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LA Times Columnist John Cherwa Joins Writers’ Room

Los Angeles Times columnist John Cherwa has seen a lot in just a handful of years on the Southern California racing beat, and Wednesday morning he joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss the past, present and future of racing in the Golden State. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Cherwa talked about the progress in Santa Anita's safety record, the top 3-year-olds on the west coast and the effect of last week's protest at Golden Gate Fields.

“I wrote tens of thousands of words on the horse breakdowns at Santa Anita,” Cherwa recalled. “I was on the phone with a source who was at the track when Battle of Midway went down and then it just mushroomed from there. Last week at Golden Gate, you saw where protesters went on the track over some recent deaths there. At that point, there were five deaths. One was a sudden death, which was probably a heart attack. There were only two what we call breakdowns. At a similar point in 2019 at Santa Anita, there were 20. I think a lot has been done [since], mostly I think through pre-race evaluations. If you watch the Los Alamitos races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, you'll see a lot of scratches, and a lot of those are because of pre-race evaluations. So I think the progress has been immense. However, until the number [of deaths] becomes zero, it's never enough [for anti-racing protestors]. And zero is, in many terms, unattainable number.”

Asked about the challenges to presenting the sport for a national audience, Cherwa said his dispassionate approach to racing has led to some backlash both from within the industry and outside of it, but that having only covered racing for a few years affords him a fresh view of things.

“I get hate mail from a lot of the horse racing people because I cover horse deaths and things like that,” he said “I get threats from the animal rights activists because I'm not covering it enough. I've even gotten death threats from the animal rights people. Frankly, no one is covering that more than I have, not because I want to, but because it is a big story in California. The fact that I'm kind of new to this myself, means that I'm learning along with my audience and I do on a lot of things. I've got like three or four, I'll just call them sources, that I will call all the time to have them explain something to me just to make sure of what I think I know.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, in a jam-packed West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, the writers discussed the first sentencing domino to fall from last year's indictments, the official news of Gulfstream adding a Tapeta surface that first broke on the show back in December, and the Golden Gate protests. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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Mike Stidham Talks Mystic Guide, Godolphin, Arlington On Writers’ Room

With over 2,000 wins and dozens of graded stakes scores on his resume, Mike Stidham has well established himself as a top trainer in this business. But as of yet, his stable hasn't quite found its breakout star–one that can take him to Breeders' Cup glory and maybe even an Eclipse Award or two. That may have changed with the arrival of Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) in Stidham's barn two years ago, as the Godolphin blueblood has steadily developed into a budding star, fresh off a jaw-dropping victory in the GIII Razorback H. and headed for an engagement in the G1 Dubai World Cup. Wednesday morning, Stidham joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss his plans for Mystic Guide, how the Godolphin racing and breeding operation works, the demise of his beloved Arlington Park and more.

“As you can see from his past performances, we took our time with him. We spaced his races,” Stidham said of Mystic Guide's steady progression. “There were a lot of temptations because it had been moved to September to still try to make the Derby. He just always seemed like he was a step or two behind some of the top 3-year-olds last year. So we gave him the time and felt like he had really moved forward late in the year. At that point, again there was temptation to try him in the Breeders' Cup, but we decided to do the right thing and get him ready for his 4-year-old year. We never turned him out, we just lightened up on his training and I felt really confident from a maturity standpoint, mentally and physically, he had gone the right way. So the [Razorback] performance was not surprising.”

Asked about the surging Godolphin racing operation in America and how it operates across several trainers, Stidham commented, “When you look at the stallion power of these horses–Tapit, Hard Spun, Curlin–then you look down and you see mares like Panty Raid, Music Note, it's only a matter of time until they start to do what they're doing. Interestingly enough, the trainers never see the 2-year-olds until they walk into their barn. I know that Jimmy [Bell] makes trips down to Ocala where they're in training, mostly with Eddie Woods, Niall Brennan, David Scanlon, but we don't know anything about what we're getting until we get a list sent to our email. Until they walk into our barn, we've never seen them before. I think they try to somewhat fit horses to the programs that we're running and obviously they've done a great job, because it's working really well.”

Stidham has been a mainstay at Arlington Park in the summer for several years and has won multiple training titles there. But the news is not good for the Chicago-area plant, as it appears Churchill Downs will abandon racing there after 2021. He didn't mince words when asked his feelings about those developments.

“I'm very, very disappointed in the way Churchill has handled Arlington. I think it's total disrespectful to the Illinois horsemen,” he said. “For me, Arlington was like a national park would be for the public, where you cherish it, and for anybody to go in and tear it down and make it into a residential area because it's better for the stockholders shows no respect for the tradition of Arlington or the horsemen who fought for so many years to try to get gaming there to bolster Illinois racing. For them to walk along with the horsemen for all those years acting like they wanted gaming, then finally get it and then just flat turn it down because they got involved with a casino 15 miles away and didn't want the competition, it's just horrible and sad. It's a very sad day in racing to lose Arlington Park.”

Elsewhere in the show, the writers talked to TDN European editor Emma Berry about the Gordon Elliott story, reacted to a big weekend of 3-year-old racing and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, broke down the implications of the Irad Ortiz, Jr.-Paco Lopez fight. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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Joe Migliore Departs West Point To Launch Bloodstock Agency

After six years of experience as a sales associate for Terry Finley's West Point Thoroughbreds, Joe Migliore said he is going out on his own as a bloodstock agent and plans on being active at the upcoming OBS March Sale in Ocala, Fla.

Migliore said he has taken to heart many of the valuable lessons learned during his time with West Point.

“It's a great team that they have, a very family type of setting,” Migliore said. “Working for West Point gave me tremendous exposure to how partnerships in the United States work. The team at West Point really go above and beyond what the standard is. I learned quite a bit about dealing with so many different types of owners. There would be some owners that own five percent of one horse and some who own larger shares of multiple horses. That really accelerated the process of how to communicate with certain owners.”

Migliore, 30, is the son of retired jockey and current America's Day at the Races analyst Richard Migliore. A former intern for NYRA in the press box at Saratoga, Migliore has hit the ground running and is currently in Florida doing his homework on the upcoming OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

“I've been going everywhere from Palm Meadows to talk to trainers to Ocala and visiting a lot of farms and checking out horses that are heading off to the sale,” said Migliore.

Migliore plans on buying for owner Robert Masiello, who currently serves on the board of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and first got involved in ownership in 2005 when partnering with West Point Thoroughbreds on multiple horses, including graded stakes winners Twilight Eclipse, Freedom Child and Justwhistledixie.

“I wouldn't be able to be in this position without his support,” Migliore said. “We've built a strong friendship that goes beyond the racetrack. He's a young and ambitious owner and a spectacular guy. We need more people like Robert Masiello in this industry.”

Masiello owns the popular turf sprint sensation Fiya [7-5-1-1, $184,396], a $400,000 auction purchase recommended by Migliore. Masiello said his friendship with Migliore has grown stronger since their early days with West Point.

“I got to know Joe at West Point and in the last couple of years as I've transitioned into my own stable, and he's been very helpful,” said Masiello. “Joe has given me ideas of horses to claim and he has just been so helpful over the years. He and Terry still have a great relationship, so they'll work together at some point in the future I'm sure. He's very studious, always is asking questions and he's tried to learn a lot.”

Migliore said he has utilized that studious nature to hone in on his client's business needs.

“Some owners want fillies to build a potential broodmare band, others want colts and have big dreams of the Triple Crown,” said Migliore. “Price comes into play too, so it's important to understand people's budgets.”

Migliore said he plans on being “extremely active” at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Yearling Sale in August.

“That is one sale I have a big circle around,” Migliore said. “You can find tremendous value there, although the prices are getting a little higher now that people are recognizing that value. For me, I hope to do a lot at that sale and I definitely will make a big push. It's one of my favorite sales to work. I'm always looking for New York-breds because of the strength of the program, so New York-breds are a priority for me.”

Migliore credited bloodstock agents David Ingordo and Mike Shannon, who scout out young talent for West Point, for helping him learn what to look for in a horse.

“I learned a lot from the two of them,” said Migliore. “You always should learn something new each day in this game. If you aren't, then you aren't working hard enough.

“A strong hind leg is something I look at,” Migliore added. “In dirt racing especially, you need a good hind leg. I focus in on a horse with correct conformation and there are other things that come in to play and some things that you're willing to forgive. We all have different interpretations.”

Migliore also credited not only his father but also his mother, Carmela, who worked as a longtime assistant trainer to Steve DiMauro.

“We talk about horses pretty often as a family and it's something that we share a bond over,” Migliore said. “I've learned so much from them both.”

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Lost And Found Presented By LubriSynHA: Durkin ‘Blown Away’ By Fan Admiration In Retirement

Racehorses have long been focal points for Tom Durkin. Since retiring from his 43 years as a track announcer, Durkin keeps those passions in the forefront but in different locations.

Most of the time Durkin resides in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., but escapes for part of the winter to the somewhat milder climate of Pinehurst, N.C., a village in a parallel universe to his year-round residence. The similarities include exceptional golf courses, historic racehorse facilities and scenic surroundings. The Pinehurst venue, which specializes in Standardbreds, was part of the attraction for Durkin.

“I used to spend my winters in Tuscany from around 2000 to 2010,” Durkin said. “Then I started going to Naples, Fla., but it got too crowded. My sister is in Pinehurst and I have friends there.”

His buddies include a few of his Standardbreds and their people, who he visits during training hours. An avid harness racing fan, Durkin enjoyed great success as co-breeder and co-owner of Coraggioso, a 21-time winner who banked nearly $700,000 and has become a productive sire.

Durkin's holdings extend to Thoroughbreds. As an equity partner in West Point Thoroughbreds since retiring in 2015, Durkin had a “minuscule” interest in Always Dreaming that paid dividends by giving Durkin access to the Kentucky Derby winner's circle. His role in West Point's business development and partner relations is just one of the many activities that keep him closely connected to the Thoroughbred world. Another is his role as a tour guide at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame during the racing season.

“I love it,” he said. “I am a horse racing nut and a bit of a history nut. When I first retired, I thought I would go back to Florence, Italy and be a tour guide. When I lived there, I would see these guides going around and I would stand behind the group and soak up what they were saying. So, I know as much about Florence and Renaissance art as any tour guide. I am a performer at heart. That is basically my nature — to get in front of people and talk to them. It might be about a painting, the history of Seabiscuit or the cultural history of racing in America via the outlet I have at the museum.”

Another outlet for Durkin's affinity for entertaining is acting. His voice-overs include a canine in “All Dogs Go to Heaven” and race callers in other movies. While a theater major at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, he appeared in school productions. He has not done a play since 2015, when he was both Mr. Macy and the drunken Santa Claus in “Miracle on 34^th Street” at the Spa Little Theater on the grounds of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

“I have been looking for parts,” he said. “I prefer comedy. If anybody has a part for me in the area, I'll do it. The part has to be for a guy who is 70 and has a certain look.”

That certain look is easily recognizable during the Saratoga racing season.

“I will be walking down the street and someone I have never met says hello or has something nice to say,” he said.

His fans are particularly engaging at the museum.

“When I retired, I did not expect what I got in terms of affection,” he said “It blew me away. I had no idea that was coming. Racing fans are passionate about the sport. And the depth of that passion and how many people love it is something that I did not quite realize. I've had people recite some of my race calls verbatim. A lot of them I have no recollection of whatsoever. It might be because they cashed a trifecta or exacta or longshot—I get a lot of those.”

Durkin is mindful of his unexpected celebrity status.

“I am a much better-behaved person in Saratoga than I am elsewhere,” he said. “If someone cuts me off in traffic in Manhattan, I'll give them the finger right there. In Saratoga, I just smile back. I don't want someone saying that I gave them the finger—this is a small town and word travels fast which makes me a socially better person.”

Durkin's popularity and professionalism might best be summarized by his many prestigious honors most notably the 2014 Eclipse Award of Merit for lifetime achievement.

“I was happy for what I was able to do and for as long as I did it at that level,” he said. “No one has been more fortunate than I have in many respects. In my next life, I want to come back as me.”

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