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Fresh Off Saudi Cup Win, John Gosden Joins TDN Writers’ Room

Three days after racking up yet another monumental win in a career chock full of them, legendary trainer John Gosden joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland Tuesday morning. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Gosden explained how he got Saudi Cup hero Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) to be as brilliant on dirt as he is on turf, what made his five-time champion Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) such a phenomenon, how his roots of training in California in the 1980s informed the rest of his career and much more.

Asked about what it takes to get a horse to perform at a top level on multiple surfaces as Mishriff has done, Gosden said, “I think you've got to have the individual. You've got to have a horse that obviously handles the surface, but also the one that has the courage to face the kickback. And I think that's very much the issue. I had many good turf horses in California that could work a mile in a great time on the main track on their own in the morning, but put them in a race in the afternoon and they couldn't tolerate the dirt. They lose their breathing, their rhythm, everything. So, you need a horse with courage.”

Regarding what else made the difference for Mishriff against top American dirt horses Charlatan (Speightstown) and Knicks Go (Paynter) in the Saudi Cup, Gosden commented, “I think one thing is very clear, and I think Bob [Baffert] might have said this: the long straight at Riyadh made a big difference to us, because we are used to straights of two, three, four furlongs in distance. To that extent, he really relished the two-and-a-half furlong straight, which I think in the end just caught Charlatan out in that last 100 meters. So that type of track very much suits him.”

On what he's looking at for the rest of Mishriff's campaign and whether or not it will include a shot in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, Gosden said, “We plan obviously to be running him here in races like the Eclipse Stakes. We may even consider looking at a race at the end of the year like The Arc. As regards to Del Mar, of course, that's to be discussed on the agenda. Having trained and had a lot of fun at Del Mar, I know it very well. The track and the finish line is quite a long way away from the clubhouse turn. It's quite a short straight. So that would probably be something that would be a positive for horses like Knicks Go and Charlatan and maybe not such a positive for us.”

Elsewhere on the show, the writers conducted their 2021 fantasy 3-year-old draft, checked in with TDN European Editor Emma Berry for more on the Saudi Cup and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, reacted to the huge news of three top stallion farms suing The Jockey Club over its 140-mare cap. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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NTRA CEO Alex Waldrop Joins TDN Writers’ Room

There's plenty to talk about in racing these days, and NTRA CEO Alex Waldrop joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday morning to dig into a good deal of the sport's most pressing topics. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Waldrop talked about how to capitalize and sustain the positive handle trends of the past year, how to pay for the groundbreaking Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, what movement he expects on H-2B visas with a new administration and more.

“Looking back over the last quarter and even the last half of last year, we were trending five, six, seven percent up over the prior year,” Waldrop said of the increase in handle the sport has seen. “So those trends are very positive. I do think they are related to the fact that new people are coming into the business. They're seeing horse racing as a viable option for the first time. I think that is attributable to a lot of the marketing dollars that were spent in 2020 to get eyeballs on our racing for the first time. And I think that's the way we keep this going. We continue to show our races on television, get more people in front of TV sets, mobile screens, all the distribution channels that we have out there, which are many now and are growing. That's the way to continue to grow.”

“Another way that I think we have to look at in 2021 is to get on more sports betting platforms,” he continued. “Sports betting is spreading across the country. It's a huge and growing business. If we can just get 5% of the number of people who are now betting on these mobile sports betting apps, that would be a huge win for horse racing. And I think in 2021, this is the year to really focus on what we can do to to piggyback on the success of sports betting in this country. To grow our visibility even greater.”

Asked about the tricky issue of funding HISA, Waldrop said that replacing the inefficiencies of racing's current patchwork regulation system will lead to savings on its own.

“HISA and the Authority, is all about centralizing the administration of medication control and racing safety matters. Putting it into one office. There will be significant savings. There'll be efficiencies when you compare costs that we now have for 30 state agencies,” he said. “I think 10 years ago we were spending almost $30 million a year on post race drug testing. That's an astronomical number. I don't think people realized we were spending that much money on drug testing. We're spending more than that now under the 30 state agencies. The second thing to remember is that HISA contemplates a broader-based and more equitable contribution from all industry participants, so not just one group or one tax will be paying for the costs of regulation.”

Elsewhere on the show, the writers reacted to a strong weekend of stakes at Fair Grounds, highlighted some key points from last week's exclusive interview with USADA CEO Travis Tygart and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, analyzed the passage of a historical horse racing legalization bill in the Kentucky House of Representatives. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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Bloodstock Agent Liz Crow Joins Writers’ Room

On a monumental day in her personal life, star bloodstock agent Liz Crow joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday for an in-depth discussion. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Crow talked about her pride in the enormous success of her now dual-champion $100,000 purchase Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), the status of the sale market after a tumultuous 2020, what traits she looks for when buying horses and much more.

“She's taken us on an incredible ride to so many different racetracks and experiences and has done so much for my career,” Crow said of Monomoy Girl, who was named Champion Older Female at last week's Eclipse Awards after taking the Champion 3-Year-Old Filly title two years ago. “It's felt like a family because we've spent so much time together rooting her on. All of us get so nervous. Brad Cox, that's the only horse he legs the jockey up on. His heart is pounding out of his chest for the entire post parade. We all feel that way. It's been one of those stories that's never going to be topped for all of us that have gotten to experience her. And Spendthrift running her next year, it's so good for racing. She's a comeback story.”

Asked about her approach to buying horses, Crow said, “The most important thing for me is to be thorough. I have a team of short-listers, and a team of people that help organize me at a sale. If there are 4,320 horses, we look at all 4,320 of them. We consider all of them, no matter the pedigree, the consignor, the breeder. We go through the process on each horse. As far as when the individual comes out, the first thing I like to look at is their attitude. So often we can forget that these horses are not machines. The way they act in the paddock, the post parade, loading in the gate, the way they're handled in the barn, all that really matters. Then from there, I start looking at their conformation, assessing them from their hip to shoulder, to the way their neck sits in their shoulder. The walk is a little bit overrated to me, especially at 2-year-old sales when you get to see them gallop and breeze. The way they move on the track is so much more important.”

Elsewhere on the show, the crew remembered legendary New Jersey horseman John Forbes, reacted to the major 3-year-old preps of the weekend and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, provided updates on the historical horse racing story and Knicks Go (Paynter) heading to the Saudi Cup. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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Bill Farish Says He’s ‘Bullish’ On Racing’s Future On Writers’ Room

There are few people in racing more qualified to speak on the health of the sport than Lane's End's Bill Farish. In addition to running the historic farm, Farish is chairman of the board of the Breeders' Cup, chairman of the Horse PAC and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Keeneland Association, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Foundation. Wednesday, Farish joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland, calling in as the Green Group Guest of the Week to explain why he's “bullish” on racing's future, share his thoughts on the 140-mare cap and much more.

“I'm incredibly bullish on the future of the sport,” he said. “I think we've got a lot of positives. The state of Kentucky needs to get the historic horse racing deal figured out, because that's a huge, huge boost to the industry. If we can keep those purses where they were heading, and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act that was recently passed, I think is hugely important for our future. We've got to get the testing right. We need to have greater integrity and more confidence from the bettors in the product. I think that will go a long way in helping that. I was going to say restoring it, but I'm not sure it's ever been there to the degree it should be. I think that's a huge thing.”

Asked about The Jockey Club's new rule capping stallion books at 140 mares, Farish explained his support for the measure, saying, “First of all, I don't think there is as many people on the side of large books as there are on the side of limiting books. But, to me it's quite obvious, we have literally 50% the number of stallions standing in Kentucky that we did 20 years ago. That's a direct result of increased book size. So, I think looking at the list of mares bred this year, there would be literally, I think the number is about 900 mares, to spread amongst other stallions from the stallions that are being bred over 140.”

Elsewhere on the show, the crew reacted to the dominant performance of Knicks Go (Paynter) in the GI Pegasus World Cup, talked about where some of the weekend's dominant 3-year-old colts fit on the Derby trail and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, broke down the tricky situation surrounding historical horse racing in Kentucky. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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