The Friday Show Presented By Diamond B Farm’s Rowayton: Sam Houston Strong

Chris Griffin, track announcer at Sam Houston Race Park, joins Ray Paulick and Joe Nevills on this week's edition of The Friday Show in the wake of the historic deep freeze that wreaked havoc with the electrical grid and water supply in Houston and other Texas cities.

“It was a unique situation, a bit scary at times, but we got through it,” Griffin said. “Your immediate thought if you're involved with horse racing – and it should be – is how are the horses going to be handling the conditions and what we are going to go through.”

Fortunately, an emergency plan was in place, and the backstretch community rallied to make it work. “Last week was a very trying, difficult time where we all had to work together,” he said.

After four lost racing days, the action resumed this week, just in time for Saturday evening's Texas Preview Day, and Griffin provides some insights on the 12-race card featuring five stakes for Texas-breds.

Finally, bloodstock editor Joe Nevills gives a toast to Spendthrift Farm's Vino Rosso in our new segment spotlighting the stallion's first foals.

Watch this week's Friday Show below.

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The Friday Show Presented By Rowayton, Standing At Diamond B Farm In Pennsylvania: The Prep Season

Eight races offering Kentucky Derby qualifying points have been run this year with two more scheduled this weekend, including Saturday's Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans – the first in the Kentucky Derby Championship Series with 85-points each (50-20-10-5 to the first four finishers).

What have we learned so far? What horses have had their stock rise and which ones have fallen? And how many potential Triple Crown race winners have we yet to see racing in 2021?

In this week's edition of the Friday Show presented by Rowayton, standing at Diamond B Farm in Pennsylvania, Paulick Report publisher Ray Paulick, bloodstock editor Joe Nevills and news editor Chelsea Hackbarth tackle those questions and more. They've also got a surprising pick for the “star of the week.”

Watch the Friday Show below.

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The Friday Show Presented By PHBA Stallion Seasons Auction: The Optimists Club

For the last three years as the calendar pages turned from December to January, the Paulick Report took the pulse of its readers, asking how they felt about the future health of the Thoroughbred industry: Were they optimistic or pessimistic?

In January 2019, 43% expressed optimism. In January 2020, that number fell to 30%. Currently, 54% of our readers said they are optimistic heading into 2021 – a significant shift in just 12 months.

While this online poll is not a scientific survey, its results are revealing, if not head scratching, considering all that society has been through the last 10 months since the World Health Organization declared that the coronavirus was a pandemic.

In this week's episode of the Friday Show, presented by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association's stallion season auction, Paulick Report publisher Ray Paulick and  bloodstock editor Joe Nevills search for reasons why the “optimists club” may have so many new members. What is there to be optimistic or pessimistic about when it comes to the Thoroughbred industry?

They also discuss the long comeback road by this week's “star of the week,” Grade 3 Tropical Turf winner Ride a Comet.

Watch the Friday Show below.

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The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Historical Setback In Kentucky?

The shockwaves felt on Thursday when the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously ruled against the claim that certain historical horse racing (HHR) machines constitute pari-mutuel wagering were felt all the way from the state capitol in Frankfort to financial markets on Wall Street.

In the immediate aftermath of the ruling – in a case brought to the courts by the anti-gambling Family Foundation – Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and state Senate majority floor leader Damon Thayer spoke out in support of historical horse racing wagering that has helped lift Kentucky purses to among the best in the nation.

Share prices in Churchill Downs Inc. – whose Derby City Gaming facility in Louisville generated the largest market share of the $2.2 billion wagered on historical racing in the last fiscal year – took a nearly 10% fall after the news broke. CDI officials issued a statement suggesting legislative relief may be needed in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling.

In this week's edition of the Friday Show, publisher Ray Paulick and editor-in-chief Natalie Voss assess what may happen next with historical horse racing in Kentucky.

Watch the Friday Show below.

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