S9E20: Legendary turf writer Andrew Beyer

Andrew Beyer is the most important pioneer of analytics in horse racing. The legendary turf writer and the creator of Beyer Speed Figures is the featured guest this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Beyer talks about why he made the decision to take his closely guarded formulas and figures that gave him a player’s advantage and sell them for public use. He also discusses how his speed figures are best used and perhaps misapplied in modern-day racing.

The conversation also turns to how his figures have changed over the years, how they have inspired more analytics and the impact of computer-assisted wager on the game today.

John Cherwa from the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park join in with their weekly 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.

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S9E19: Buglers’ call to post

They are as much a part of racing as the horses and the bettors. Buglers have been a track tradition for more than 140 years. Four of the best-known convene for an episode full of stories and laughs on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Retired New York Racing Association bugler Sam Grossman, Santa Anita’s Jay Cohen, Kentucky’s Steve Buttleman and former Arlington Park fixture Monica Benson compare notes about their craft, their other gigs and even some stories of betting on horses.

Their challenges of playing in bad weather and trying conditions are combined in this episode with the celebrities they have met and the odd interactions they have had with racegoers and connections behind the scenes.

Co-hosts John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park also offer their anecdotes.

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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S9E18: Racing celebrates Black History Month

Former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson has been a horse owner and continues to be a racing ambassador. Terry West was a trail-blazing jockey who holds a seat on the Maryland Racing Commission. In celebration of Black History Month, both Johnson and West are featured this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Johnson talks about growing up in New Orleans and what he learned from his father on their weekend trips to Fair Grounds. He also discusses his role as an ambassador for the Breeders’ Cup and racing’s need for central leadership.

West recounts her lifelong love of horses and how she became a standout jumps rider who has continued to compete for more than a half-century. She also details the challenges she faced being one of the first Black women to compete in Thoroughbred races.

Both Johnson and West expound on the goal of greater minority participation in all phases of horse racing.

There also is a tribute to the late trainers King Leatherbury and John Shirreffs, both of whom died this week.

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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S9E17: Reunion of racing media alumni

Familiar names one day are gone the next. It long has been a reality of the ever-transient nature of media work. Four people who had memorable horse-racing chapters in their careers are reunited this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Former TV analysts Candice Hare, Joanne Jones, Rich Perloff and Jason Portuondo exchange stories of their days covering racing, including highlights they would put on their sizzle reels and those unintended moments in live reporting that turn into funny memories.

They also talk about where they are now and how they got there. Hare is a TV news reporter at WKYC in Cleveland, Jones started a family in Los Angeles and is returning to the sport, Perloff is also in Los Angeles and has returned to his theater roots, and Portuondo is a steward based in suburban Toronto.

Co-hosts John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park discuss the big sports events this month, including their predictions for Super Bowl LX.

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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S9E16: Kentucky Derby 2026 mock draft

With a little more than three months before the run for the roses, a mock draft for Kentucky Derby 2026 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 who won last year’s draft by picking Sovereignty in the second round.

Five others take part, including Churchill Downs analyst and Turfway Park host Kaitlin Benson, 2012 National Horseplayers Championship winner Michael Beychok, Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies author Richard Eng from Las Vegas, sports-gambling host and former NFL quarterback Shaun King and Fox Sports and New York Racing Association TV analyst Maggie Wolfendale-Morley.

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. This episode was recorded Monday, before Ted Noffey came off the Triple Crown trail because of bone bruising.

A video version of the draft is available on the Horse Racing Nation YouTube page.

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

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S9E15 Pegasus flies again

The Pegasus World Cup Invitational has evolved from a bold experiment to a decade-long fixture on the South Florida racing scene. The 10th running Saturday is the focus of this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

FanDuel TV’s Christina Blacker checks in from Gulfstream Park to set the scene for the Grade 1, $3 million race that serves as both a punctuation mark on the preceding season and a springboard to the coming year.

Hall of Fame jockey John Velázquez rides Captain Cook in the Pegasus from post 9. He talks about the statistical perception that it is difficult to win a 1 1/8-mile race from an outside draw on Gulfstream’s main track.

Handicapper Mark Midland has tips for the Pegasus card as he offers his best bets for this weekend.

Co-hosts John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park join in the weekly host chat, and there will be a recap of the 2025 Eclipse Awards presented this week at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla.

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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S9E14: Old school meets new school

The creator of a new-media source for racing news and an old-school horseplayer who created a counterintuitive way of betting are featured this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Carlos Morales, the creator of Agentes 305, talks about the growth of his social-media platform and how it has become a go-to place for behind-the-scenes interviews in English and Spanish. He discusses his start as a radio personality in his native Venezuela and his move to the United States to advance his career in horse racing.

Matt Miller, the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, wrote the book A Bettor Way of Thinking. He talks about his strategies for betting on races and in handicapping tournaments. One step he takes is avoiding past performances. He also discusses why he and his fellow Chicagoland players have been so successful in high-profile tournaments.

Co-hosts John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park share anecdotes about what is trending on social media, an e-game that might be all too real and the perils of waking up at odd hours in the winter.

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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