Inside of four months before Kentucky Derby 2025, what are the dos and don’ts of futures betting on America’s biggest race? A panel with plenty of experience making and taking those wagers is front and center this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Michael Beychok won the 2012 National Horseplayers Championship, and Jody McDonald is a host on Infinity Sports Network, WFAN in New York and WIP in Philadelphia. Both have had their successes and failures with long-range handicapping of the Derby, a...
Jan 10, 2025•1 hr 39 min•Season 8Ep. 13
From Kentucky Derby 2025 points preps to other weekend stakes to Fair Grounds moving forward after the New Orleans terror attack. All these topics are discussed this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. New Orleans-based trainer Neil Pessin discusses the racing community’s reaction to the Bourbon Street tragedy and his thoughts about Fair Grounds proceeding with its New Year’s Day program. Trainer Michael McCarthy talks about two potential Derby horses. His undefeated colt Bullard races Saturday ...
Jan 03, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 8Ep. 12
From Thorpedo Anna’s charismatic campaign to Mystik Dan’s unlikely Kentucky Derby victory to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s return to Churchill Downs. The racing year 2024 is reviewed by a media panel on this episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Racing analyst Caton Bredar of FanDuel TV, track announcer Jessica Paquette of Parx Racing and turf writer John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times go over the top stories, memories and personalities of the year. The panel has its opinions about the ho...
Dec 27, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 8Ep. 11
The eighth annual holiday episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and even Festivus with three racetrack announcers. Larry Collmus, the longtime voice of the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup on NBC, checks in on the heels of his assignment as the autumn announcer at Del Mar as well as his year-round appearances as a racing analyst on FanDuel TV. Paul Allen not only discusses his work at Canterbury Park but also some of his experiences as the play-by-play voice...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 8Ep. 10
A football star-turned-horse owner, a trainer having a renaissance in Kentucky Derby preps, a Pick 5 on Saturday at Gulfstream Park and the botched pronunciation of a horse are topics on the table for this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Former Pro Bowl quarterback Jake Delhomme talks about his love of the game, and that would be Thoroughbred racing. He discusses a little football and his 12 years as a stable owner but also the two horses he has running this weekend on Louisiana Champions day. To...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Season 8Ep. 9
Four Grade 1 winners. Five millionaires. One big race. This weekend’s Grade 2, $500,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct is punching above the weight of a December race, and it is the feature of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Fox Sports and New York Racing Association racing analyst Richard Migliore will discuss the build-up to the race and how it came up so big. He also will talk about the other graded stakes on Saturday’s card, including the Remsen Stakes (G2), a Kentucky Derby prep that last year produced...
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Season 8Ep. 8
The long Thanksgiving holiday brings the traditional changing of the Thoroughbred seasons in Kentucky, and that is the focus of this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod from Churchill Downs. TV analyst Kaitlin Free provides insight into the Clark Stakes and the Kentucky Jockey Club as well as her overarching thoughts on the fall meet that ends this weekend. She also offers some handicapping thoughts about the Turfway Park synthetic-track season that starts next week. Horse Racing Nation handicapper Ma...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 8Ep. 7
In the second of two episodes featuring politicians who are friends of racing, California Horse Racing Board vice chairman Oscar Gonzales is the guest this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. As the leading proponent to protect racing in Northern California, Gonzales has helped in the launch of the Golden State Racing meet this fall at Pleasanton, the track that is filling the void after the closing of Golden Gate Fields five months ago. He discusses the challenges the meet faces and why he is o...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 8Ep. 6
Who are some of the movers and shakers in racing whose names might be known to fans and horseplayers, but their work might have been taken for granted? Two politicians who are friends of racing are featured this week and next on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Retiring Kentucky state senate floor majority leader Damon Thayer, a Republican from Georgetown, has been considered on both sides of the aisle a friend and advocate of racing. He has been a guiding prod for tax breaks and other financial ince...
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 8Ep. 5
The annual Breeders’ Cup hangover episode featuring a stream-of-consciousness or unconsciousness review of the 14 championships comes to pass this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Co-host John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times joins Flatter to go over each race in the hours after Breeders’ Cup wrapped up at Del Mar. Of course this is done over a couple glasses of wine, perhaps explaining how many times the two of them use the phrases “good guy” and “great guy.” This episode includes discussions...
Nov 08, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 8Ep. 4
Not quite a thousand stars, but that is the aim from Del Mar for the latest Breeders’ Cup episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. FanDuel TV’s Mike Joyce leads off to discuss what he has learned this week hosting breakfast shows during training for the 14 Breeders’ Cup races. He offers some analysis of finer points for the championship tests. A cavalcade of trainers comes next with D. Wayne Lukas discussing Seize the Grey in the Dirt Mile, assistant Justin Atkins outlines the reasons dirt stayer ...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 35 min•Season 8Ep. 3
For the eighth year in a row, the Breeders’ Cup is featured on a hard-core handicappers episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. The show is anchored from the press box at Del Mar, where cool weather is forecast for the championship cards Friday and Saturday. Each of the 14 races will be analyzed in depth by a panel of three expert handicappers. Mark Midland and Ed DeRosa provide their expertise from Horse Racing Nation ’s home in Louisville, Ky. DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello offers...
Oct 29, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Season 8Ep. 2
Breeders’ Cup handicapping, a controversial column and even the presidential election are the topics on this week’s seventh-anniversary episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Steve Kornacki from NBC Sports and NBC News is not only providing analysis from his big board for the championships next week, but he also discusses his day job that has him absorbed in the Nov. 4 election. Battleground states and battleground horse races get the once over, especially his thoughts about Thorpedo Anna vs. Id...
Oct 25, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Season 8Ep. 1
Breeders’ Cup renewals past and future and the richest turf race in the world are the main topics this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. TV’s Amy Zimmerman and photographer Skip Dickstein are among the very few people who have been to every Breeders’ Cup since the championships began in 1984. They reminisce about the inaugural running at Hollywood Park and some of their experiences since, including how their streaks were not interrupted by COVID in 2020. The Everest, a Group 1 sprint worth US$...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 7Ep. 56
The Breeders’ Cup is only three weeks away, and it is the focus of this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. With City Of Troy, Forever Young, Ushba Tesoro and Derma Sotogake being flown to Del Mar to challenge the top U.S. horses in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, how might they fare? NBC Sports’ Nick Luck checks in from England to offer a scouting report on those horses as well as other international contenders for the other championship races Nov. 1 and 2. She Feels Pretty got to the Breeders...
Oct 11, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 7Ep. 55
The last 15 U.S. qualifiers for the Breeders’ Cup will be run before the weekend is over, and they are the focus this week as the Ron Flatter Racing Pod originates from Keeneland. Track executive and hall-of-fame horseplayer Jim Goodman offers a snapshot of Grade 1 races including the Breeders’ Futurity, the Turf Mile and the Spinster. He also offers an overarching view of the win-and-you’re-in races at Keeneland, Belmont at Aqueduct and Santa Anita. Trainer Gustavo Delgado, who won the Kentucky...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Season 7Ep. 54
The inaugural California Crown day at Santa Anita on Saturday is the focus of this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. XBTV’s Zoe Cadman checks in from California to preview the Grade 1, $1 million race, which features Bob Baffert-trained Muth and National Treasure. She also discusses some of the highlights on the undercard as well as some Breeders’ Cup possibilities who will be competing for trophies at Del Mar in just five weeks. Trainer Todd Fincher has Señor Buscador in the California Crown. He t...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Season 7Ep. 53
The Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion Stakes are the last Grade 1 chances for 3-year-old dirt routers to compete in their own divisions. With Thorpedo Anna among them, they will race for $1 million in each of those races Saturday at Parx. That is the focus of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Track announcer and sometimes handicapper Jessica Paquette provides local insight into what could be a wide-open running of the Penn Derby featuring red hot Dragoon Guard, Santa Anita Derby (G1) victor Stronghold ...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 7Ep. 52
An exclusive interview with Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen is the feature this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Carstanjen provided 45 minutes of his time to answer a wide range of questions at CDI’s corporate headquarters in Louisville, Ky. He discusses long-range plans for the company’s racing properties as well as snapshot of Churchill’s casino and online gaming components. He also talks about the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority with all its nuances, the end of the sus...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Season 7Ep. 51
Closing weekend at Del Mar, big-money races at Kentucky Downs and the Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs fill a busy weekend that gets the attention of this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Getaway Car is the favorite for Sunday’s Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, a race that has produced seven Kentucky Derby winners. SF Racing managing partner Tom Ryan discusses the process he and trainer Bob Baffert use to identify the best 2-year-olds in hopes they make repeated trips to the winner’s circle. The Virginia...
Sep 06, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 7Ep. 50
The Labor Day holiday brings the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar, opening week at Kentucky Downs and closing weekend at Saratoga. They also are conversation starters this week for the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. FanDuel TV’s Christina Blacker offers local knowledge from Del Mar, including her assessment of the summer season and her thoughts about the mare Adare Manor taking on males Saturday in the Pacific Classic. Adare Manor’s jockey Juan Hernández discusses the race and his success...
Aug 30, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Season 7Ep. 49
Thorpedo Anna’s run against males and The Chosen Vron’s bid for a seventh consecutive victory provide transcontinental topics for this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. At Saratoga, trainer Kenny McPeek discusses Thorpedo Anna’s start Saturday in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes, a race that has not been won by a filly in 109 years. He also provides an update on Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan. At Del Mar, trainer Eric Kruljac talks about The Chosen Vron, who races Saturday in the Pat O’B...
Aug 23, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 7Ep. 48
From a retiring trainer to a classic preview to weekend tips. They are part of this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Karl Broberg spent 15 years running his stable and had a run as North America’s winningest trainer. He explains the reasons and challenges that have led him to leave the role. He speaks openly about the problems that drove him to this decision and what he plans to do next to keep his hand in the game. Racing analyst Elissa Blowe and track announcer Robert Geller check in from Woodbi...
Aug 16, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Season 7Ep. 47
The Grade 1 Arlington Million is Sunday at Colonial Downs. Even though the race and the journey there were pushed back a day because of tropical storm Debby, the Ron Flatter Racing Pod was not. This episode originates from the road to Virginia. Track announcer and podcast host Jason Beem offers his insights into the Million, the Beverly D. (G2) and the Secretariat (G2), the three traditional graded stakes that anchor Sunday’s card. He also has some stories about the odd places he has recorded po...
Aug 09, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 7Ep. 46
Three big race days at three big tracks share the focus this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. The Grade 1, $1 million Whitney Stakes featuring Pegasus World Cup (G1) and Met Mile (G1) winner National Treasure is one of the Saratoga races discussed by New York Racing Association TV analyst Acacia Clément. She also will touch on the Test (G1), the Saratoga Derby (G1) and Cogburn in the Troy (G2). The Clement L. Hirsch (G1) at Del Mar could be the race of the weekend featuring Adare Manor and Ec...
Aug 02, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 7Ep. 45
Covering someone racing at Saratoga and someone who covers horse racing from the site of the Paris Olympics. They are part of this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Jockey Jaime Torres talks about his ride Saturday on Preakness winner Seize the Grey in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. He talks about having to go against Sierra Leone and Fierceness in a race that could shape next month’s Travers (G1). He also tells the story of a personal rivalry with a long shot in the Jim Dandy field as w...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 7Ep. 44
Opening day at Del Mar and the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park are the focus of this week’s episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Mike Repole, who owns the favorite Mindframe and Eclipse Award winner Fierceness, discusses his thinking into whether to send both horses to the post Saturday for the Haskell. He also talks about having that race and the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) next weekend at Saratoga so close together. He also has some candid thoughts about some of the first steps...
Jul 19, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Season 7Ep. 43
The opening at Saratoga 2024 and Saturday’s Grade 1 Diana Stakes are front and center on this week’s episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. TV analyst Maggie Wolfendale Morley of Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association discusses some of the most-anticipated races this summer, including next month’s Travers (G1) as well as the early highlights of the meet. Trainer Ignacio Correas IV talks about his mare Didia, a recent Grade 1 winner who faces nine rivals including five from the Chad Brown...
Jul 12, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 7Ep. 42
Computer-assisted wagering. Is it the wave for all future betting on horse races, or is it the scourge that will drive gamblers away from the game? That is the theme of this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Elite Turf Club president Scott Daruty and professor and horseplayer Marshall Gramm are together to talk about the ins and outs of what has come to be known by the acronym CAW, both for good and for bad. They will talk about how batch betting has changed the game and criticism that it has preve...
Jul 05, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Season 7Ep. 41
More than a half-century in the racing industry has taken Jon White into myriad roles from writer to steward to TV analyst to handicapper. He just retired after 15 years as the track handicapper at Santa Anita. White talks about his career and has stories to go with it on this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. The writer of the morning line for eight renewals of the Breeders’ Cup, White has witnessed racing history first hand. He recalls his first day of work for Daily Racing Form 50 years ago when...
Jun 28, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 7Ep. 40
