S7E53: California Crown, and we found an influencer

The inaugural California Crown day at Santa Anita on Saturday is the focus of this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

XBTV’s Zoe Cadman checks in from California to preview the Grade 1, $1 million race, which features Bob Baffert-trained Muth and National Treasure. She also discusses some of the highlights on the undercard as well as some Breeders’ Cup possibilities who will be competing for trophies at Del Mar in just five weeks.

Trainer Todd Fincher has Señor Buscador in the California Crown. He talks about the run his horse has had for owner Joe Peacock, including his victory in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) and how he has brought the 6-year-old back from that trip to the Middle East.

Super Screener creator Mike Shutty, who is based in California, offers his handicapping insights on the California Crown plus three other stakes at Santa Anita, Belmont at Aqueduct and Churchill Downs. He also clues us in on a social-media influencer in his family.

John Cherwa joins in to sample listener and reader feedback on this upcoming stakes weekend as well as last week’s column that praised the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority for its role in exposing the wrongdoing of a testing laboratory at the University of Kentucky.

The Ron Flatter Racing Pod via Horse Racing Nation is available via free subscription from Apple, Firefox, iHeart and Spotify as well as HorseRacingNation.com.

This week’s episode is sponsored by Xpressbet, host of the inaugural California Crown Betting Championship on Saturday. For details on how to enter, go to xpressbet.com/tournaments.

Check out this episode!

S7E52: $1 million for Penn Derby & 73 cents for what?

The Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion Stakes are the last Grade 1 chances for 3-year-old dirt routers to compete in their own divisions. With Thorpedo Anna among them, they will race for $1 million in each of those races Saturday at Parx. That is the focus of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Track announcer and sometimes handicapper Jessica Paquette provides local insight into what could be a wide-open running of the Penn Derby featuring red hot Dragoon Guard, Santa Anita Derby (G1) victor Stronghold and Preakness winner Seize the Grey. She also will discuss Thorpedo Anna in the Cotillion and staying phenom Next in the 1 1/2-mile Greenwood Cup (G3). There also may be some talk about human marathons.

Trainer Phil D’Amato talks about Stronghold, who was a troubled second to Dragoon Guard last out in the Indiana Derby (G3). He also has an update on his undefeated filly Iscreamuscream.

Horse Racing Nation handicapper Mark Midland weighs in with betting advice for four stakes on the Penn Derby card, including the two Grade 1s. John Cherwa discusses the disgraced University of Kentucky testing laboratory and helps distill the feedback about last week’s interview with Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen.

One never knows, too, what may play after the closing credits, especially since Cherwa had a hard time believing what costs 73 cents.

The Ron Flatter Racing Pod via Horse Racing Nation is available via free subscription from Apple, Firefox, iHeart and Spotify as well as HorseRacingNation.com.

This week’s episode is sponsored by Xpressbet, host of the inaugural California Crown Betting Championship next Saturday. For details on how to enter, go to xpressbet.com/tournaments.

Check out this episode!

S7E51: Exclusive: Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen

An exclusive interview with Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen is the feature this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Carstanjen provided 45 minutes of his time to answer a wide range of questions at CDI’s corporate headquarters in Louisville, Ky. He discusses long-range plans for the company’s racing properties as well as snapshot of Churchill’s casino and online gaming components. He also talks about the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority with all its nuances, the end of the suspension of trainer Bob Baffert, the successful spread of historic horse-racing machines, the controversial closing of Arlington Park, plans for the continued expansion of the Churchill Downs racetrack and what it is like to be the boss on Kentucky Derby day.

Paddock Prince handicapper David Levitch offers tips on weekend races at Churchill Downs including the Iroquois Stakes (G3), the first points prep for Kentucky Derby 2025.

Co-host John Cherwa reacts to the interview with Carstanjen.

The Ron Flatter Racing Pod via Horse Racing Nation is available via free subscription from Apple, Firefox, iHeart and Spotify as well as HorseRacingNation.com.

Check out this episode!

S7E50: Couch surfing from Del Mar to Ky. Downs to Colonial

Closing weekend at Del Mar, big-money races at Kentucky Downs and the Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs fill a busy weekend that gets the attention of this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Getaway Car is the favorite for Sunday’s Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, a race that has produced seven Kentucky Derby winners. SF Racing managing partner Tom Ryan discusses the process he and trainer Bob Baffert use to identify the best 2-year-olds in hopes they make repeated trips to the winner’s circle.

The Virginia Derby caps the summer season at Colonial Downs. It also signals the dawning of a new era at the track, which will host a Kentucky Derby points prep in March. Jill Byrne of the Virginia Equine Alliance checks in with a snapshot of how and why racing in her state is on the rise.

Horse Racing Nation handicapper Ed DeRosa offers tips for the Virginia Derby plus stakes at Kentucky Downs and Del Mar. John Cherwa joins Ron to go over the feedback from last week’s interview with jockey Juan Hernández.

The Ron Flatter Racing Pod via Horse Racing Nation is available via free subscription from Apple, Firefox, iHeart and Spotify as well as HorseRacingNation.com.

Check out this episode!