S9E16: Kentucky Derby 2026 mock draft
The Ron Flatter Racing Pod
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...
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S9E15 Pegasus flies again
The Ron Flatter Racing Pod
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...
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S9E14: Old school meets new school
The Ron Flatter Racing Pod
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...
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S9E13: The best horse-racing movies
The Ron Flatter Racing Pod
From “A Day at the Races” to “Let It Ride” to “Seabiscuit,” racing movies have had an important corner of the film world. The best of them and some bad ones are the subject of this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Allen Johnson, who has been the film writer for 25 years at the San Francisco Chronicle, and Richard Migliore, the New York Racing Association TV analyst and lifelong movie buff, compare their thoughts and criticisms. Eleven movies were selected for their review, including: “A Day at the Races” “Boots Malone” “Casey’s Shadow” “Easy Money” “Let...
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S9E12: Hot and other takes on Eclipse Awards
The Ron Flatter Racing Pod
Discussion and debate about the 2025 Eclipse Awards are featured on the first 2026 episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Sara Elbadwi of Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association, Steve Kornacki of NBC News and Sports, Jessica Paquette from Parx and two-time Eclipse Award-winning writer John Scheinman from Baltimore get together in a panel discussion going in-depth on every championship category. Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Sovereignty may be the leading candidate for horse of the year, but did Breeders’ Cup Classic victor Forever Young do enough in his one U.S....
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S9E11: Bicoastal auld lang 2025
The Ron Flatter Racing Pod
The postponed opening day at Santa Anita and a Pegasus preview at Gulfstream Park are the main points of discussion this week in the final 2025 episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Horse owner, player and handicapper Jon Lindo previews Sunday’s card at Santa Anita. That is where Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has five entrants in the $300,000 Malibu Stakes, the last Grade 1 race of the season for 3-year-olds. He also examines the latest developments in the future of racing in Southern California. Mark Cornett of C2 Racing Stable talks about White Abarrio, who is entered in the Mr....
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S9E10: A racing Christmas around the world
The Ron Flatter Racing Pod
A holiday celebration turns into a world tour with visits with friends from Japan, England and Australia this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Kate Hunter checks in from her home base in Japan, where Forever Young provided bookended highlights this year with his triumphs in the Group 1 Saudi Cup and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The Nashville native who has been based for 17 years across the Pacific also looks ahead to Kentucky Derby 2026, a race Japan still has on its to-do list. Senior writer Lee Mottershead of Racing Post offers Europe’s year-end review from England. He highlights...
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S9E9: 3 TV guys & lots of stories
The Ron Flatter Racing Pod
Three people who have been involved with popular sports television shows also have horse racing in common. One more thing. They are on this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. David Israel, the former chairperson of the California Horse Racing Board, takes time for a rare interview. He talks about what he would like to see change with the sport as well as his favorite races and his experience as a young sports writer covering the miracle on ice at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. Sportscaster Kenny Mayne and TV producer Matt Doyle return for part 2 of a conversation which began...
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S9E8: Lighting last Cigar at Aqueduct
The Ron Flatter Racing Pod
With Belmont Park reopening to nearly year-round racing next fall, the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap will be run at Aqueduct for the last time this weekend. The day’s top races are previewed on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. NYRABets analyst and Gallop Out podcast co-host Kaylie Shapiro offers her thoughts about the feature race of the fall meet as well as the Remsen Stakes (G2), a points prep for Kentucky Derby 2026. Crazy Mason challenges the likes of Bishops Bay and Phileas Fogg in the Cigar Mile. His trainer Gregg Sacco offers his assessment of how the race will be run. Mike Shutty...
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S9E7: Gobble, gobble, Florida and Churchill
The Ron Flatter Racing Pod
The long holiday weekend of stakes action at Churchill Downs and what could be another long winter in the Florida decoupling drama are the main topics this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Former Kentucky state senator Damon Thayer provides his updated point of view from his role in the fight to keep Gulfstream Park from splitting its racing and gaming licenses. He also responds to what the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association said about who was most responsible for defeating a decoupling bill this year in the state legislature. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen...
info_outlineThe Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion, a pair of Grade 1, $1 million stakes for 3-year-olds, will be run this weekend at Parx. They also are the focus of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.
Track announcer Jessica Paquette checks in from Parx to discuss the two races and their context in the 2025 championship picture. She also provides perspective on the arc of the 3-year-old season for both males and females.
Breeder and co-owner Robert Clay talks about Pennsylvania Derby favorite Baeza, the productivity and sale of his dam Puca and how he changed the direction of his Grandview Equine operation to focus on colts who have turned into classic winners.
Super Screener creator Mike Shutty offers tips on the Gallant Bob (G2), the Cotillion and the Pennsylvania Derby at Parx.
Co-hosts John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park help field feedback from listeners and readers about Churchill Downs continuing to penalize Kentucky Derby preps that lure small fields.
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.