S9E59: Breeders’ Cup 2027 & The Duke

An early preview of Breeders’ Cup 2027 is topic no. 1 this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Scott Hazelton of FanDuel TV and Keeneland checks in to offer an overarching view of the record 255 pre-entries covering 222 different horses who are poised to line up next Friday and Saturday in the 14 championship races worth a total of $30 million in Lexington, Ky.

Trainer Wesley Ward will send Bacio to the post as the favorite next weekend in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. He compares the colt who has a Group 1 win to his name from England with some of his other great horses who have contributed to his six career victories in the championships.

Super Screener creator Mike Shutty offers an early look at the angles he is examining ahead of the Breeders’ Cup. He also offers his early tips for the outcome of the $7 million Classic and the $2 million Distaff. Is he with or against Forever Young and Nitrogen?

There also will be a tribute to the late Dan Davis and Stosh Cienki, two mainstays at ESPN Radio who passed away this week.

The popular host-chat segment features Fairmount Park announcer Keith Nelson and guest co-host Gabby Gaudet of Keeneland. Gaudet offers the story of how her 5-year-old son, Crew, caught a foul ball at a Cincinnati Reds game, and that it influenced his pick to win the World Series.

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!

S9E59: Breeders’ Cup & The Duke

An early preview of Breeders’ Cup 2027 is topic no. 1 this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Scott Hazelton of FanDuel TV and Keeneland checks in to offer an overarching view of the record 255 pre-entries covering 222 different horses who are poised to line up next Friday and Saturday in the 14 championship races worth a total of $30 million in Lexington, Ky.

Trainer Wesley Ward will send Bacio to the post as the favorite next weekend in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. He compares the colt who has a Group 1 win to his name from England with some of his other great horses who have contributed to his six career victories in the championships.

Super Screener creator Mike Shutty offers an early look at the angles he is examining ahead of the Breeders’ Cup. He also offers his early tips for the outcome of the $7 million Classic and the $2 million Distaff. Is he with or against Forever Young and Nitrogen?

There also will be a tribute to the late Dan Davis and Stosh Cienki, two mainstays at ESPN Radio who passed away this week.

The popular host-chat segment features Fairmount Park announcer Keith Nelson and guest co-host Gabby Gaudet of Keeneland. Gaudet offers the story of how her 5-year-old son, Crew, caught a foul ball at a Cincinnati Reds game, and that it influenced his pick to win the World Series.

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!

S9E58: Paquette on riding, running & trailblazing

Jessica Paquette, the only woman working as a full-time track announcer in U.S. Thoroughbred racing, has an extended conversation this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Paquette talks about her longtime work with horses, including the three she owns as part of her commitment to Thoroughbred aftercare. She offers insight into the progress the industry has made in looking after horses after their racing days and what anyone may do right now to help them.

A dedicated marathoner, Paquette discusses how she recovered from a riding injury to run in competitions around the world.

The voice of Parx Racing for four years, Paquette talks about the best advice she has received since taking the microphone as well as the criticism she has received in her trailblazing work.

Keith Nelson, who calls races at Fairmount Park, and guest co-host Jonathon Kinchen of Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association discuss the work of announcers as well as the sport’s polarizing presence on social media.

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

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S9E57: Workout video soundtrack

Bruno De Julio, the country’s top morning-workout analyst, takes time for an extended interview this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

De Julio talks about the journey that took him from his native Italy to a career in racing. Along the way he grew up as a goaltender playing soccer on both sides of the Atlantic. In college he worked behind the scenes with a band before he found his way into corporate law enforcement, a path that developed some skills that he uses to this day in watching horses.

Moving from Florida to California, De Julio worked security for pro-wrestling events in San Diego before he was lured by summer horse races to Del Mar. That led him to devouring every book he could find about the sport. Facing a choice between his day job and his new passion for horses, he found his way to the barns at Santa Anita, and he never looked back.

De Julio talks about how he developed not only as an observer of horses on and off the track but also in sales rings, where he has been an advisor and a buyer. Of course he also discusses his workout analysis and handicapping tools.

Fairmount Park track announcer Keith Nelson and guest co-host Andie Biancone of NBC Sports compare song titles and technological advances that emphasize their generation gap.

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!

S9E56: How super is it?

Between Friday and Sunday, there are 25 graded stakes in the U.S. and Canada plus cards full of group races in support of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) in Paris. With plenty of Breeders’ Cup implications, they come into focus this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Four-year-old Daryz tries to become the first male horse to repeat as Arc winner when he races again in Europe’s richest race. Racing Post senior writer Lee Mottershead will be on the scene, and he provides a preview of the 1 1/2-mile turf fixture. He also discusses some of the pressures facing the sport in his home country England, especially as sports gambling faces a less-than-friendly government led by new prime minister Andy Burnham. The discussion is framed in the idea that some of the challenges facing the sport over there could come to America.

Back home, trainer Kenny McPeek has four 2-year-olds trying to win their way into the Breeders’ Cup via graded stakes at Keeneland. He talks about them, especially Coach Pope, the 4-5 morning-line favorite to take the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) on Saturday.

Paddock Prince handicapper David Levitch offers tips for the Champagne (G1) and Pilgrim (G2) at Belmont Park as well as the Breeders’ Futurity.

Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park is joined by guest co-host Jon Lindo, whose multifaceted résumé in California qualifies him to weigh in on the American Pharoah (G1) on Saturday at Santa Anita as well as anything else that pops up in the popular host-chat feature.

Feedback comes from last week’s exclusive interview with Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill 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.

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S9E55: Exclusive chat with Bill Carstanjen

With topics like the Triple Crown, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and computer-assisted wagering, Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen takes part in an exclusive interview on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Carstanjen addresses questions about the future of the Triple Crown with the exclusion of the Preakness from next year’s inaugural Thoroughbred Championship Series. He is asked about what might have happened if CDI had acquired the intellectual properties for the Preakness before the state of Maryland used its option to keep them.

With the Marshall Gramm exposure of classified veterinary records and the Fair Hill 5 betting coup last month, Carstanjen discusses his criticism of HISA’s oversight of the two controversies. He reacts to HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus’s criticism of CDI for calling on the Federal Trade Commission to launch an independent investigation of the federal authority.

With Saratoga and Del Mar showing mixed handle results from their summer meets, Carstanjen talks about whether Churchill tracks might borrow those tracks’ ideas for curbing computer betting close to post time.

Ed DeRosa of Horse Racing Nation provides handicapping tips for Saturday’s Grade 1 races, namely the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park and the Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita. He also analyzes Sunday’s Oklahoma Derby (G3) at Remington Park.

Fairmount Park announcer Keith Nelson is joined by guest co-host Scott Shapiro of 1/ST for the popular host chat.

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. It is sponsored by 1/ST BET.

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S9E54: Back in Gotham

Making a return to New York for the opening of the new Belmont Park, this week’s episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod focuses not just on the new $450 million redevelopment but also the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby this weekend at Parx.

Track announcer Jessica Paquette talks about the biggest race at the Bensalem track as well as the Cotillion Stakes (G1). She also discussion the 2026 racing year at Parx, and she even reveals an unexpected surprise about herself.

Richard Migliore, the former jockey turned media analyst, joins the conversation in the big new paddock at Belmont Park. He talks about the revamped racing surfaces, including the new synthetic surface that will be used heavily during the upcoming winter.

Ed DeRosa is in the handicappers rotation with tips for the Pennsylvania Derby, the Cotillion and, at Churchill Downs, the Dogwood (G3) on Saturday night.

Ron is joined by Fairmount Park announcer Keith Nelson and guest co-host Matt Shifman of Horse Racing Nation to talk about the new Belmont Park.

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!