This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green fire up the take cannon and react to a star-laden Stephen Foster day at Churchill. Where does Mindframe rank in the older horse division coming off of consecutive Grade I wins? Is Thorpedo Anna back, or did she just beat up on weak competition in the Fleur de Lis?The boys then welcome Morplay Racing and Rich Music founder Rich Mendez to talk all about his passion for racing, what he learned from the music business that’s helping him navigate our i...
Jul 02, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 95
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green are back after a week away to catch up on racing’s biggest stories. First, they appreciate and honor the outstanding career of D. Wayne Lukas, whose Hall of Fame career has come to its end after nearly five decades of groundbreaking success and influence.Joe and Jon then react to the ICE raid of Delta Downs, which resulted in over 80 arrests of backstretch workers, the vast majority of which had no criminal record. Is this a sign of things to come...
Jun 27, 2025•56 min•Ep. 94
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green wrap up a tremendous Triple Crown season with their reactions to the scintillating Belmont at Saratoga, as Sovereignty and Journalism put on a show at the Spa. Just how good are these two 3-year-olds historically, and what has been their impact beyond the walls of the racing industry this spring?The boys also analyze the star-studded undercard races, featuring breakout performances by Nitrogen, Raging Torrent, Deterministic, Ways and Means and mor...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 93
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green are back at their mics, refreshed from a week away and buzzing about Belmont Stakes week at Saratoga, as the Derby 1-2-3 reconvene at the Spa in what could be a classic renewal on the greatest stage in racing.Joe and Jon tackle that, plus the rest of a stacked two days featuring nine total Grade I’s, and wonder whether the popular Sandman’s absence will have any effect on the race’s ratings or handle.The boys then celebrate more good news for New ...
Jun 04, 2025•58 min•Ep. 92
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green are back from the Preakness, full of crab cakes and hot takes. Did Journalism prove he’s head and shoulders the leader in this 3-year-old class? What’s the vibe from Team Sandman after his third-place run? How did Pimlico hold up in the final Preakness day at Old Hilltop?The boys then welcome multiple Breeders’ Cup-winning jockey and expert riding analyst Rajiv Maragh in the midst of a slew of jockey-related controversies. We get Raj’s opinion on ...
May 21, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 91
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green provide the backstory on Sandman’s surprise entry into the Preakness and dive into the rest of the field and its storylines with star NBC Sports racing host/reporter Britney Eurton. Britney also gives her take on the present and future of racing in her home state of California, how we can capitalize on an influx of young eyes watching this year’s Triple Crown and more.Joe and Jon then talk to HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus about the rationale behind the co...
May 14, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 90
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green are back from the 151st Kentucky Derby and give you all the reactions from Team Sandman, plus analysis of the first three across the wire and the state of the 3-year-old division. They then discuss Griffin Johnson’s impact on the race and the sport, the Kentucky Oaks and notable undercard performances, give a final rundown of their Mage Rage Derby contest standings and appreciate Junior Alvarado in this week’s EPIC Performance of the Week.In the g...
May 12, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 89
Former Kentucky State Senator and Thoroughbred Racing Initiative (TRI) Senior Advisor Damon Thayer sits down with Jon Green to get into the weeds of the Florida decoupling bill that will no longer see the light of day in this legislative session. Jon, TRI Vice President, has worked with Damon since forming the initiative along with David O’Farrell, Dr. Barry Eisaman, Mark Casse, and Aron Wellman. At that point, the decoupling bill looked like it was sailing through putting the future of Florida ...
May 06, 2025•26 min•Ep. 18
This week on Rail Talk! The Kentucky Derby is finally upon us, and Joe Bianca and Jon Green celebrate making it through the cold winter with a legitimate chance to take home the trophy in the 151st Run for the Roses.Joe and Jon give their honest reactions to Sandman drawing post 17, how they’d like to see the race unfold and what contenders they’re most worried about. They then welcome NBC Sports’ six-time Emmy-winning senior producer Lindsay Schanzer to take us behind the curtain on what it tak...
Apr 30, 2025•56 min•Ep. 88
This week on Breakaway Rail Talk presented by Arion Pedigrees, Joe Bianca welcomes back friend of the show, owner and ace handicapper Jim Politano to put together multi-race tickets for the loaded Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks cards this weekend.Joe and Jim, previously together on Breakaway Rail Talk’s Breeders’ Cup handicapping shows which have produced multiple winning plays, hammer out late all-stakes Pick 5’s for Friday and Saturday as well as a two-day Pick 6 ticket, with $500 to spend o...
Apr 30, 2025•52 min•Ep. 17
This week on Rail Talk! It’s our most highly-anticipated episode yet, featuring the great debate between Mike Repole and Tinky aka Tony Cobitz. This conflict has been simmering on horse racing Twitter for months, and the two agreed to get in the ring together for a verbal showdown on our podcast. No topic is off limits, as the outspoken billionaire owner and self-proclaimed commissioner of racing squares off against the industry veteran and pseudonymous online critic.Subjects covered include: th...
Apr 22, 2025•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 87
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green react to the final round of Kentucky Derby preps, as Journalism solidifies himself as the favorite, Rodriguez wires the Wood and Burnham Square dives late to capture the Blue Grass. What holes are there, if any, to poke in Journalism’s case, and are the other winners contenders or pretenders?The boys then welcome star NBC correspondent Steve Kornacki to the show! Fresh off of signing a new contract to expand his coverage of politics and sports, Ko...
Apr 10, 2025•57 min•Ep. 86
This week on Breakaway Rail Talk presented by Arion Pedigrees, Jon Green talks to Keeneland CEO and President Shannon Arvin about the upcoming Spring Meet, sales grounds improvements and upgrades in the paddock and viewing areas. They discuss her five-year tenure at the helm and what is on the near horizon for racing and sales fans.Don’t miss any episodes of Rail Talk, be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods. Thank you to Arion ...
Apr 03, 2025•23 min•Ep. 16
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green are back from a thrilling Saturday at Oaklawn Park, where they witnessed, along with 68,000 of their closest friends, Sandman punch his ticket for the Kentucky Derby with a convincing win in the meet centerpiece Arkansas Derby. The boys react to one of the most thrilling moments of their racing lives and start five weeks of spine-tingling anticipation with a horse who will be among the favorites in the Run for the Roses.Dual Hall of Fame trainer M...
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 85
This week on Rail Talk! We’re less than six weeks out from Kentucky Derby 151, and Joe Bianca and Jon Green take stock of the 3-year-old class heading into crunch time. Joe, just back from New Orleans, gives his in-person reaction from the Louisiana Derby, while Jon has a bee in his bonnet about the Jeff Ruby Steaks being a 100-point Derby qualifier.The boys then look forward to this weekend’s Florida Derby and Arkansas Derby, the latter featuring family horse Sandman taking on Rebel winner Coal...
Mar 25, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 84
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green are back from Ocala, and dive into the statistics from HISA’s 2024 metrics report. Racing fatalities at HISA-run tracks were nearly half of those at the non-HISA tracks, proving that the system is working in keeping horses safer, and for the first time, we have data on training-related fatalities. Other takeaways include the increased safety of dirt surfaces, to the point where they’re nearly on par with synthetic tracks, and the credit due to uns...
Mar 19, 2025•43 min•Ep. 83
This week on Breakaway Rail Talk presented by Arion Pedigrees, Joe Bianca sits down with New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association president Tina Bond to discuss her bold marketing initiative, The Heart of Horse Racing. As a passionate advocate for the sport, Bond has enlisted an impressive array of stakeholders to tell their stories and organize to create a sustainable future for racing. Marketing and attracting new fans has been a consistent challenge as we fight for the game’s survival, an...
Mar 07, 2025•13 min
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green react to the latest deeply unflattering New York Times article about the racing industry, this time coming in the form of a scathing, 4,600-word (!!) guest essay questioning the necessity of the sport’s existence. The boys let it rip on the negative slants, misrepresentations and omissions of the article, while also acknowledging and responding to the legitimate arguments it raises.Then, three-time Eclipse Award-winning writer and Paulick Report e...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 82
This week on a special Breakaway Rail Talk presented by Arion Pedigrees, co-hosts Joe Bianca and Jon Green continue to explore the impact of Lasix with guests Tony "Tinky" Cobitz and Southwest Stakes Winning trainer, Ron Moquett. Tinky provides a plethora of facts and figures backed by extensive research including how it affects two-year-olds, older horses and stakes competitors. Ron counters with anecdotal evidence he's witnessed over his four-decade long career. The lively discussion includes ...
Feb 28, 2025•43 min
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green start a jam-packed show appreciating the immense progress being made in the HISA era. Racing fatalities dropped below 1 per 1,000 starts at tracks under HISA’s jurisdiction in 2024, the first time racing has crossed that benchmark since the advent of the Equine Injury Database in 2009. The same week the numbers were released, HISA also busted a veterinarian and 13 trainers at Penn National for allegedly breaking their rules on intra-articular join...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 81
This week on Rail Talk! We break some major news, as longtime Kentucky state senator Damon Thayer and Ocala Stud general manager David O’Farrell join the show to announce the creation of the Thoroughbred Racing Initiative, an alliance of major stakeholders organizing to stop the potentially devastating decoupling efforts in Florida.Thayer, whose experience includes spearheading the passage of historical horse racing legislation that’s been a boon for Kentucky racing and O’Farrell, whose family s...
Feb 18, 2025•49 min•Ep. 80
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green discuss the Los Angeles Times article reporting that The Stronach Group has let potential buyers know that Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita are available for the right price. What needs to be done to ensure racing continues in Florida and especially California? What responsibilities do other racing-rich states have in maintaining the industry beyond their borders? Can the situation at Santa Anita be resolved with the installation of Historical Hors...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 79
This week on Breakaway Rail Talk presented by Arion Pedigrees, Joe Bianca sits down with Frank Taylor and Christian Countzler, the co-founders of Stable Recovery, a groundbreaking program helping men struggling with addiction take back their lives. The organization, just honored with an Eclipse Award, teaches horsemanship skills, accountability and leans on its dedicated community to help their graduates not only recover, but find employment in the horse industry. Taylor and Countzler outline wh...
Feb 06, 2025•29 min
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green welcome Resolute Racing founder John Stewart for a a wide-ranging, in-depth discussion as he continues to make early waves in the racing world. The three talk about how Stewart is trying to make sure that his guns-blazing entry into the game is sustainable, his attempts to market the sport and increase its outreach/visibility, his background as a horseplayer, the ongoing feud with Mike Repole and more. The boys then explore the topic of artificial...
Feb 04, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 78
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green kick off a loaded episode by reacting to the Pegasus World Cup card, perhaps one of the final major racing days in the life of Gulfstream Park. With The Stronach Group clearly uninterested in committing to racing there long term, the conversation moves to alternative homes for racing in Florida, and Joe and Jon discuss the pros and cons of the possibilities, including Hialeah, Palm Meadows, OBS and Tampa Bay Downs.The boys then appreciate a huge e...
Jan 30, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 77
This week on Rail Talk! Jon Green rejoins Joe Bianca in the studio for a jam-packed show covering the industry’s hottest topics. First, the boys break down The Stronach Group’s pressure campaign on Gulfstream’s horsemen and whether or not the South Florida staple’s days are numbered.Joe and Jon also discuss the reinstatement of jockey Paco Lopez after his six-week suspension for striking a horse in the face with his whip, John Stewart’s private equity firm being sued for $20 million, the continu...
Jan 21, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 76
This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca is joined by guest co-host Samantha Perry live her from analyst post at Gulfstream Park, and the two discuss some of their early observations from the track’s marquee Championship Meet—Dylan Davis continuing his career-best form in his first winter at Gulfstream, Todd Pletcher unveiling better and better 3-year-olds and the level of buzz surrounding the Pegasus.Joe and Sam are then joined by Santa Anita reporter and horsewoman Michelle Yu for an update on the d...
Jan 16, 2025•35 min•Ep. 75
This week on Rail Talk! The boys are back and thrilled to kick off an exciting 2025 with lots of big news, as Joe Bianca and Jon Green welcome brand new sponsor Epic Insurance to the show, and introduce the newest four-legged member of the RT family, Joe’s whippet puppy Juno!Joe and Jon then analyze the Eclipse Award finalists—which categories have potential for intrigue and debate, and are there any outside-the-box contenders who could take home championship statues? We’re also less than four m...
Jan 07, 2025•46 min•Ep. 74
Coming right back atcha, it’s the action-packed conclusion of our 2024 Rail Talk season featuring the second part of our discussion with industry titan Mike Repole! Mike, Joe and Jon go at it about the successes and shortcomings of HISA thus far, Fierceness’s case for champion 3-year-old male, who’s standing in the way of industry progress and much more. Then special correspondent Skip Anderson, full of holiday cheer and festive decor, stops by to talk about his findings from his masters thesis ...
Dec 12, 2024•52 min•Ep. 73
This week on Rail Talk! It’s a holiday double serving, as multiple Eclipse Award winner, entrepreneur and self-proclaimed commissioner of racing Mike Repole joins the show and gives us two episodes worth of content! In a lively discussion, Mike spars with Joe and Jon about the role of The Jockey Club, what progress his National Thoroughbred Alliance is making, stallion mare caps, synthetic racing coming to Belmont and much more. Then our pal Andrew Stewart of Arion Pedigrees stops by to recap th...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 72
