched because we had many people from all around the world that came for it.

00:22:46A lot of dad's alumni.

00:22:47And, you know, he would have loved it, and it's great for the entire stable play.

00:22:53That, as well as the family, I guess, recognition or bias.

00:22:57But I thought that was a bit overdue.

00:23:01Well, I was actually fortunate enough to be here and be on hand for it.

00:23:05Saw you guys all jump up on stage.

00:23:08Your mom, Valerie, gave a very fitting speech.

00:23:12How long did it take to write that speech?

00:23:14Like, it just seemed like it just came off the cuff because she was very entertaining, heartfelt, and it was

00:23:19just wonderful to listen to her.

00:23:21So it scared us, to be honest with you, because my mom would throw her speech to my sister and

00:23:25I, and now she gave her a great speech.

00:23:30Just, we both wanted to see it beforehand.

00:23:33She vetoed us.

00:23:34And we tried many times, trust me.

00:23:36But I thought the tone and everything was very much what dad would have appreciated.

00:23:43Miguel, let's turn our attention now to Deterministic.

00:23:46And what a horse you have on your hand.

00:23:48Six straight wins, seven straight on the turf.

00:23:51And what has made him so consistent?

00:23:54That's the hallmark of this horse to me.

00:23:57He goes out there every time and gets the job done.

00:24:01He's a tall class.

00:24:03Physically, he's a spectacular mover.

00:24:06Mentally, he's just not only has that innate will to win, but he's an unbelievably professional.

00:24:12He's, for a colt, you never see him misbehave.

00:24:15He knows his job.

00:24:16He knows his routine.

00:24:18And he handles himself with pure class.

00:24:23You look after him and he looks after us.

00:24:25It's that simple.

00:24:25We just try to stay out of his way and make sure he's happy and sound and bring him to

00:24:29the best of his abilities.

00:24:30And he always delivers because he's the top class.

00:24:32It's that simple.

00:24:34So, way back when, Miguel, back more than a year ago, when we were, I guess when Deterministic was getting

00:24:42ready to run in the Wood Memorial.

00:24:45And Jerry Bailey and I are doing our homework for NBC, although we didn't have the Wood, we had some

00:24:49other races.

00:24:50And we talked to you and you mentioned, obviously mentioned Deterministic, in just glowing terms.

00:24:58Like, I mean, there was no doubt in your mind at that point that Deterministic was going to be a

00:25:03top, top class racehorse.

00:25:05And then he goes out and he doesn't run well in the Wood Memorial.

00:25:08He doesn't run well in the Peter Pan after that.

00:25:10And I'm thinking, well, maybe they've got to be really disappointed that the horse is not, maybe not panning out

00:25:15as much as they thought.

00:25:16And then you get him on the turf and boom.

00:25:18I mean, talk a little bit about your, you know, what sort of the progression in your mind of Deterministic

00:25:26as all this went on.

00:25:29Yeah, he lost his way a little bit, which we never quite figured out why.

00:25:33And so you want to impress up the TDN Rising Star first time out, winning at Saratoga 7-8s on

00:25:38dirt.

00:25:39Came back and then dazzled again in the Gotham.

00:25:44And now we never quite figured out why, because his works have always been spectacular on dirt.

00:25:50And there is a scenario that maybe we bring him back on dirt again, to be honest.

00:25:53So I don't want to blame it on the surface.

00:25:56It was about two months or so where he was not performing as high a level as we're associated with

00:26:02him.

00:26:03And since then, he's always won well.

00:26:05But there's a world that you can still bring him back to a different surface, bring him back on the

00:26:10dirt.

00:26:11Depends.

00:26:12Let's see how everything else is taking place now.

00:26:14The next target is the Woodbine Mile, and we're going to discuss everything else afterwards.

00:26:18I don't think he's got many limitations in terms of surface or distances.

00:26:23Really?

00:26:24Distances, what would you think would be his upper distance at which he would be as effective as he is

00:26:31now?

00:26:31Well, he just got nearly beaten two years ago in the Mile 3-8s Jockey Club Derby to Carson's run.

00:26:38We ran second to him.

00:26:40And I think he's a better four-year-old and five-year-old than he was his three-year-old.

00:26:43And he's got that mental component, which we've really worked upon, the entire stable, where he's still switched off while

00:26:50still performing at the highest level.

00:26:51So what I mean by that is, when you watch his race as Kendrick for the first 100 yards, his

00:26:56instructions are always to break, go forward, ride him a bit for the first 100 yards.

00:27:00Nine times out of ten, he jumps on top, or he's right there.

00:27:03For some reason, Manhattan, he decides to miss the break, which I still don't understand why.

00:27:09And you can get his position.

00:27:10And not many times you can encourage a horse to go forward for 100 yards and give him a slap

00:27:13or two and smooch.

00:27:15And then grab a hold, and immediately switches off within two strides.

00:27:18And that's what he does every single time.

00:27:19You can see he can rate right next to one.

00:27:21You can be ridden aggressively, and then, oh, you can sit back and rate.

00:27:24And he's unbelievably push-buttoned in that sense.

00:27:27And probably the best way to describe him in terms of running is, like, he moves like a panther when

00:27:32he reaches, and he's push-button.

00:27:34So he's able to go forward, get that position.

00:27:38And that really separates him, I think, from most horses.

00:27:42So at this point, both the Breeders' Cup mile and the Breeders' Cup turf could be in play long-term?

00:27:49So if the Christophe Clement was not a week after the four-star day, I would have probably asked the

00:27:55connections for personal reasons and took a swing at it.

00:27:57I just thought a week rest.

00:28:00I think he could probably do it.

00:28:01You know, we did it last year with Tony Port at six days, running back-to-back in grade ones.

00:28:05I think he probably could do it.

00:28:07But if he got beat, I would be so upset with myself, so I decided to go with a more

00:28:10conservative option.

00:28:12I think maybe we should go for the wood by a while.

00:28:14I don't think distance is an issue for this horse.

00:28:17He's got enough speed to cut him back even to sprint.

00:28:18I mean, he's just different.

00:28:20He's not that good.

00:28:22It's a bit, like, no different than Gio Ponti.

00:28:24Gio Ponti won the Kilro mile-to-mile, and he won the Man of War, I think it was mile

00:28:28-three-eighths.

00:28:28He was running well in the George, from a mile-to-mile-and-a-half.

00:28:31Tonalist won the Cigar mile.

00:28:34He was second in the Met mile, but he won the Cigar mile.

00:28:36And he also won the Belmont, which is a mile-to-half.

00:28:38I think good horses, when they're that good, distances don't really matter as much.

00:28:43He's got speed.

00:28:44He's got stamina.

00:28:46Were you worried?

00:28:47I was in the paddock.

00:28:48I got stuck in the paddock for two races when the deluge came in,

00:28:52and it just seemed like all of a sudden we were having a beautiful day on Saturday,

00:28:56and then we were two-foot deep in water.

00:28:58Was that a concern to you, watching him go out onto the turf course,

00:29:02knowing that we'd had a good bit of rain?

00:29:04Anytime you add more variables, you're always concerned,

00:29:07especially when you have the heavy favorite.

00:29:08If you didn't have the heavy favorite, you'd probably enjoy having more variables.

00:29:14Nevertheless, he handles all ground.

00:29:16He's very athletic.

00:29:17He's a spectacular mover.

00:29:19So if there's a cut in the ground, if it's as firm as it was on Belmont Day,

00:29:23he's also won on a cut in the ground without delaying the Manhattan last year

00:29:27because of so much rain.

00:29:28So, I mean, I don't think he's really much ground or distance-dependent.

00:29:33This six-race winning streak coincides with Kendrick Carmouche climbing aboard the horse.

00:29:40How did you come up with Kendrick in the first place?

00:29:42And tell us about your relationship and how well he fits this horse.

00:29:47The two of them are like the dynamic duo, I suppose.

00:29:51And that's a spectacular relationship at the moment.

00:29:57Kendrick was able to be given the opportunity.

00:29:59The tournament was written mainly by Joel Rosario previously.

00:30:03And he was also very well written by Manny Franco.

00:30:06They won the Virginia Derby together.

00:30:08And then he came back and he ran on Kentucky Derby Day.

00:30:11And so a lot of the jockeys were obviously at the Kentucky Derby at Churchill.

00:30:16And that's how the opportunity took place with Kendrick.

00:30:20And Kendrick rode him brilliantly.

00:30:22You know, he was, I think, he broke the track record that day.

00:30:26And then a month later, we were on him in the Manhattan.

00:30:29And then Joel Rosario was riding also Farbridge at the time.

00:30:33And that's the beauty of the Manhattan is that you take the best stairs and the best milers

00:30:37and you meet in the middle.

00:30:39And that's why that Manhattan, for me, is a spectacular race.

00:30:42And so as a result, the opportunity took place at Kendrick again, yet again,

00:30:46or was able to retain the mounts.

00:30:47And the two of them have just been unstoppable.

00:30:50So it's never changed something that's been working.

00:30:53So it's your favorite?

00:30:56You don't answer questions like that.

00:30:57But it was enough to do the gender, or not the gender reveal.

00:31:00We used them for, basically, when Acacia told everyone that we were expecting,

00:31:06deterministic was the horse that we decided to use.

00:31:08So, I mean, that kind of answers everything.

00:31:11Are you excited to be a dad?

00:31:13Am I excited to be a dad?

00:31:14Yeah, of course.

00:31:15Of course, I'm very excited to be a dad.

00:31:16Am I mature enough to do it?

00:31:17I believe so.

00:31:19And will Acacia have to help me out more than you can imagine?

00:31:21So, yeah.

00:31:23How did you come up with the baby reveal?

00:31:26It's simple.

00:31:27I thought there would be no better way.

00:31:29So Acacia actually knew beforehand.

00:31:30I didn't.

00:31:31And I always told her, let's put the two of them together.

00:31:34And I originally said, let's do it from the gates.

00:31:35But sometimes you can have a hiccup out of the gates, where one doesn't break.

00:31:37And I said, you know, knowing my luck, I might be having either a boy or a girl.

00:31:41And the wrong horse would maybe win the work.

00:31:43I said, a horse should win the work.

00:31:45So what you should do is you should have two of them.

00:31:46And like a straightforward work, whoever gaps out further does it.

00:31:50And so Acacia knew the gender.

00:31:52I think the only people who knew the gender was Acacia and her mother.

00:31:54And the rest of us didn't.

00:31:57And so I had a big group there that morning.

00:31:59So it was a lot of fun.

00:32:00It was a lot of fun.

00:32:02So between this unbelievable daily double last weekend and a baby reveal, you had so much cool stuff going on.

00:32:08Now, with the Saratoga sale, are you like really, really involved in scouting?

00:32:14Yeah, the issue is not so much the scouting in part.

00:32:16The issue is maybe the finances.

00:32:18I mean, it was a very expensive sale.

00:32:21And we tried.

00:32:22I think we got one on the board yesterday.

00:32:23But it was an expensive sale, the Saratoga sale.

00:32:25So you have to bring some money to that sale.

00:32:32Miguel, you talked about you flirted with the idea of running deterministic in the Christophe Clermont stakes.

00:32:38But you do have Tani Porta in there.

00:32:40So you still obviously have a good chance of winning a race that I no doubt would mean a tremendous

00:32:46amount to you to win.

00:32:47How's he coming into the race?

00:32:49And what would it mean to you to win the inaugural Christophe Clermont stakes with Tani Port?

00:32:55It would mean a lot to many of us, to be honest.

00:32:58The family, to the entire stable.

00:33:01And trust me, it's going to be a very emotional day.

00:33:04We've already had a fair share of emotional days lately.

00:33:07I'm just starting to get immune to it.

00:33:10But that would be phenomenal to win.

00:33:13There's three races, if you want to meet, to be honest.

00:33:16But we really wanted to win this meet, the entire stable.

00:33:19The first was the Hall of Fame, the day that Dad was inducted.

00:33:22The second is the Four Star Day.

00:33:25It's deterministic means the world to us.

00:33:27And we do think he's the best turf horse in the country for the last two years.

00:33:31And the third one would be the Christophe Clermont because of obvious reasons.

00:33:36So now the pressure's on.

00:33:38And we've not missed a beat with him.

00:33:42The horse is a funny horse, Tani Port.

00:33:44He really took his level of racing to another level last year in the fall.

00:33:50We've always been very high on him.

00:33:51But he just didn't quite punch through for the longest time.

00:33:55Last year he went twice, second at Kentucky Downs, six days apart.

00:33:58That was a very, very brave effort.

00:34:00And then he came back and just missed a grade one at Woodbine by a nose.

00:34:04We gave him a run at Keeneland knowing he's going to need the race.

00:34:07Sometimes you have to lose a battle in order to win the war.

00:34:10The goal was to win the Belmont Gold Cup, which he did.

00:34:13And then we decided to keep him fresh for the Christophe Clermont.

00:34:16Then we go back to Kentucky Downs, Canada, and maybe Australia.

00:34:19But he's doing great.

00:34:20He didn't miss a beat.

00:34:22We're very lucky.

00:34:23And he's well-drawn post two.

00:34:26It's a tough race, don't get me wrong.

00:34:27He has some very good Europeans.

00:34:29He has some very good American horses.

00:34:30You have the top three finishers of the Bowling Green plus the winner of the United Nations coming back.

00:34:35And the Euros are no slouches either.

00:34:38So I wish no one came for the race.

00:34:40That's life.

00:34:41I'll give it a go.

00:34:42All right.

00:34:42You said you don't play favorites.

00:34:44Who's behind you on the wall?

00:34:47That's Pizza Bianca.

00:34:48Very emotional win because it was Dad's first British Cup.

00:34:51It's probably the two things that Dad always really wanted.

00:34:55It was a British Cup and to be in the Hall of Fame.

00:34:57And so he tackled one and got the other one just the other day.

00:35:01Those are the two things.

00:35:02The British have eluded him for a long time.

00:35:04I think we had like eight seconds.

00:35:05I don't know how.

00:35:06I mean, he finished second to Zenyatta.

00:35:08Finished second to Wise Ann.

00:35:09Finished second to Goldiekova.

00:35:11I mean, he found some good ones from second to it.

00:35:13I'll tell you that now.

00:35:16But, and then the Hall of Fame, I'll say.

00:35:18Well, Miguel, congratulations on deterministic.

00:35:21Congratulations on the great honor to your father.

00:35:23And thanks so much for joining us on the TDN Writers Room Podcast

00:35:27as the Gainesway Guest of the Week.

00:35:29Good luck this Saturday with Tawny Port and the Christophe Clamont Stakes.

00:35:33Thank you very much.

00:35:35Our guest of the week, Miguel Clamont, came to you courtesy of Gainesway,

00:35:38home to first crop stallion.

00:35:40Drain the Clock.

00:35:42Drain the Clock.

00:35:43Among stallions with 10 or more starters is the number one freshman sire

00:35:47by percentage of black-type horses to starters at just over 15%.

00:35:53Drain the Clock, obviously, as a racehorse, was a lightning-fast grade one sprinter

00:35:58with an imposing physical stature.

00:36:00And he was the first horse to beat Jackie's Warrior at a sprint distance

00:36:04when Drain the Clock won the Woody Stevens Stakes,

00:36:07his first runners just hitting the racetrack this year.

00:36:10Gainesway, power, passion, performance.

00:36:25Drain the Clock, Jackie's Warrior, drain the clock by a head.

00:36:31One million, one million, one million, one million, 100,000.

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00:36:44The Pennsylvania Breeding Program is the best program in the country.

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00:37:14The TD and Riders Room also brought to you by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association,

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00:37:21the PHBA.

00:37:22This Friday evening, Penn National will host two $75,000 Pennsylvania bred stakes races

00:37:28and the $150,000 Pennsylvania Governor's Cup.

00:37:34The two $75,000 races are the Marshall Ginny stakes at five furlongs for three-year-olds

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00:38:06To learn more about that lucrative Pennsylvania bred program,

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00:38:18Well, we probably exhausted the subject last week when we spent, I think, 23 minutes

00:38:24on all the craziness of the Triple Crown and the new series

00:38:29and then moving the Preakness to 22 days after the Belmont.

00:38:33But I had to have the last word in the TDN, and I wrote a column saying that the powers

00:38:41that be

00:38:43have screwed this up royally.

00:38:45I called the sport dysfunctional, which it is, and said, you know, it's incumbent upon them to fix it

00:38:50because right now the Triple Crown is an absolute mess.

00:38:52And I don't think that under the current format we're going to see a Triple Crown winner.

00:38:56I just think there's too many obstacles to overcome.

00:39:00Randy, is there any chance they are going to fix this, or is the status quo at least entrenched

00:39:05for the next year or two?

00:39:08Tony Alavato of the New York Racing Association went on the Steve Bick radio show on Friday

00:39:15and pointedly said that the date of the 2027 Belmont was set in stone

00:39:21and would not be moved from the announced date of June the 5th.

00:39:27Now, Alavato, who I respect, I mean, his involvement with TVG, his involvement with Fox

00:39:33in the creation of these racing shows that have really benefited Naira

00:39:38and really benefited the sport, dramatically increased the number of hours on TV.

00:39:44But he also said a couple of things that I thought were a little disingenuous.

00:39:49He said that even moving the Belmont date one week would create a cascade of negative effects

00:39:58to the stake schedule.

00:40:00And for the first time, he brought up something I haven't heard before,

00:40:04that they were a little reluctant to run the Belmont stakes on Father's Day weekend.

00:40:10So, never mind that Naira had actually agreed to run the Belmont stakes on Saturday, June the 12th,

00:40:23if Fox got the TV rights.

00:40:26You know, I mean, I'm in the TV business, and I know a little bit about how these TV rights

00:40:33deals work,

00:40:34and everything is put in writing.

00:40:38So, I'm telling you, I am 99.999% sure that the Maryland Jockey Club is holding a document

00:40:46from Fox slash Naira that says that the Preakness stakes, if Fox gets the rights,

00:40:53will be run three weeks after the Kentucky Derby,

00:40:55and the Belmont stakes will be run on Saturday, June the 12th.

00:40:58But now, there's all of the spin control out there by the New York Racing Association.

00:41:03Oh, well, it's the Preakness that moved and not us.

00:41:08I just don't understand why.

00:41:11I still, for the life of me, can't figure out exactly why.

00:41:15I mean, the Churchill Downs part of it is a little bit easier to understand,

00:41:20the animosity there, because they were spurned on the intellectual property rights.

00:41:25And by the way, I've also discovered something here that's kind of interesting on that.

00:41:31I don't want to talk another 23 minutes, sorry.

00:41:34But the question was always, why is Churchill Downs so interested in acquiring the Preakness IP rights

00:41:45for $85 million, okay?

00:41:47Based on the contracts between FIRST and the Maryland Jockey Club,

00:41:55for 2027, if Churchill Downs had the IP rights to the Preakness,

00:41:59they were going to get probably a little bit less than $6 million, okay?

00:42:05For an $85 million investment.

00:42:07That's like a 6% return on investment per year.

00:42:11They could do a hell of a lot better than that,

00:42:14investing that $85 million someplace else.

00:42:16So why are they so interested in the Preakness IP rights?

00:42:20Okay.

00:42:23What if, and I think this is more than just a what if,

00:42:27I think this makes a lot of sense.

00:42:33The Preakness at Pimlico,

00:42:35the rebuilding of Pimlico for $400 million

00:42:38on a site in which horse racing was definitely not flourishing

00:42:44other than the Preakness.

00:42:46It's not a slam dunk to succeed.

00:42:48There's no gaming in Maryland.

00:42:51You've got all this competition in the Mid-Atlantic.

00:42:53You've got a declining full crop.

00:42:55You've got a lot of economic headwinds working against

00:42:59the Maryland Jockey Club at Pimlico for that amount of money.

00:43:03We all hope that it's a tremendous success,

00:43:06that it works beautifully,

00:43:07that it rejuvenates the Maryland industry

00:43:09where the handle's been down 30% in the last 10 years.

00:43:13Well, what if it doesn't?

00:43:14Okay.

00:43:15You've got Churchill Downs Incorporated

00:43:18owning Colonial Downs in Virginia.

00:43:20Okay.

00:43:21What would keep Churchill Downs

00:43:23as a maybe a last resort

00:43:26from moving the Preakness stakes

00:43:29to Virginia?

00:43:30I think that primarily

00:43:32is what Governor Westmore was concerned about.

00:43:35And I've been told,

00:43:36okay, there's a law.

00:43:37There's a law that's been passed in Maryland

00:43:40preventing anyone from moving the Preakness.

00:43:42Yeah.

00:43:43Okay.

00:43:43It's the Maryland Business Regulation Code,

00:43:46Title 11, Section 11-520.

00:43:48The penalty

00:43:49for moving the Preakness stakes

00:43:51out of the state of Maryland

00:43:52is this,

00:43:53a revocation of any racing days

00:43:56awarded in the state of Maryland

00:43:58and awarding those racing days

00:44:00to another licensee.

00:44:02Guess what?

00:44:03Churchill Downs Incorporated

00:44:04has no racing dates

00:44:05in the state of Maryland.

00:44:06That penalty doesn't even apply to them.

00:44:09The law was written,

00:44:10really,

00:44:11to target first racing

00:44:12the previous owners

00:44:13of Laurel and Pimlico

00:44:15that had all kinds of racing dates,

00:44:17obviously,

00:44:17in the state of Maryland.

00:44:19So I think,

00:44:20I'm pretty confident,

00:44:22that the powers that be

00:44:24in Maryland

00:44:24were concerned

00:44:25about the possibility

00:44:27in their mind

00:44:28of CDI

00:44:30not only

00:44:31looking at

00:44:33the possibility

00:44:34of moving the Preakness

00:44:35as a long-term,

00:44:37you know,

00:44:38cover-yourself possibility,

00:44:40but that it could even be done

00:44:41in the short term.

00:44:42And I think that's why

00:44:44they were so intent

00:44:45on getting that

00:44:47$85 million investment

00:44:49to the IP rights

00:44:51for themselves.

00:44:52Okay.

00:44:53But the Naira thing,

00:44:54Zoe,

00:44:55I still can't figure out.

00:44:56I'm just trying to pull you

00:44:58back out of that hole

00:44:59you just dug there.

00:45:00I know.

00:45:01That was a good rabbit hole there,

00:45:03Randy.

00:45:03I've got nothing after that.

00:45:04We can move on.

00:45:06Great job.

00:45:07Yeah, Randy,

00:45:08your insights

00:45:09are just terrific

00:45:10and I don't really have

00:45:12anything to add either

00:45:13because,

00:45:15boy,

00:45:16other than...

00:45:16Randy does.

00:45:17Randy does.

00:45:18Go ahead.

00:45:18Let me roll one more thing

00:45:20out there, okay?

00:45:21This is the nuclear option,

00:45:23okay?

00:45:24Baltimore is not going to

00:45:25take this lying down.

00:45:27The Preakness is going to do,

00:45:29they're going to,

00:45:29I promise you,

00:45:30they're going to have

00:45:31purse enhancements,

00:45:32they're going to have

00:45:34financial inducements

00:45:35for horses coming out

00:45:36of the Kentucky Derby.

00:45:37You know,

00:45:37the big question is going to be,

00:45:38will Naira respond?

00:45:40What will Naira do?

00:45:41Will Churchill

00:45:42team up with Naira

00:45:43for financial incentives

00:45:45for horses to run

00:45:46from the Kentucky Derby

00:45:47to the Belmont

00:45:48and bypass the Preakness?

00:45:50All of this battle

00:45:51might still be going forward,

00:45:53but the nuclear option

00:45:55is this,

00:45:56and it's been discussed

00:45:57a little bit in Maryland.

00:45:58It's also been discussed

00:46:00by the New York Racing

00:46:01Association Board of Directors

00:46:03as a possibility

00:46:04for the future.

00:46:05The Preakness moving

00:46:06to the 4th of July.

00:46:09If the Preakness,

00:46:10that way,

00:46:11the Belmont Stakes

00:46:12stays where it's at

00:46:14right now,

00:46:15the Preakness slides

00:46:16to the final leg

00:46:18of the Triple Crown,

00:46:19and it gives the New York

00:46:20Racing Association cover

00:46:22to do something

00:46:23that they would really

00:46:24like to do,

00:46:25and that is drop

00:46:25the distance of the Belmont

00:46:27from a mile and a half

00:46:28to a more palatable

00:46:30mile and a quarter

00:46:31for the way today's racehorses

00:46:32are being trained.

00:46:33Now, I know

00:46:34this totally blows up

00:46:35tradition on several

00:46:36different fronts,

00:46:37but we're seeing tradition

00:46:39being blown up

00:46:39in the Triple Crown

00:46:40right now

00:46:41as we speak.

00:46:43So, perhaps

00:46:44looking ahead

00:46:45beyond 2027,

00:46:47the nuclear option

00:46:47I just mentioned

00:46:49might actually

00:46:50be the most sensible

00:46:51if you want to retain

00:46:52any semblance

00:46:53of the Triple Crown

00:46:54as it used to be.

00:46:55Now, I always thought

00:46:56that was the best option

00:46:58for Maryland

00:46:58to move to July 4th.

00:46:59Randy, the only thing

00:47:00I'd add to that is

00:47:02running a mile and a quarter

00:47:03at Belmont

00:47:03really is a tough

00:47:05sell there.

00:47:06They have to start

00:47:07on that,

00:47:07the turn there

00:47:08being a mile and a half

00:47:09racetrack.

00:47:10But you're absolutely right.

00:47:12I mean, anything

00:47:13is possible here

00:47:14and I think

00:47:15five years from now

00:47:16we'll be seeing

00:47:18a very different

00:47:19Triple Crown

00:47:19and I think we need

00:47:20to see a different

00:47:21Triple Crown.

00:47:22Okay, so some

00:47:23crazy but ugly news

00:47:26that just blew up

00:47:27all over social media

00:47:29and guys,

00:47:31we had an old-fashioned

00:47:32betting coup.

00:47:33There's no other way

00:47:34to put it.

00:47:36On Sunday,

00:47:37a couple trainers

00:47:39nobody ever heard of,

00:47:41Angel Quiros

00:47:42and Ernesto Ochoa

00:47:44teamed up to win

00:47:46four races,

00:47:48two at Monmouth,

00:47:48two at Saratoga

00:47:49with horses coming

00:47:50out of Fairhill

00:47:51that had not run

00:47:53in a long time,

00:47:55long layoffs.

00:47:56A couple of them

00:47:57ran off the screen,

00:47:59a couple of them,

00:47:59one of them,

00:48:00even Matt Dinnerman

00:48:01in his call

00:48:02said he's 17-1

00:48:03but he looks like

00:48:04he's a 1-5 shot

00:48:06among other things,

00:48:08the daily double

00:48:10for the two horses

00:48:11that won at Monmouth

00:48:12for Ochoa,

00:48:14one horse paid

00:48:15$37.20,

00:48:16the other paid

00:48:16$9.60.

00:48:17Double for a dollar

00:48:18came back

00:48:19$12.80.

00:48:23The other thing too

00:48:24is Quiros

00:48:25not being the trainer

00:48:27of the horses

00:48:28at,

00:48:28also he ran a horse

00:48:30at Saratoga,

00:48:31Quiros,

00:48:31who looked like

00:48:33he was pretty well met

00:48:34and I believe

00:48:35it was a filly

00:48:36and she got off

00:48:37to an absolute

00:48:37terrible start,

00:48:38threw her head

00:48:39at the gate,

00:48:39pretty much

00:48:40was eliminated.

00:48:43And also,

00:48:44Quiros,

00:48:45the horses

00:48:45that won

00:48:46at Monmouth

00:48:47for Ochoa

00:48:48were trained

00:48:49by Quiros,

00:48:50these horses

00:48:50all came out

00:48:51of Fairhill

00:48:51but just a few

00:48:52days before

00:48:53the race

00:48:53turned them over

00:48:55as said

00:48:55his owner

00:48:56sold them

00:48:56to Ochoa.

00:48:58I don't really

00:48:59know what

00:49:00anybody can do

00:49:01about this

00:49:02other than

00:49:02if the horses

00:49:03come back

00:49:03and test

00:49:04positive.

00:49:04Everybody

00:49:05and their

00:49:05brother,

00:49:06Haiza,

00:49:06Naira,

00:49:07New Jersey

00:49:07is looking

00:49:08into this,

00:49:09Hiwu

00:49:09investigating it,

00:49:11Fairhill

00:49:12investigating it

00:49:13but

00:49:16it's kind

00:49:17of an ugly

00:49:17story.

00:49:18Look,

00:49:19you know,

00:49:20maybe just

00:49:21maybe

00:49:21these horses

00:49:23were just

00:49:24doing great

00:49:25and nobody

00:49:26bet but

00:49:28boy,

00:49:28to say the least

00:49:29this is fishy

00:49:30Randy Moss.

00:49:32Oh,

00:49:32you think

00:49:33so?

00:49:35This is like

00:49:36the old

00:49:36fashioned

00:49:37Doc Hardhill

00:49:38days way

00:49:38back when

00:49:39right when

00:49:40we were always

00:49:41talking about

00:49:41betting coups

00:49:42and things

00:49:42like that

00:49:42that seemed

00:49:43to be

00:49:43kind of

00:49:44like no

00:49:44longer

00:49:45with us

00:49:45boy.

00:49:46They bet

00:49:47these horses

00:49:48all over

00:49:49the world.

00:49:50They bet

00:49:51them in the

00:49:51books in

00:49:52England.

00:49:53They bet

00:49:54them overseas

00:49:54in, you

00:49:55know,

00:49:56in offshore

00:49:56accounts.

00:49:58Maybe

00:49:58they made

00:49:59a mistake

00:50:00in betting

00:50:00as much

00:50:01as they

00:50:01did into

00:50:02the Monmouth

00:50:02Daily Double

00:50:03Pool to

00:50:04draw that

00:50:05much attention

00:50:05to themselves,

00:50:06but there

00:50:07are just

00:50:07so many,

00:50:08you know,

00:50:09interesting

00:50:09aspects to

00:50:10this.

00:50:10The horse

00:50:11that literally

00:50:11ran off the

00:50:12TV at

00:50:13Saratoga

00:50:13for Ochoa,

00:50:14Classic

00:50:14Rock.

00:50:16Ochoa had

00:50:17been two

00:50:17for his

00:50:18last 59

00:50:18starters as

00:50:20a trainer

00:50:20going into

00:50:21the day

00:50:21at Saratoga.

00:50:23Never won

00:50:23a race at

00:50:24Saratoga.

00:50:24He just had

00:50:25one previous

00:50:25starter.

00:50:26But this

00:50:26horse wins

00:50:27by eight

00:50:28plus links,

00:50:29runs a

00:50:2991 buyer

00:50:31speed figure,

00:50:32and he

00:50:32had previously

00:50:33been trained

00:50:33by Eduardo

00:50:34Aspera Jr.,

00:50:36okay?

00:50:36And for

00:50:37Aspera,

00:50:38the workouts

00:50:39were really

00:50:40special.

00:50:41He went

00:50:4147-4 at

00:50:42Churchill Downs

00:50:43Training

00:50:43Center,

00:50:4447-2 for

00:50:45a half at

00:50:45Keeneland,

00:50:4646-1 at

00:50:48the Churchill

00:50:48Downs Training

00:50:49Center in

00:50:49November.

00:50:50Then suddenly,

00:50:51he changes

00:50:51hands.

00:50:52He goes to

00:50:53Ochoa.

00:50:54Now,

00:50:55these half-mile

00:50:55workouts at

00:50:56Gulfstream

00:50:57and Fair

00:50:58Hill.

00:50:5952-4,

00:51:0051-1,

00:51:0252-3,

00:51:0353-3,

00:51:0550-3,

00:51:0650-3.

00:51:07Where's

00:51:07the speed?

00:51:09Nowhere in

00:51:10any of those

00:51:11breezes,

00:51:12the last few

00:51:13at Fair

00:51:13Hill,

00:51:14did the

00:51:14horse show

00:51:15anything in

00:51:16the morning

00:51:16like he had

00:51:17shown for

00:51:18Aspera.

00:51:18And trainers

00:51:18have different

00:51:19training methods,

00:51:20I know that,

00:51:20but to see this

00:51:21horse run like

00:51:22he did on that

00:51:23string of

00:51:24workouts is

00:51:24just unbelievable.

00:51:26I mean,

00:51:26all you've

00:51:26got to really

00:51:27say is where

00:51:27there's smoke,

00:51:28there's fire,

00:51:29right?

00:51:30I don't know

00:51:30what went on.

00:51:31Someone messed

00:51:32up the Daily

00:51:33Double.

00:51:33Anytime you've

00:51:34got a horse

00:51:34that pays,

00:51:35what,

00:51:3537 and

00:51:35change to a

00:51:36$9 horse and

00:51:37the Daily

00:51:38Double pays

00:51:38$12.80.

00:51:40I mean,

00:51:41come on.

00:51:42There's smoke

00:51:42coming out of

00:51:43my ears.

00:51:43These are alarm

00:51:44bells that aren't

00:51:45supposed to happen.

00:51:46Someone got greedy

00:51:47when they probably

00:51:48shouldn't have,

00:51:49and that just set

00:51:50bells going.

00:51:51I'm not the

00:51:52smartest gambler

00:51:52in the world,

00:51:53but even I know

00:51:54that's not right.

00:51:55That's definitely

00:51:56not right,

00:51:57and those facts

00:51:57do not lie.

00:51:59As far as

00:52:00Fairhill,

00:52:01obviously there's

00:52:01an investigation

00:52:02going in there.

00:52:03Will Phipps,

00:52:03who manages it,

00:52:04great guy,

00:52:05is going to look

00:52:06into all of it.

00:52:07They don't have

00:52:08an official

00:52:09clocker per se.

00:52:10The trainers

00:52:11tie in their

00:52:11own horses,

00:52:14so things can

00:52:16happen that way,

00:52:18but yeah,

00:52:19I don't know.

00:52:20It kind of brings

00:52:21you back to the

00:52:21days,

00:52:22if you have a

00:52:23spare half an

00:52:24hour,

00:52:24look up the

00:52:25Yellow Sam

00:52:27betting coupe

00:52:28with Barney

00:52:28Curley.

00:52:29It is,

00:52:31and you know,

00:52:32my good friend

00:52:32Nile Brennan,

00:52:33who I stay with,

00:52:34can tell you all

00:52:34about that.

00:52:35Look up Yellow Sam.

00:52:36It is one of the

00:52:37most amazing things,

00:52:38and Barney Curley

00:52:38not only paid this

00:52:39off once,

00:52:41but he did it

00:52:42twice,

00:52:42$300,000 the first

00:52:43time they did it.

00:52:44Yeah,

00:52:44the sure thing,

00:52:45the greatest coupe

00:52:46in horse racing.

00:52:47Yellow Sam,

00:52:48look it up.

00:52:49If you never heard

00:52:49of it,

00:52:50read it.

00:52:50It is absolutely

00:52:51brilliant.

00:52:53Could you imagine

00:52:53that happening

00:52:54today?

00:52:55Well,

00:52:55apparently it just

00:52:56did.

00:52:56So there you go.

00:52:58Barney Curley is

00:52:59looking down and

00:52:59smiling from

00:53:00somewhere.

00:53:01Oh my gosh.

00:53:01It sounds like

00:53:02something out of

00:53:03the movies of

00:53:03the 30s,

00:53:04and you make a

00:53:06good point,

00:53:06these guys.

00:53:07And you know,

00:53:08this wasn't,

00:53:09both of these guys

00:53:11had miserable

00:53:12records.

00:53:13Both had won

00:53:14only two races

00:53:15all year long.

00:53:16And if they

00:53:17just didn't,

00:53:19I mean,

00:53:19the Mama Park

00:53:20daily double pool

00:53:21was probably

00:53:21so small.

00:53:23If they even

00:53:24bet $500 or $600

00:53:25on the double,

00:53:26that alone could

00:53:27have caused,

00:53:28if they just

00:53:29didn't do that,

00:53:30they might have

00:53:30got away with it.

00:53:31Now,

00:53:32like I said,

00:53:33I mean,

00:53:34they are,

00:53:35the scrutiny

00:53:36is incredible.

00:53:37And again,

00:53:39I will follow

00:53:40the story next

00:53:40week.

00:53:41I'm not entirely

00:53:42sure what

00:53:44all is going

00:53:45to happen.

00:53:45I don't know

00:53:46this for a fact,

00:53:47but I would,

00:53:48Randy,

00:53:49you were 99.99999%

00:53:51sure of something

00:53:52else.

00:53:52I'm 99.999%

00:53:55sure that the

00:53:56Queros will be

00:53:56booted out of

00:53:57Fairhill.

00:53:58They'll say,

00:53:58take your horse

00:54:01and hit the road.

00:54:04It was interesting

00:54:05too,

00:54:05that they had

00:54:06another one

00:54:06entered at

00:54:07Presque Isle

00:54:08Downs and

00:54:09Heise ordered

00:54:10that horse

00:54:11scratched and

00:54:12then even got

00:54:13Mountaineer Park

00:54:14where they,

00:54:14which is not a

00:54:15Heise track,

00:54:16to scratch still

00:54:17another one of

00:54:18these horses.

00:54:18Mountaineer Park,

00:54:19I mean,

00:54:19anything goes at

00:54:20that place.

00:54:21And they,

00:54:22even they were

00:54:23vigilant enough

00:54:24to say,

00:54:25Mr. Ochoa

00:54:26and Mr.

00:54:26Queros,

00:54:28no,

00:54:29no,

00:54:29no.

00:54:30We're going

00:54:31to wait

00:54:31until this

00:54:32whole thing,

00:54:32this whole

00:54:33mess is cleared

00:54:34up.

00:54:35But Bill,

00:54:35you know what?

00:54:36They got paid.

00:54:38They can't,

00:54:39nobody can

00:54:40pay.

00:54:40You're right,

00:54:40Zoe,

00:54:40yeah.

00:54:41They haven't

00:54:41gotten paid

00:54:42by the books

00:54:42in the UK

00:54:43yet.

00:54:45Do we know

00:54:46that for a fact?

00:54:47They might have

00:54:48turned out

00:54:48shooting themselves

00:54:49in the foot

00:54:50with a Monmouth

00:54:50Daily Double.

00:54:51Right.

00:54:52Because I don't

00:54:53know if the

00:54:54books,

00:54:54if the investigation

00:54:55continues,

00:54:56what's going to

00:54:56happen there.

00:54:57Even Lucy knows

00:54:58that's a five

00:54:59alarm fire.

00:54:59Where there's

00:55:00smoke,

00:55:00there's fire.

00:55:00Oh,

00:55:01yeah.

00:55:02We'll be right

00:55:03back and take a

00:55:03look at this

00:55:04weekend's major

00:55:05stakes races.

00:55:06Stay with us here

00:55:06on the TDN

00:55:07Writer's Room

00:55:07podcast presented

00:55:09by Keen.

00:55:10The TDN

00:55:11Writer's Room

00:55:11also brought to

00:55:12you by Kentucky

00:55:14Breads.

00:55:14Kentucky Breads

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00:55:23and Explora in

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00:55:25all at Saratoga,

00:55:25of course.

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00:56:00the country and

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00:57:00Work of the Week is

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00:57:02Saturday morning at

00:57:03Saratoga, bright

00:57:04nearly 7 a.m.

00:57:06The Derby and the

00:57:07Belmont Stakes winner

00:57:08Golden Tempo was

00:57:09caught by First TV

00:57:10working in company

00:57:11with stable mate

00:57:13Page Turner.

00:57:14They worked an easy

00:57:15four furlongs in

00:57:1649, 48.94.

00:57:19They completed a very

00:57:20good gallop out.

00:57:22Golden Tempo on the

00:57:23inside galloping out a

00:57:24good three quarters for

00:57:26trainer Cherie DeVoe.

00:57:27Saturday's work was the

00:57:28third work at Saratoga

00:57:29for Golden Tempo and

00:57:31that pleased Cherie DeVoe

00:57:32very much indeed.

00:57:34She wants to make sure

00:57:35he's plenty fit for a

00:57:36mile and a quarter in

00:57:38the Travers.

00:57:39Well, the feature race

00:57:40at Saratoga is the

00:57:41Christophe Clement Stakes

00:57:43used to be called the

00:57:43Sword Dancer.

00:57:44Great move by Naira

00:57:45honoring Christophe

00:57:46Clement.

00:57:47We already heard from

00:57:48his son Miguel about

00:57:48how much it would mean

00:57:50to him to win the race

00:57:51with Tawny Port, who's

00:57:53a tough old customer and

00:57:55he certainly has a

00:57:56chance.

00:57:57I'm going to look at

00:57:58for Ancient Egypt to

00:57:59win because once again,

00:58:01I'm going to bet on

00:58:01European horses in every

00:58:03single grass race run in

00:58:05America between now and

00:58:06the end of time.

00:58:07Only a three-year-old

00:58:08but ran very well in a

00:58:10group one last time out

00:58:11and we see how well

00:58:12these horses are doing.

00:58:14Randy, what's your

00:58:15thoughts on the

00:58:16Christophe Clement?

00:58:17Go ahead.

00:58:17Go ahead, Zoe.

00:58:18Our resident European,

00:58:20what do you think?

00:58:22I'm going with Servi.

00:58:24Drawn on the outside,

00:58:25the five-year-old man,

00:58:26she's not very big and

00:58:27I'm hoping she doesn't

00:58:28blow a lid in the

00:58:29paddock.

00:58:29She is high-strung and

00:58:31tough to handle.

00:58:33They had a job getting

00:58:34the tack on her last

00:58:35time out.

00:58:37Simon Crisford's

00:58:37traveling head lad,

00:58:38Les is here and he

00:58:40helped them get the

00:58:41tack on the George

00:58:42Bowie trainee.

00:58:43She can be very tough

00:58:44but man, oh man,

00:58:46did she run a blind

00:58:47and out.

00:58:47I'm not sure who she

00:58:48beat in the Glens

00:58:49Falls but her last

00:58:52quarter of a mile when

00:58:53she flew home was

00:58:56undeniably absolutely

00:58:57brilliant.

00:58:58Now, you miss Pratt

00:59:00because Pratt obviously

00:59:01has to ride program

00:59:02training for Chad,

00:59:04program trading for

00:59:06Chad Brown in here.

00:59:07He's definitely got

00:59:08something to say about

00:59:09this race but the

00:59:10turn of foot on that

00:59:12five-year-old man,

00:59:13Servi, the daughter of

00:59:14Churchill, was

00:59:15absolutely brilliant.

00:59:18If I'm not mistaken,

00:59:20is this the one that

00:59:21went 21 and change

00:59:22for the final quarter

00:59:23mile?

00:59:24Unbelievable running that

00:59:26fast late.

00:59:28I'll go with Bill and

00:59:30take Ancient Egypt.

00:59:32The horse is

00:59:32fabulously bred.

00:59:34He's by Frankel out

00:59:36of a Judmont mare.

00:59:37It's owned by Ammo

00:59:38Racing of Kia

00:59:39Drabachian but the

00:59:41mare is a half

00:59:43sister to Midday

00:59:45past winner of the

00:59:46Breeders' Cup

00:59:47Filling Mare Turf.

00:59:48The horse has a

00:59:48tremendous pedigree.

00:59:49Just beaten a head

00:59:51last time at

00:59:52Longchamp in a

00:59:54group one so that's

00:59:55typically good enough

00:59:57to kick butt in

00:59:58America and I like

00:59:59the post position

01:00:00draw too.

01:00:01I like the rail

01:00:01especially for a

01:00:02European that wants

01:00:03to be covered up

01:00:03early.

01:00:05I agree with you

01:00:06Bill.

01:00:06Ancient Egypt for me.

01:00:08The big race at

01:00:09Woodbine and it's

01:00:09always a fun race

01:00:10as the Kings

01:00:11plate.

01:00:11The PPs aren't out

01:00:12yet but we already

01:00:14know who's going to

01:00:15win, don't we?

01:00:16That fabulous Philly

01:00:17Luster who won the

01:00:18Woodbine Oaks.

01:00:19Philly's just kicked

01:00:21butt in this race.

01:00:23Johnny Velasquez

01:00:24went up to Ryder in

01:00:25the Woodbine Oaks.

01:00:26She won by so

01:00:27easily, just won by

01:00:29five or six lengths

01:00:30in a common gallop

01:00:31and I think the

01:00:33boys, I know we

01:00:34agree on this, I

01:00:35think the boys will

01:00:35have their hands

01:00:36full in the Kings

01:00:37plate up at

01:00:38Woodbine this

01:00:39weekend.

01:00:40She's just an

01:00:41$80,000 Keeneland

01:00:42September graduate

01:00:43Luster.

01:00:45Josie Carroll has

01:00:46won the Kings

01:00:46plate or the

01:00:47Queens plate like

01:00:48it was three times

01:00:50already.

01:00:51She is by fire, I

01:00:52don't care who

01:00:52else runs in here.

01:00:53She is definitely

01:00:55the horse to beat

01:00:56in the 167th, I

01:00:58do believe, running

01:00:59of the Kings

01:01:00plate.

01:01:01What she said.

01:01:02Okay.

01:01:04And what you said.

01:01:05Finally, finally I

01:01:07get one of those.

01:01:08Yes.

01:01:09Just made my day.

01:01:10All right.

01:01:11So as we like to

01:01:12do and we encourage

01:01:13people to post

01:01:14comments on the

01:01:16YouTube site for

01:01:17the TDN

01:01:18Writer's Room

01:01:18podcast and

01:01:19when we get a

01:01:20chance, we pick

01:01:22out a couple and

01:01:23we try to answer

01:01:24these questions and

01:01:25we got some

01:01:25interesting ones this

01:01:26week.

01:01:27This is from

01:01:27Vandy.

01:01:29It says, hello

01:01:29all, love the

01:01:30show.

01:01:30I never miss an

01:01:31episode.

01:01:32Thank you, Vandy.

01:01:32I have a question

01:01:33for Zoe.

01:01:34Zoe, you said

01:01:35something interesting

01:01:36in this episode,

01:01:37meaning last week.

01:01:39And speaking of

01:01:40Will Walden's

01:01:40horse, West End

01:01:41Kid, you said

01:01:42something to the

01:01:43effect that Will

01:01:44has been dying to

01:01:44take the blinkers

01:01:45off the horse.

01:01:47But he couldn't

01:01:47because the horse

01:01:48kept winning.

01:01:49Why, if a horse

01:01:50has been winning,

01:01:51would a trainer be

01:01:52so gung-ho to

01:01:55make an equipment

01:01:55change?

01:01:56Hope you get a

01:01:56chance to answer

01:01:57this.

01:01:59Well, first off,

01:01:59he's pretty keen in

01:02:00his races, even

01:02:01though he's been

01:02:02winning.

01:02:02I think Will was

01:02:03hoping he would

01:02:04relax a little bit

01:02:05more, which he did

01:02:06do on Saturday.

01:02:08Old school trainers

01:02:09used to have to go

01:02:10to the stewards and

01:02:11ask for permission to

01:02:13take the blinkers

01:02:13off.

01:02:13I actually reached out

01:02:14to Todd Pletcher,

01:02:15this morning, and

01:02:16said, is this still

01:02:17the fact?

01:02:17And he's like, yeah,

01:02:18you have to reach

01:02:20out and just check

01:02:21with the stewards if

01:02:22it's okay coming off

01:02:24a win.

01:02:24Now, he said it's a

01:02:25lot more lax than it

01:02:26used to be.

01:02:27Before, they're like,

01:02:28no, no, no, you

01:02:29can't do that just in

01:02:30case something untoward

01:02:32was going on.

01:02:32That's the old school

01:02:34Barney Curley days back

01:02:35then.

01:02:36But now you can do it.

01:02:38It's a bit more lax,

01:02:39but you still have to

01:02:40inform them of your

01:02:41intentions to take

01:02:42the blinkers off.

01:02:43In this particular

01:02:44case, I don't know

01:02:45if it was the right

01:02:46thing, because watching

01:02:47the head-on down the

01:02:48lane with West End

01:02:49Kid, he was like a

01:02:49snake coming down to

01:02:51the wire, and Pratt said

01:02:52he was all over the

01:02:53place, so we'll have to

01:02:54see what happens next

01:02:55time he runs.

01:02:56But generally, it's a

01:02:58case of wanting them to

01:02:59just relax a little bit

01:03:01more.

01:03:01Some horses can be

01:03:02really good with the

01:03:03blinkers on, but you

01:03:05might just get a little

01:03:06bit more if they relax

01:03:07the earlier portion of

01:03:08the race.

01:03:10Hey, this is a comment

01:03:11from rmsweig3972.

01:03:16Bill's right.

01:03:17Maryland and the

01:03:17Maryland Jockey Club

01:03:18can save the Preakness

01:03:19by moving it to July

01:03:204th.

01:03:21The timing, May, June,

01:03:22July, timing was always

01:03:24a solution for the

01:03:25Triple Crown.

01:03:25Preakness creates social

01:03:27media attraction for a

01:03:29national holiday party in

01:03:30D.C. and Baltimore.

01:03:31We've already talked

01:03:32about that.

01:03:32And Randy has opined

01:03:36that there's not going

01:03:37to be any changes

01:03:38imminent in the Triple

01:03:40Crown structure.

01:03:41And I have already said

01:03:42again that I think

01:03:44Maryland's best move

01:03:45might be to move it to

01:03:47July 4th.

01:03:48So thank you for that

01:03:48comment.

01:03:49And then this one is

01:03:50from Mark Garcia123.

01:03:52And I made a good

01:03:53comment.

01:03:53Remember last week we

01:03:54were talking about

01:03:55Burnham Square winning

01:03:56a grade one on both the

01:03:57turf and dirt.

01:03:59And then it was pointed

01:04:00out that War of Will has

01:04:01also done that.

01:04:02Mark Garcia123 reminds

01:04:04us that Lava Man was a

01:04:07grade one winner on

01:04:08dirt, turf, and

01:04:09synthetic.

01:04:10I think the first to do

01:04:12so and probably Zoe the

01:04:13only to do so.

01:04:14And shows again what a

01:04:17great horse he was.

01:04:19Shows how dumb we are

01:04:20isn't it?

01:04:21Doesn't it?

01:04:21Well done.

01:04:22Well done.

01:04:23I'd forgotten all about

01:04:24dear old Lava Man.

01:04:25What a cool dude he was.

01:04:27Best claim in the

01:04:28history of claiming.

01:04:29$50,000.

01:04:31Damn sure the only horse

01:04:32in horse racing history

01:04:33to be claimed to win

01:04:34grade ones on dirt,

01:04:36turf, and synthetic.

01:04:37And as a stable pony to

01:04:38accompany a horse to the

01:04:39starting gate for the

01:04:40Kentucky Derby.

01:04:41There you go.

01:04:42Yeah.

01:04:42Old Lava Man.

01:04:43You don't get much

01:04:43cooler than that.

01:04:44Or was it the Breeders'

01:04:45Cup?

01:04:45I don't remember which it

01:04:46was.

01:04:47But yeah.

01:04:48TD and Riders Room

01:04:49brought to you by

01:04:50West Point Thoroughbreds.

01:04:52For any owner of

01:04:54Thoroughbred Race

01:04:54Horses looking for a

01:04:55jockey, it's great to

01:04:56land a jockey with the

01:04:57last name Ortiz.

01:04:59And that's certainly

01:05:00been paying off for

01:05:01West Point.

01:05:02Irad has piloted three of

01:05:04West Point's four winners

01:05:05so far at Saratoga.

01:05:06Counting Stars preside

01:05:08and Abrigado, while Jose

01:05:10provided the other one,

01:05:11Yenzer, in gate-to-wire

01:05:13fashion on the turf.

01:05:14So this Saturday at the

01:05:15spa, Jose Ortiz gets the

01:05:17call on two first-time

01:05:19starters for West Point.

01:05:20One-in-a-million girl and

01:05:22McCoy.

01:05:22And looking further ahead,

01:05:25hopefully Irad is okay with

01:05:26his recent injury.

01:05:27If so, he'll be back on

01:05:28Counting Stars for the

01:05:30August 22nd Alabama

01:05:31Stakes, where they will

01:05:32bid for a massive third

01:05:34consecutive grade one

01:05:36victory at Saratoga.

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01:06:13That's a wrap on this

01:06:14week's TDN Riders Room

01:06:16presented by Keeneland.

01:06:17I want to thank our

01:06:18Gainsway Guest of the

01:06:19Week, Miguel Clement.

01:06:20I want to thank my

01:06:21partners, Zoe Cadman and

01:06:23Randy Moss.

01:06:24I also thank our

01:06:25producers and directors who

01:06:26work behind the scenes and

01:06:28make our show look so good

01:06:29when it's all said and

01:06:30done.

01:06:31That's Sue Finley, Katie

01:06:32Petruniak, Anthony LaRocca,

01:06:34and Alia LaRocca.

01:06:36It should be another great

01:06:36weekend of racing.

01:06:37Thanks for tuning us in,

01:06:39and we'll catch up with you

01:06:40next week.

01:06:41Let's go, folks.

01:06:43Let's go.

01:06:44Let's go.

01:06:45Let's go.

01:06:46Let's go.

01:06:48You

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