TDN Writers' Room Podcast | Horse Racing Free Tips

Amr Zedan Joins the TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

Saudi businessman Amr Zedan has been an owner only since 2017, but in that short period of time he has more than made his mark on the sport. His Medina Spirit (Protonico) crossed the wire first in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, his Taiba (Gun Runner) won three Grade I races last year and he has what may be this year's hottest 3-year-old colt in GIII Southwest S. winner Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo). We found out more about Zedan and his racing operation on this week's Thoroughbred Daily News Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. Zedan was the Green Group Guest of the Week.

Zedan doesn't buy a lot of horses at the sales, but he's not afraid to pay whatever it takes when his team targets a horse. In the case of Arabian Knight, he was purchased for $2.3 million at the OBS April sale. When he buys a horse, Zedan is thinking Derby.

“Our program is specifically tailor made for the Kentucky Derby,” Zedan said. “So every horse we target isa Kentucky Derby hopeful in our eyes. Obviously, once you're up there on the podium and carrying the Kentucky Derby trophy, I mean that feeling is difficult to describe. You just want to do it again and again and again. So that's the plan.”

That philosophy did and did not work with Medina Spirit, a bargain-basement buy at $35,000. He was first across the wire in the Derby but was later disqualified due to a positive for a therapeutic medication. Zedan and trainer Bob Baffert continue to fight the suspension in the courts.

“Look, I won the Derby, right? But I haven't lost it yet,” Zedan said. “There's a big yet there. Right now we're on to the appellate process and we are fully engaged. Let the chips fall where they may. I think we've got a great team and I honestly think we have a solid case. Once the facts are objectively reviewed, I think everything will be reinstated. That's my prerogative. So that's one. Two, I firmly believe everything happens for a reason. I just never felt any ill feelings or any animosity towards Churchill Downs or towards anyone for that matter. It's part of the sport.

Taiba was Zedan's best horse in 2022 and won the GI Santa Anita Derby, the GI Pennsylvania Derby and the GI Malibu S. But that wasn't enough to land the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old male. Though he won just one Grade I race, Epicenter (Not This Time) was named champion. For Zedan, that was a major disappointment.

“I didn't expect to win the Eclipse award, but I thought we might have a lot more votes than we got,” he said. “I thought we should have had gotten more than the 66 votes we got just to make it a bit of a closer race. I don't remember a horse that had won three Grade Ones that hasn't at least gotten more votes or let alone win the Eclipse award. So there is that element of disappointment.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore,https://lanesend.com/ https://lanesend.com/ the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, XBTV https://www.kentuckybred.org/and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, Randy Moss and Bill Finley took a look back at the races run over the weekends that had implications for the Kentucky Derby. Which horse was most impressive? The consensus opinion was Gulfstream allowance winner Tapit Trice (Tapit), whose name, when properly pronounced, may not be what you think. Moss explained why. And has Frankie Dettori found his mount for the Derby in GIII Robert B. Lewis S. winner Newgate (Into Mischief)? Moss and Finley differed on that subject, with Moss explaining why he thinks Dettori will choose to ride on Derby Day in the U.K. in the GI 2000 Guineas Stakes. The show wrapped up with a look at Saturday's Suncoast S. at Tampa Bay Downs, which features Eclipse Award winner Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) and the highly regarded Julia Shining (Curlin).

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Bruce Lunsford Joins the TDN Writers’ Room Podcast, Unveils Plans for Art Collector

A well-bred, three-time Grade I winner, Art Collector (Bernardini), the winner of last Saturday's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., has a future as a sire. But that will have to wait. Not only will he race this year as 6-year-old, but owner Bruce Lunsford is hoping that Art Collector can have a full campaign in 2023, one reminiscent of a foregone era when horses raced more often. Those were among the insights Lunsford provided when appearing as this week's Green Group Guest of the Week on the TDN Writers' Room podcast. The podcast is presented each week by Keeneland.

“Bill (Mott) has been told by me that if he continues do well we will continue,” Lunsford said. “That was a pretty good race the other day in the Pegasus and it gives us a chance to take more shots.”

While Lunsford understands the economics of the sport, where, oftentimes a horse can make considerably more money breeding than racing, the owner wants to enjoy watching Art Collector run for at least one more year.

“It used to be that horse racing was never meant to be your main source of living,” Lunsford said. “It was more like owning a baseball team or a football team. You have the guy who owns Rich Strike, is having the experience of his life and is going to keep running him. We need more of that in the game. I love the excitement. Winning the Pegasus made my blood pump.”

The owner said that the next race for Art Collector has yet to be decided upon, while adding that “there's a list of 10 races that would fit him this year.”

Lunsford also addressed his decision in 2021 to turn the horse over to Mott after he had been trained by Tom Drury. For Drury, Art Collector win the GII Blue Grass S., but finished off the board in his final three races for that trainer.

“Tommy and I have an incredibly close relationship,” Lunsford said. “But after that last race at Churchill (a sixth-place finish in the Kelly's Landing S.), I went in and talked to Tommy. I knew it was a punch to the gut for him. I told him that I wanted to go to New York because there were a lot of big races there for him to run in. Tommy and I, we're probably closer now than we've ever been. We've kept a great relationship. I think I made the decision on the right terms and I took a little heat for it. But I just kept my mouth shut and let things happen. Sometimes you have to do things likes this.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore,https://lanesend.com/ Lane's End, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV https://www.kentuckybred.org/and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, Zoe Cadman, Randy Moss and Bill Finley discussed the latest decision handed down by the courts to the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and speculated on whether or not HISA could survive the setback. This week's 3-year-old watch included a review of the GIII Southwest S., won impressively by Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo), and a discussion of Bob Baffert's domination of the 3-year-old ranks in California. In Saturday's GIII Robert B. Lewis S., Baffert trains all four horses in the field and trains 14 of the 16 horses nominated.

Click for the video version of the podcast or the audio-only version.

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Aidan Butler Joins TDN Writers’ Room

Whenever a day at the races can be turned into an “event,” the fans and the bettors turn out in droves, and there's no better example of that than the Pegasus World Cup Day card at Gulfstream. Highlighted by the GI Pegasus World Cup, the day has become among the most important on the calendar for 1/ST Racing, which owns Gulfstream, and this year's handle could once again top the $40 million mark.

1/ST Racing CEO of Racing Aidan Butler will be among those responsible for putting on a good show this Saturday, and we brought him on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to tell us more about the Pegasus and the importance of getting people to the track to experience live racing. Butler was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.

“Like everybody else, I am slightly depressed that racing isn't quite the draw that it once was,” Butler said. “If you are going to get fans back, you have to get them to the track. It's why we all fell in love with it. There is no feeling like the excitement of the horses coming past you and the buzz of the crowd. Like with a lot of other industries, it's a lot simpler to be digital. You can send the picture, you can bet on your app. That is never going to grow the sport back. Do I think we're going to be 60,000 people on a Wednesday at Santa Anita? No, but we can at least put our best foot forward when it comes to our marquee days and try to appeal to a broader audience. The Pegasus is an example. We take that to the nth extreme. It's a huge party and it's something that you don't see at racetracks, really, anywhere else in the world. We are really trying to elevate that experience. I think everybody has the understanding now that you have to compete from an experiential standpoint to get people back to the sport. You've got to offer them something that is really unique and the racing and the horses are about as unique as you get. So let's not let the side down with crappy food and bad hospitality and everything else. I'm never going to point a finger, but we may have been asleep at the wheel for a couple of decades, but we're coming back.”

This year's Pegasus was unable to land a major star like past winners Arrogate (Unbridled's Song), Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) or Knicks Go (Paynter), but Butler seemed more than happy with the way the race came together.

“We got the best of what's out there,” he said. “Talk about competitive races. If you're looking for someone to bet, these races are very deep. Personally, I think it's the most competitive Pegasus by far.”

Butler was also asked to talk about Santa Anita's remarkable safety record in 2022 and the latest goings-on in Maryland. In 2020, the Racing and Community Development Act was passed and it earmarked $375 million for the rebuilding of Pimlico and Laurel. Since, the project has stalled. Why?

“Since the original plan, the numbers have gone through the roof,” Butler said. “Everything they had planned for has exponentially gotten more expensive, which has meant we have to be very thoughtful about how we go forward. The last thing we need is to go and spend a bunch of money, especially money that we might be getting from the state, and then being backstopped by the state. We've got to make sure we do it the right way. Luckily for us, the horsemen and women out there, the state representatives, all of the horsemen bodies and all of the people on our side, are being extremely thoughtful. I wish we could get this going. I'd love to see what a new building, particularly at Pimlico, could do, because I think that's a really big opportunity to get the Preakness back to its former glory.”

Speaking of the GI Preakness S., is 1/ST Racing still considering changing the date so that it is not run so close to the GI Kentucky Derby?

“Nothing has been decided and nothing is going to change at the moment,” Butler said. “Hopefully, when and if something changes, it'll be done as an announcement from the Triple Crown Group as opposed to one track trying to do something for the betterment of themselves. If you don't pay attention to the rest of the ecosystem, that's when silly stuff happens. Personally, I'm pretty, happy with where it's at. Internally, we've have some big debates and I've won a couple and lost a couple. But I think at the moment, let's not throw the baby out with the bath water because for once in decade a horse (Rich Strike) didn't run back in the Preakness.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore,https://lanesend.com/ the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, Zoe Cadman, Randy Moss and Bill Finley handicapped the Pegasus World Cup and the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf. The team a look back at last week's GIII Lecomte S. and the incredible run trainer Brad Cox is on and looked ahead to Saturday's GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn. And with another defendant being sentenced to prison for his role in the wide-ranging scheme to dope horses, the 52-month sentence handed down to standardbred trainer Nick Surick was an important topic of discussion.

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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.

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