Writers' Room | Horse Racing Free Tips

Del Mar CEO Joe Harper Talks Banner Summer Meet On Writers’ Room

The Del Mar summer meet, always a hot attraction in Southern California, could not have gone much better this year. The stand set records for average daily handle and average field size, and crucially, recorded zero racing or training fatalities, the fourth stakes Del Mar meet with no racing breakdowns. Tuesday, Del Mar CEO Joe Harper joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about how the track has become the gold standard for racehorse safety, what the future looks like for Del Mar, his childhood acting career and more.

“We spent $5 million putting in a new surface,” Harper said when asked what the keys have been to eliminating breakdowns. “It's kind of like picking up a carpet and shaking it out and putting it back down again. We re-banked the turns, and I think the main thing was just keeping our eye on these horses in the morning as well as when [trainers] put in stall applications. I want to know where they've been, how long the layoffs have been, why there were layoffs, take a look at vet records, and then when they get here, we put a lot of eyes on them. We hired a number of veterinarians to watch morning workouts, and they're really good. They know every horse on the grounds. They know the trainers. So if they see something a little off, they call the trainer and say they're going to come by the barn and take a look at this horse. I think it took a while for the change of culture to sink in. There's a little bit of, [when horsemen say] 'I think we've got one more race left in this horse', saying to them, 'I think it's time to retire them.' It was great getting that change of culture and the horsemen to accept the fact that we all had to do something. And it worked. It worked the first year, and it's been working a bit better every year.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the KTOB, Lane's End, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds, Three Chimneys and Legacy Bloodstock, Joe Bianca, Bill Finley and guest co-host Barry Spears reacted to closing weekend at Del Mar and Flightline (Tapit)'s stud deal at Lane's End. Click here to watch the show; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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NYRA CEO Dave O’Rourke Talks Winterizing Belmont On Writers’ Room

It was announced last week that in order to properly renovate and reimagine Belmont Park for 2023 and beyond, the New York Racing Association would be shifting this year's fall meet at Belmont to Aqueduct, and Wednesday, NYRA CEO Dave O'Rourke joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss the process and future ramifications of this major capital investment in Big Sandy.

O'Rourke said that the main objective of the construction project is the building of two major tunnels to provide access to the Belmont infield, a massive expanse of land that has thus far gone unutilized. The tunnels, he said, will open up the possibility of hosting fans in the infield for major events like the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, but he added that the renovation will also pave the way for reconstruction of the Belmont dirt and turf courses and the installation of a synthetic track for winter racing. O'Rourke expounded on the importance of winterizing Belmont, as the plan is to consolidate racing operations at the track in the near future, shuttering Aqueduct, and also said this project is being undertaken at least in part to bring the Breeders' Cup back to Belmont, which last hosted the World Championships 17 years ago, in 2005.

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, Lane's End, XBTV, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers talked about the races for champion 3-year-old and Horse of the Year heating up, how 'TDN Rising Star' designations are made and the latest HISA legal back-and-forth. Click here to watch the show; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Coolmore’s Adrian Wallace Talks 2022 Stallion Roster On Writers’ Room

One day after Coolmore released its star-studded Ashford Stud stallion roster and fees for the 2022 breeding season, Coolmore's nomination sales head Adrian Wallace joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday morning. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Wallace talked about his upbringing in the Irish racing and breeding world, the surging Munnings and Caravaggio and early returns on Triple Crown winner Justify.

Asked about Munnings, whose stud fee has jumped all the way from $40,000 to $85,000 in recent years, Wallace said, “He's a very interesting horse because if you study how his stallion career has evolved, he's really, really done it the hard way. He was a high-priced juvenile at $1.7 million, a three-time Grade II winner, Grade I placed, he obviously had the speed and the precocity, but he retired without winning the all-important Grade I. We introduced him at a fee of $12,500 and while he was always popular, he was covering workmanlike, middle of the range mares. The thing that he seems to transmit that helped him through that sort of lull in his early books is [he produces] very durable horses. It's amazing how many four, five, six, seven, 8-year-olds he has that are still running. I think when you've got horses in your stable, as a trainer, as an owner, that are constantly earning a check at whatever level you're at, it leaves a good taste in your mouth. It's very important in keeping him relevant and popular in owners, buyers and breeders' minds. And now he's at a stage where he's receiving very good support from some of the best breeders in the world. The best is yet to come with him and I think is a horse we'll eventually stand for $100,000 having done it the hard way.”

New to Ashford this year was Caravaggio, who has gotten off to a rip-roaring start in Europe and currently boasts 21 winners. Wallace discussed the decision to bring the gray son of Scat Daddy, originally bred in America, back to the States.

“He was a horse that we wanted to have back here pretty much from the moment we heard he was going to retire,” he said. “So we begged to have him and luckily, we got him in his fourth year. I think when you look at him, he's very much an American type of horse. He's very well built. He's very broad across his chest. He's got a great forearm, a great gaskin on him. He looks fast. He looked like he should have been a dirt horse rather than a turf sprinter. Certainly he's off to a flying start in Europe and he bred 170 mares here in his first book of mares. He was very popular. American breeders like him physically, so I think he's a horse with a lot to offer.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, West Point Thoroughbreds, the New York Thoroughbred Breeders and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers picked the winner of their “Name the Colt” contest sponsored by Lane's End and Honor Code, broke down the implications of the Breeders' Cup decision on Bob Baffert, reacted to some troubling news out of Delaware Park and more. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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