S8E18: Risen Star, East Avenue and Hard Yakka

The first of the virtual win-and-you’re-in qualifiers for Kentucky Derby 2025 arrives Saturday with the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans. That is where the spotlight is focused for this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Trainer Brendan Walsh discusses morning-line favorite East Avenue, who carried two open-lengths victories into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. That was where a stumbling start doomed him to finish off the board. Walsh discusses how the 3-year-old Godolphin homebred colt has been doing since his disappointment at Del Mar and how he hopes East Avenue’s Grade 1-winning form will show itself again.

Fair Grounds track announcer John G. Dooley checks out East Avenue and other contenders in the Risen Star as well as undefeated Good Cheer, who will be favored to win the Rachel Alexandra (G2) and the Kentucky Oaks (G1) first-place qualifying points that go with it.

Super Screener creator Mike Shutty offers handicapping tips for the Risen Star and two turf stakes in New Orleans, including the Fair Grounds Stakes presented by Horse Racing Nation (G3) and the Colonel Power sprint.

Listener and reader feedback is focused on the Florida bill that would allow Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs to decouple their Thoroughbred and gaming licenses, opening the door for either track to stop racing while still running their slot machines and poker tables.

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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S8E17: Kentucky Derby 2025 mock draft

With less than three months before the run for the roses, a mock draft for Kentucky Derby 2025 brings together seven handicapping minds for this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Horse Racing Nation hard-core handicapper and fair-odds author Ed DeRosa will be joined by Chip Gehrke, the Doctor Derby curator of weekly division rankings.

Five other media horseplayers take part, including Sara Elbadwi from Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association, Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies author Richard Eng from Las Vegas, Churchill Downs analyst and Turfway Park host Kaitlin Free, turf writer and publicist Alicia Hughes and sports-gambling host and former NFL quarterback Shaun King.

The draft will last four rounds to determine who will be best positioned to have the winner among their four horses who could be in the May 3 running of the Derby.

Also, co-host John Cherwa discusses the biggest talking points in his Los Angeles Times story this week on the future of horse racing with an emphasis on California.

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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S8E16: Issues, answers, Derby preps & Von Guapo

Kentucky Derby 2025 points preps at Aqueduct, Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita have the floor this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

From California, longtime horse owner and public handicapper Jon Lindo offers his thoughts about north-state racing coming to an end, decoupling proposals in Florida and Virginia and small fields for stakes this weekend at Santa Anita. He also previews the Robert B. Lewis, one of Saturday’s Derby points preps.

Co-owner Ramiro Restrepo, who won the Kentucky Derby two years ago with Mage, is back with Ferocious, the favorite to win the Grade 3 Holy Bull, the latest Gulfstream Park stop on the road to Louisville.

Ed DeRosa handicaps weekend races, including the Bob Lewis, the Holy Bull and the Withers at Aqueduct. Each will be worth 20 Derby qualifying points to the winner.

Co-host John Cherwa helps to go over listener and reader feedback, much of which is about the future of Gulfstream Park, the apparent death of Northern California racing and reaction to the Eclipse Awards last week in Florida.

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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S8E15: Pegasus, Eclipse, Dasha ... and Rufus

The Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the multimillion-dollar stakes card that supports it Saturday at Gulfstream Park are front and center this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

XBTV racing analyst Zoe Cadman will be in Florida this weekend. She provides snapshots of the Grade 1, $3 million feature, including thoughts about post-time favorite Locked being drawn wide for the 1 1/8-mile race. She also has some ideas about the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) and some value plays who otherwise might get lost in the glare of the bigger races.

Saffie Joseph Jr., the leading trainer at Gulfstream Park for going on four years, discusses his Pegasus World Cup horses White Abarrio and Skippylongstocking as well as his other stakes entrants Saturday at Gulfstream Park. Joseph also offers some cautiously optimistic thoughts about the future of the track, which is the subject of state legislation that could decouple its license from the adjacent casino.

Horse Racing Nation’s Mark Midland handicaps the trio of Pegasus World Cup races at Gulfstream Park as well as the $1 million Southwest Stakes (G3), a Kentucky Derby 2025 points prep Saturday at Oaklawn.

Co-host John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times joins to review the results of Thursday night’s Eclipse Awards, which were highlighted by the victory of Thorpedo Anna as horse of the year 2024.

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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S8E14: Kentucky Derby prep at Fair Grounds + Florida future

The immediate present on the road to Kentucky Derby 2025 and the long-term future of horse racing are front and center this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

FanDuel TV’s Andie Biancone discusses the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes, a next-level points prep for the Derby. She offers her prediction about the pace of the race and her top pick to win. She also gets into the recent trend of Fair Grounds stakes playing a vital role in shaping the results of recent runnings of the Kentucky Derby.

Trainer Wayne Catalano gets into specifics about Built, his colt who is favored in the Lecomte despite being drawn wide into post 13. He goes over the first three races in Built’s past performances, including his 6 3/4-length runaway last month in the Gun Runner Stakes over the same track.

Paddock Prince handicapper David Levitch offers analysis and tips for the late Pick 4 on Saturday at Fair Grounds, going over the Silverbulletday, the Colonel E. R. Bradley, the Louisiana (G3) and the Lecomte stakes with thoughts about whether to spread or single each leg.

Co-host John Cherwa in Florida helps to go over listener and reader feedback, and he joins in the conversation about the future of Gulfstream Park after this week’s announcement by the Stronach Group that it can guarantee a maximum of three years of racing even if it wins legislative approval to decouple its racing and slot-machine licenses.

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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S8E13: How to bet Kentucky Derby futures

Inside of four months before Kentucky Derby 2025, what are the dos and don’ts of futures betting on America’s biggest race? A panel with plenty of experience making and taking those wagers is front and center this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Michael Beychok won the 2012 National Horseplayers Championship, and Jody McDonald is a host on Infinity Sports Network, WFAN in New York and WIP in Philadelphia. Both have had their successes and failures with long-range handicapping of the Derby, and they share those tales. Based in Las Vegas, Paul Zilm wrote futures odds for five years on the Kentucky Derby. Now that he has left Circa Sports, he is free to share insights about how the numbers move.

Super Screener creator Mike Shutty takes his turn in the handicappers rotation with a focus on weekend races at Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs. Co-host John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times weighs in during the weekly reading of listener and reader feedback.

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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S8E12: Kentucky Derby 2025 preps & NOLA reaction

From Kentucky Derby 2025 points preps to other weekend stakes to Fair Grounds moving forward after the New Orleans terror attack. All these topics are discussed this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

New Orleans-based trainer Neil Pessin discusses the racing community’s reaction to the Bourbon Street tragedy and his thoughts about Fair Grounds proceeding with its New Year’s Day program.

Trainer Michael McCarthy talks about two potential Derby horses. His undefeated colt Bullard races Saturday against Bob Baffert’s $3.2 million debut winner Barnes in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita. He also has Journalism, who won last month in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) on the way to being the winter-book favorite in Las Vegas futures for the Derby.

Handicapper Ed DeRosa has analysis and picks for the Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct and Smarty Jones at Oaklawn, the two Derby points preps scheduled for Saturday. He also looks at the Turfway Prevue Stakes, which itself might produce a would-be runner for the roses.

John Cherwa is along to help distill listener and reader feedback and discuss some of the goings-on during the holidays.

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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