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Will Walden Joins The TDN Writers’ Room

Will Walden' story is a remarkable one. After battling substance abuse issues for more than a decade, he is sober and has just finished his first year as a trainer, winning with 22% of his starters. But the success of his stable extends beyond trips to the winner's circle. Walden's team is comprised of individuals who were also deeply mired in addiction and the group works together not just to produce winners but to support each other.

After an inspirational video on Walden's story produced by the TDN's Katie Petrunyak ran, the team from the TDN Writer's Room podcast presented by Keeneland wanted to hear more. Walden was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.

“I was miserable and wanted to get clean and sober,” Walden said of some of his worst days. “And I didn't. I'd gotten kicked out of a house a few weeks prior, and I had basically resigned to the fact that I was going to die a heroin junkie one day. It's a pretty sad state to be in.”

But something finally clicked, and after working at Wendy's, where he proved to himself and others he could show up for work and be responsible, Walden, the son of WinStar President and CEO Elliott Walden, decided to fulfill his long-time dream of being a trainer. He soon found out that being around horses on a daily basis was a powerful tool that helped both he and his employees stay on course.

“It's kind of difficult to put into words what these horses do for the inside,” Walden said. “I'll put it to you this way. When these guys started working with the horses, I told them, you're not going to be able to know the day or the time. It may happen in two weeks. It may happen in a day, it may happen in four months. But that horse is going to look you in the eye and you're going to get this feeling inside that animal accepts you for exactly who you are and exactly where you're at and doesn't care about your past, doesn't care about your future, but accepts you just for who you are. And that's something that in addiction and alcoholism is a feeling that is long lost.”

Walden's interviews with the TDN were not his first. From the time he opened up his stable he's been open about his past, never shying away from the ugliest details. Why?

“I don't really like drudging up the past all the time and talking about it, but if there's a chance that there's somebody out there listening that's going through it and doesn't think that anybody can relate, doesn't think there's anybody else who's been there, doesn't think that anybody else is eating out of dumpsters or went to prison too they can hear it from me or they can hear it from one of my guys,” he said. “We were in the same spot. You wouldn't think it because of how our life looks like now and what we get to do on a daily basis. But I can promise you, we were there and there were a million hands that reached out and grabbed me when I was in the depths of it. I want to give back and help as many people as I can, because there were so many people that took time out of their day, time away from their family, away from their kids, away from their jobs, lifestyles, what have you to help rescue me. And if I can do that for just one person, it's worth it.”

On the track, Walden's stable seems headed toward bigger and better things. He started his first horses on Sept. 5, 2022 and finished the year with nine wins from 41 starters. In December, he won his first stakes race when Kate's Kingdom won the My Charmer S. at Turfway Park.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, Lane's End, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, Zoe Cadman, Randy Moss and Bill Finley discussed the remarkable safety record Santa Anita achieved in 2022 and what could soon be the return of trainer Rick Dutrow. The team also took a look at the 3-year-old colt picture and the depth of the Brad Cox stable.

The post Will Walden Joins The TDN Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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NTRA President, CEO Rooney Joins Writers’ Room Podcast

Tom Rooney, a former Congressman, a lawyer and an Army veteran, was hired to take over as the top man at the NTRA because the NTRA Board knew he could make a difference in Washington. Some two years later and with the swinging pendulum that is the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), Rooney has his hands full. This week, Rooney sat down with the team on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss what he and his staff are doing to advocate for the sport. Rooney was the Green Group Guest of the Week.

The NTRA is pro-HISA, which means that Rooney was working behind the scenes to lobby lawmakers to back legislation in which language that covered HISA was changed so that it would satisfy issues brought up by a federal appeals court that declared that HISA was unconstitutional. Had the language not been changed, HISA very well could have been dead. Rooney said his efforts included discussions with both Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer. Ultimately, the NTRA and pro-HISA forces got their wish.

“[Schumer and McConnell] both recognized that it was important for our industry to have uniform standards and to have racetrack safety and accountability and integrity for us to move forward,” Rooney said. “We made it incumbent upon those two men especially that we needed this language fixed and we were able to get it done despite a pretty good opposition with regard to people that opposed HISA. So we had to work very hard to make sure that we pressed the issue again with those two men and the rest of the members that were going to vote that had problems with it. I was making phone calls days before to members of the Senate that I'm friends with explaining this to them. A lot of people just didn't know what it meant. They thought it meant more of a government overreach rather than something that would help our industry. And I think that once they understood that, they moved on to the next thing.”

Despite his success, Rooney said he was worried that his efforts would fall short.

“I was not optimistic at all,” he said. “I think I told the people on the phone call that we met with on a daily basis or a weekly basis that we probably had a 5% chance of success.”

The key now, is whether or not the new language will mean that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will be satisfied when it comes to the constitutionality issues and allow HISA to proceed.

“I'm confident and that's because I think that we addressed exactly what the court's problems were,” Rooney said. “There is going to be litigation and there's going to be shots taken in other parts of the bill that don't have to do with the ruling. I don't think that those are fatal. And even if they were ruled against, I think that they could be separated without having to try again with a legislative fix, which would be even more difficult with this Congress.”

Looking to the future, Rooney said horse racing needs to join forces with sports betting websites so that their customers can bet on racing and be exposed to the sport. Currently, most on-line wagering on racing is restricted to the traditional ADW outlets like TwinSpires, TVG and XpressBet and sports bettors do not have access to racing.

“The one thing that I'm focused on which will help reach the next generation is what I can do at the federal level to try to get what's called a single wallet on the sports betting apps,” he said. “One of my biggest focuses for the sake of the gambler is to try to figure out a way to integrate horse racing, which, as you all know, was the only legal sport in our country to gamble on for the longest time. And now we're competing in certain states with all sports. FanDuel is one of my board members, and we were able to work with them to get horse racing on a FanDuel shared application. So you don't have to go off one app to get on another one…I remember my son asking me, 'Dad, who's going to win the Kentucky Derby? And then he's like, 'Why can't find it on my app?'”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, Zoe Cadman, Randy Moss and Bill Finley discussed the GIII Sham S. and the incredible amount of depth the Bob Baffert has in the 3-year-old male division. Baffert finished one-two-three in the Sham and has three of the top seven horses in T.D. Thornton's Derby Top 12. There was also talk of the 2022 year-end statistics released by Equibase in which purses were up by 10.92 percent even though handle fell, by 0.87 percent. The group noted that, unfortunately, the growth of purses is attributable not to growth of the sport but solely to outside revenue from casino games. The podcastended on an upbeat note with a discussion of the remarkable recovery of jockey Joree Scriver after it was feared she was paralyzed in a spill at Sunland Park.

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Dettori Joins TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

Riding full-time in the U.S. for the first time in his storied career, Frankie Dettori has brought his talents to Arcadia, California, where he has settled in as a regular in the Santa Anita jockey's colony. Dettori joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss his three wins on opening day, his expectations for the Santa Anita meet, his search for a contender for the GI Kentucky Derby and his plans to retire after this year's Breeders' Cup. Dettori was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.

“I couldn't really have asked for more,” he said of his opening day heroics, which included a win aboard Saudi-bound Country Grammer (Tonalist) in the GII San Antonio S. “Had Country Grammer been my only winner it would have been a great day. To get three on the board, it was amazing.”

Among the reasons Dettori came to the U.S. was the hope that he could land a Derby mount. He doesn't have one yet, but the jockey and his agent, Ron Anderson, are working on finding a candidate. He has ridden in just one Derby, finishing sixth in 2000 with China Visit (Red Ransom), an experience he called “amazing.”

“Everything is open,” he said. “I did mention to Bob Baffert that if he's got a nice 3-year-old for me to put me on. He can just give me the thumbs up. Around the time of the Big 'Cap I will have a pretty good idea if I have a nice 3-year-old or not. If I do, I will extend my stay. Usually all the trials are beginning to develop in March and April, like the Santa Derby. So everything's open. At the moment I've got two good 3-year-olds in Europe, colts and fillies. But you know, if I get an American Pharoah, that's a different ball game. I'm not saying no to anything.”

There has been a lot of news out of the Dettori camp of late. First there was the announcement that he was coming to Santa Anita, which was followed by him revealing that this will be his last year. Why stop now?

“I still get the good rides and I still feel good,” he said. “But by the end of next year I'll be 53. I want to leave a legacy where I finish on the top. This game is very fickle. You can go from hero to zero in the space of a few days. At the moment, physically, I feel that I can give my owners and my horses and my trainers 200%. I feel that if I can have one more good year, it is time to move on. My heart wants to carry on. I mean Mike Smith is a classic example. He's 57 and he is still riding at his very best. I don't want racing to stop me. I want myself to stop.”

And what will he do after he stops riding?

“I'd like to get into the media,” Dettori said. “I'd like to be a commentator. I still want to be involved in racing, but I want to be young enough that I can jump in and start something else.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, Lane's End, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, Zoe Cadman, Randy Moss and Bill Finley discussed their picks in various Eclipse Award races. In a 3-year-old male division where nothing is clear cut, Finley said he voted for GI Runhappy Malibu S. winner Taiba (Gun Runner), while Cadman and Moss voted for Epicenter (Not This Time). All three agreed that the Eclipse committee sends out the ballots too early and that no votes should be accepted before Jan. 1.

Another subject was the retirements of trainers Dale Capuano and Rick Schosberg. Two well respected successful horsemen left the sport at the end of the year and what does that say about a game where it seems that the super trainers prosper and everyone else struggles to make a go if it?

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The Week in Review: With Eclipse Ballots Mailed Out in Mid-December, Was Taiba at Disadvantage?

Eclipse Award ballots were sent out electronically to voters on Dec. 12, with 19 days remaining on the calendar in 2022. That's how it's done. The ballot always lands in your in-box with a few weeks to go in the year.

In a normal year, that's not a problem. Come mid-December there are only a handful of major races left on the calendar and most Eclipse races have been wrapped up by then.

But that wasn't the case in 2022. The GI Runhappy Malibu S. at Santa Anita turned into a race that voters had to pay attention to. It included Taiba (Gun Runner) and a win by him in the Dec. 26 race was something a conscientious voter had to consider before casting his or her vote.

Taiba won the Malibu, giving him three Grade I wins on the year and two more than his main competition for the 3-year-old championship, Epicenter (Not This Time). Prepared to vote for Epicenter, I changed my mind after the Malibu and voted for Taiba.

I did the right thing–I waited. But did everybody? And are there voters out there who would have voted for Taiba and not Epicenter had they waited. Might this cost Taiba the Eclipse Award?

This is a problem, but it's one that is completely avoidable.

When you receive your ballot, the subject of the late-year races at Santa Anita is addressed.

“It is strongly encouraged that you consider waiting to vote until after the conclusion of the Grade I races Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park, which are the Malibu S., the La Brea S. and the American Oaks,” voters are told. Votes can be received as late as Jan. 3.

All that helps, buy why give voters and option to cast their ballots before the year is over?

According to publicist Jim Gluckson, it's not yet known how many people voted in 2022 before the Malibu. In 2021, 13 votes came in before the Dec. 26 races at Santa Anita. In 2020, it was only seven.

That's good news and shows that people are being careful, but even seven votes or 13 votes is seven or 13 too many when you consider how close the Epicenter-Taiba vote is likely to be. The fix is obvious. Do not accept any votes until Jan. 1 and then give voters an extra five or six days beyond Jan. 3 to get their votes in. What's the hurry? Get it right.

Todd Vs. Chad

In the same column where I threw my support behind Taiba for the 3-year-old championship, I wrote that Todd Pletcher was the “obvious” choice for the Eclipse Award for leading trainer. Steve Laymon, the co-owner of GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner and Chad Brown-trainee Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper), emailed to say he thought that Pletcher was anything but a no-brainer for the award and that Brown deserved consideration. He's right.

In several relevant categories, Brown's numbers are better than Pletcher's. He had more winners (244-223), more stakes winners (51-36) and more Grade I winners (18-17). Brown's stable had earnings of $31,057,362, while Pletcher bankrolled $30,482,937. Brown won with 26% of his starters, while Pletcher won with 22%.

Nonetheless, I still feel Pletcher deserves the title, based largely on the fact that he will have trained three champions in 2022 in Nest (Curlin), Malathaat (Curlin) and Forte (Violence). That's a phenomenal, Eclipse Award-worthy feat. Goodnight Olive will be the champion and a Brown-trained horse may win in the filly and mare turf category. At best, he can get two. Pletcher also deserves a lot of points for finishing one-two in the GI Belmont S.

Two great trainers and two great years. But the edge goes to Pletcher.

Has Gmax Fixed All the Bugs?

It was announced last week that Trakus, which debuted in 2006, is shutting down. The company that operated the timing and tracking system revealed that it was losing money and that the time had come to pull the plug. Trakus went a long way toward bringing the timing of races out of the dark ages and it will be missed.

But perhaps the biggest issue is that, with Trakus no longer an option, more and more tracks will convert to Gmax. Gmax is the timing system that is operated by Equibase, a subsidiary of The Jockey Club, and competed with Trakus for business. That could be a problem.

Since Gmax came on the scene in 2018, it has been plagued by problems and there have been numerous instances at several tracks where the final times of races were inaccurate. In a sport where bettors rely heavily on how fast races were run and speed figures that is unacceptable. Worse yet, it was inconceivable that in 2022 and with all the technology out there, horse racing couldn't figure out a way to accurately time its races.

Fortunately, it appears that Equibase has figured out how to solve what had been the most pressing issue, getting the times right when it comes to the final time of a race. Randy Moss, whose many duties in the industry include his work with the Beyer speed figure team, has been an outspoken critic of Gmax and has pressed The Jockey Club to fix what has been broken. Moss said that the Gmax timing system now includes a wireless beam that is used in conjunction with the GPS technology to record the final times. The new system is working, and Moss said he no longer finds any serious problems when it comes to getting the final times of the races right at Gmax tracks.

However, according to Moss, The Jockey Club has yet to address the issue of fractional times. He says that inaccuracies in this area are still a frequent problem.

“We've seen many races where the fractions are off by two-fifths or three-fifths of a second,” he said. “There is a difference between :21.80 and :22.15. To handicappers, that's a big difference. Some fractions are reasonably accurate and it varies from race to race. But it is a problem.”

Moss said that the reported fractions in the 2021 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff and the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, run at Del Mar and timed with Gmax, were not correct.

“At Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup, they had converted to the hybrid beams, so the final times were good,” he said. “At the same time, some of the fractional times were not. Remember how incredibly fast the fractions were for the Distaff? They were off by two to three-fifths of a second. The pace was still extremely fast, but it wasn't as fast as the posted times. The same thing with the Classic. People were wondering how Knicks Go could run that fast and still hang on. He didn't run as fast as the fractional times that were posted.”

Moss said he has been told that The Jockey Club is aware of the problem and is experimenting with using wireless beams to record fractional times. That would be a needed step in the right direction and can't happen soon enough.

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