Winning Ponies

Saturday is being promoted as Arlington Million Day at the Chicago-area track, even though the race itself has a new name and a smaller purse. The day will feature three Grade 1 races: The Mister D. (formerly the Arlington Million, now with a $600,000 purse), the Beverly D. and the Bruce D. (formerly the Secretariat Stakes). Arlington Park, (now known as Arlington International Racecourse), has a storied history, Arlington was born in 1927, the same year that Charles Lindbergh made the first Transatlantic flight. Arlington has attracted millions of visitors over the years and has played host to royalty, famous entertainers, sports stars, and generations of families that shared special times at a special place. John G. Dooley was behind the microphone in 1981, when John Henry dug in in the final stride under the urging of Bill Shoemaker and amazingly out-nodded The Bart in the inaugural edition of the landmark $1 million dollar event. Dooley was in high school then, but he has been in the Arlington announcer

Our first guest will be trainer Elizabeth Lizzie Merryman. After two consecutive stakes triumphs at five furlongs, her homebred Caravel carried her winning form into graded-stakes company, following a torrid pace and gunning down frontrunner Robin Sparkles in mid-stretch to conquer the G3, $200,000 Caress for older fillies and mares contesting 5 1/2 furlongs over Saratoga Race Course's Mellon turf. It was the first graded stakes win for Caravel and her owner/breeder/trainer. Caravel is now co-owned by Elizabeth Merryman in partnership with celebrity chef Bobby Flay who recently purchased 75% of the filly. Following the Caress, Caravel will be transferred to the barn of fellow Fair Hill based trainer Graham Motion, with eyes set on the G1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on November 6 at Del Mar. Merryman will remain a part owner. We have talked for weeks about her. He's watched her train pretty much every day, Merryman said. He's just been so nice and classy and sweet about her. He was very much layi

Brad Free will be our first guest. A 30-year veteran of the Daily Racing Form, he is based in Southern California covering Santa Anita, Del Mar, Fairplex, and Hollywood Park. He is the author of Handicapping 101: Finding the Right Horses and Making the Right Bets. Brad provides a daily analysis of the races. Each day during the meet, Brad Free offers his insight and analysis of the entire card. He will be joining John to discuss recent happenings on the west coast and handicap two contentious graded turf tests at Del Mar. The G2, $250,000 Eddie Read will feature a chance for redemption for millionaire United, who was upset as a heavy odds-on favorite last out by Award Winner who will be in the starting gate. Irish punters may want to be backing Going Global from the Emerald Isle. Since her debut in the U.S., she has reeled off four straight turf wins, three of them in graded stakes races Matt Shifman has been a devoted fan of thoroughbred racing and handicapping since childhood, going to the races with hi

For horseplayers, it's like Christmas in July. This is opening week of Saratoga and Del Mar and at Monmouth Park the $1,000,000 Gr.1 TVG Haskell. In the Haskell, two millionaires Mandaloun and Hot Rod Charlie have a score to settle as they finished 2nd and 3rd in the Kentucky Derby, separated by only1/2 a length. To examine the stakes-filled card at Monmouth we are bringing it a well-recognized figure on TVG Matt Carothers. Matt admits to learning the skill of handicapping at the foot of the master; his own father. Considered a top Pick-Six player. I'm all about trying to hit a home run, stated Carothers, who hails from Minnesota. As a price player, you're going to have many more losing days than winning ones, so you have to make the good days count. The pick 6 has become so watered down that the pick 5 is my favorite play. The takeout is generally lower and you have that chance to win big. The best sequence for me is when I find a price I can single. That gives me the ability to spread a bit in the othe

The hot topic at any racing organization’s meetings is “How do we bring new owners into the sport?” For anyone who has experienced the thrill and satisfaction of seeing their horse hit the finish line first in a race at any level – the exhilaration is hard to explain – but it is “your” horse, alone or in a partnership with friends. The highly respected WinStar Farm is opening the door to participation as an owner with some of their well-bred individuals getting ready to race. So how do you get in on such an exclusive ownership opportunity with a top-notch farm? Mary Cage, the WinStar Stablemates Director, will join us to explains the ins and outs of joining the partnership. This weekend is the swan song for Belmont Park before the action moves up the Hudson River to Saratoga. Before the vans hit the toll booths, there will be some great racing there this weekend and we are bringing out “The Beast of Belmont,” known as “The Big A” – Anthony Stabile. Since spending his youth alongside his parents workin

Eurico Rosa de Silva is a Brazilian native who is best known for his outstanding career as a jockey in Canada where he won two Queen’s Plates and was the leading rider at Woodbine for seven seasons, including five consecutive years until his retirement in 2019. He is now a life coach for several professional athletes. There were many diverse roads and obstacles this talented reinsman took to the eventual successes of his career and they are revealed in his recently published book – “RIDING FOR FREEDOM.” Born on a dairy farm in rural Brazil, Da Silva determined at an early age that he would become a champion jockey. This is the story of Da Silva’s battle with his demons. While it describes his ascent to the highest ranks of his athletic profession, it also lays bare his struggle to heal the emotional scars inflicted by an absent and negligent father and his victory over the forces that threatened at time to end his life. Fourth of July weekend will be sparkling with competitive action from sea to shining

The “King” of Louisville, Byron King, is here to discuss the season under the Twin Spires in 2021. The Blood-Horse’s Associate Editor will join John to handicap the stakes-laden card. Saturday’s closing day stakes spectacular has an 11-race program and scheduled to be headlined by Godolphin’s GI winner Maxfield in the featured $600,000 Stephen Foster (GII) – one of seven stakes events on the card. Maxfield, trained by Brendan Walsh, enters the Stephen Foster following a convincing 3 ¼-length win in the $400,0000 Alysheba (GII). The talented son of Street Sense is slated to be joined in the gate by fellow graded stakes winners Chess Chief (Dallas Stewart), Silver Dust (Bret Calhoun) and Warrior’s Charge (Brad Cox). All three horses completed their major Stephen Foster preps Saturday at Churchill Downs. The Stephen Foster is a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” race for the $6 million Longines Classic (GI) on Nov. 6 at Del Mar. Here are the other probable runners for the undercard races to the Stephen Foster

Terry Meyocks, the President and CEO of the Jockeys' Guild for 14 years will bring clarification to a June 7 letter, when the Jockeys' Guild informed its membership that, starting July 1, Monmouth Park jockeys will no longer be covered by Guild insurance policies. The Guild has been providing temporary disability benefits, life insurance and Accident, Death and Disability benefits to those who have chosen to ride in New Jersey. The Guild has been adamant in its belief that racing has become more dangerous at Monmouth Park because jockeys are no longer allowed to encourage their mounts with the use of the whip. In the June 7 letter, sent out to all Guild members, Guild President and CEO Terry Meyocks wrote that, “The increase of risk is thereby creating a greater exposure for the Jockeys' Guild and the benefits that we provide to our members who are riding under such regulation.” Meyocks said that the cost of the insurance policies has, so far, not increased due to the whip regulations, but that the Guild's B

We’ll be joining an “Old Friend” of winningponies this week with Michael Blowen, the founder of Old Friends Retirement Farms, where he resides in Georgetown, Kentucky. The pandemic caused by Covid had a negative effect on so many businesses and Old Friends was one of them. Michael, fresh off of his national appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, will tell us about the quarantine’s impact on the farm and how he is revitalizing it in 2021. In a little more than a decade Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Facility in Georgetown, KY, has put a new face on the concept of equine aftercare. Founded in 2003 by former Boston Globe film critic Michael Blowen, the organization has grown from a leased paddock and one horse to a 236-acre farm, a herd of over 200 rescued and retired horses, and a satellite facility; Old Friends at Cabin Creek in Greenfield Center, NY. Blowen had long believed that horses past their prime could still be valuable – money-earning, even—if the venue was right. And so Old Friends tested the c

Matt Bernier is a busy man these days. His handicapping analysis is in demand and in between hosting “The Matt Bernier Show” and his Belmont Day appearance at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut he is taking time to share his insights with the winningponies' audience. Odds-maker, writer, racing official and track announcer Ed Meyer will also join the show. He follows the New York racing scene quite avidly and will be giving us his best bets for a sensational afternoon of racing where the stars will be out in the afternoon. Very accomplished competitors will take to “Big Sandy” at all distances and surfaces, bringing their talents for display in 7 Grade 1 races! Next to the Breeders’ Cup, this may be one of the strongest days of racing on the calendar. Top level performers such as Swiss Skydiver, Shedaresthedevil, Knicks Go, Jackie’s Warrior will break from the gates to name just a few of the sensational performers. Highlighting the card will be the third jewel in the Triple Crown – The $1.5 million Belmont Stakes. C

Ralph Siraco is no stranger to Winningponies and even covered some racing events with “The Regular Guy.” Never short on an honest opinion, John will check his views of such topics as Jockey Whip Restrictions, the Medina Spirit wailings, the Lasix debates and Saturday’s three graded races at Santa Anita. Featured are the Gr. 2 $200,000 Charles Whittingham on the turf; Gr. 2 $200,000 Triple Bend and the Gr. 3 $100,000 Daytona Stakes over the greensward. Jason Beem, who has been a guest on Winningponies over the years will join us in the second segment. Jason and John worked together when he started calling the races at River Downs in 2006. Since that stepping off point in his career, he has called races at numerous Thoroughbred tracks. It was announced last week that Jason has been hired as the announcer at Tampa Bay Downs. He will begin on June 30, the first day of the track's two-day Summer Festival of Racing. The 41-year-old University of Washington graduate currently announces at Grants Pass Downs in Or

Richard Eng covers the Horse Racing industry. Handicapping for Dummies is one of the many handicapping books he wrote. He also is a writer for Las Vegas Review Journal and the Daily Racing Form. While Rich reports on the racing scene from coast to coast, his forte over the past decade has been the California competition. So far on the Triple Crown trail it appears that “The West Coast, is the Best Coast,” with winners Medina Spirit and Rombauer in the record books (kind of). We will ask Rich if the current trend is expected to continue in the 1 ½ mile Belmont Stakes. Only Santa Anita offers two graded stakes races on Saturday and we’ll see who Rich and John favor in those events. The first is the Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Maria, a race that could launch Ce Ce to millionaire status. Michael McCarthy, fresh off of his Preakness win, will send her to post over the Santa Anita main track where she flourishes. In the Grade 3, $100,000 Honeymoon at 1 1/8 miles on the turf, the big question appears to be – who can go

These have been tumultuous days for the sport of thoroughbred racing and in the center of the storm is Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and his Kentucky Derby winning, bargain basement colt Medina Spirit. The discovery of the therapeutic drug betamethasone in the post-race test of Medina Spirit has cast a dark cloud over the Derby winner and his connections. While a split sample will be tested to verify the drug’s presence, it has now admittedly been discovered that the substance used for inflammation in horses, entered the horse’s bloodstream through a topical ointment applied by a veterinarian for the treatment of a rash. Many questions remain, and while Baffert-trained runners have been barred from racing at Churchill Downs, they will be competing at Pimlico in two high-profile races, including the second jewel of the Triple Crown – the Preakness Stakes. Baffert’s horses can’t read the press releases and have gone about training forwardly for their races. Medina Spirit and stablemate Concert Tour will go t

Frank Angst from the Blood-Horse is letting his keyboard cool off after a solid, few weeks covering the Kentucky Derby. He agreed to take his feet off the desk and join us to give his reflections on the “Run for the Roses,” before, during and after the race. We’ll also ask Frank to give us his input on the Preakness Stakes and its ever-growing field. Will Medina Spirit have his chance for a Triple Crown derailed by his own stablemate Concert Tour? A lot of questions remain, with a lot of new shooters expected in the field. Anthony “the Big A” Stabile was born at the racetrack. His parents met at Aqueduct, he worked as a hotwalker, groom and jockey agent at the NYRA tracks throughout high school and college before becoming a writer and handicapper for the NY Post in May 1999. At the Post he 'capped 6 or 7 tracks a day, both Thoroughbred and harness and shattered all public handicapping records by showing an $88 profit at the 1999 Saratoga meet, his first as a public handicapper. He has contributed to both t

James Ross is a British bookmaker with over 20 years experience working “on-course” at race tracks in the UK, trading lines for sportsbooks like Betfred and Paddy Power, and is now the spokesperson for BUSR based in the UK. James’ favorite race is the Aintree Grand National which runs in Liverpool, his home town - although his favorite racing festivals are Royal Ascot and Chester where the weather is much warmer and the girls can get dressed up! Although James is not an expert in American racing (at all), BUSR are specialists in US Racing and offer a wide variety of futures markets- leading the industry on Triple Crown betting. The website for Winningponies listeners to check out BUSR is http://BUSR.com/ponies, you also have a promo code PONIES with a 20% sign up bonus f James has made a special offer to listeners of this show of a free $20.00 win wager on the Kentucky Derby and he will be going head-to-head with John with a $200 win wager for a charity of their choice. Ed Meyer has been betting winners sin

James Ross is a British bookmaker with over 20-years-experience working “on-course” at race tracks in the UK, trading lines for sportsbooks like Betfred and Paddy Power, and is now the spokesperson for BUSR based in the UK. James’ favorite race is the Aintree Grand National which runs in Liverpool, his home town, although his favorite racing festivals are Royal Ascot and Chester which weather is much warmer and the girls can get dressed up! Although James is not an expert in American racing (at all), BUSR are specialists in US Racing and offer a wide variety of futures markets- leading the industry on Triple Crown betting. BUSR is our new sponsor and hopefully James Ross will come back as guest in future American big racing events. The final traditional, “Derby Dozen” has been posted on The-Blood-Horse. The man who has dedicated months to tracking the Derby contenders and pretenders along the road to Louisville will join us for our second segment – Byron King. The Associate Editor, of that internationally r

Jason Levin is the long-time host of “Inside Racing Radio Show”, that airs every Saturday at 7am Pacific on Keib am 1150 and live on www.racing jason.com. The show also airs on IHeart radio. The podcast up by 8:30 on IHeart as well as his website. He began the radio show in 2004 after success of his book “From the Desert to the Derby.” book (2002) pub by DRF press about the huge quest to win the Kentucky Derby by Dubai ruler Sheik Mohammed. Under his banner of Gololphin, he will finally go to post with the Derby favorite – his undefeated homebred champion Essential Quality. Prior to the publication of his book, he was the national racing writer for fox sports.com. Jason got into racing through both parents. Hooked by seeing great horses of the 70’s like Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew and Affirmed. He will tell us how he got into racing and the journey he has been on. Vic Stauffer, one of the most recognized and experienced voices in Thoroughbred racing has been in Oaklawn’s announcer’s booth since their

The Editor of Horse Racing Nation from 2010-2017, Brian Zipse is now a Senior Writer for HRN, where he continues to contribute his thoughts on racing. He also hosts the popular weekly YouTube program HorseCenter. Brian is a voter for racing's Hall of Fame, as well as a weekly NTRA poll voter. You can also find him regularly on most of the social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter. Based in Kentucky, Brian will join “The Regular Guy” to discuss his impressions of the Derby Preps thus far, then they will handicap the last minor points race (20-8-4-2) on the Saturday Program. They will also tackle the G1, $500,000 Jenny Wiley on the grass and the G3, $150,000 Ben Ali, a race that has been contested since 1917. Mary Rampellini is a correspondent and handicapper for Daily Racing Form. She began contributing to the publication in 1996. She is a native of Hartford, Connecticut, and grew up in a racing family. Her father, Ralph Rampellini, was the racing manager for Nelson Bunker Hunt in the 1980s and

This week our cup runneth over with graded stakes galore from coast to coast. A triumvirate of respected handicappers are stepping up to the microphone to give their insights on Saturday’s best offerings in a barrage of 100-40-20-10 Derby and Oaks preps. Writer, race caller, odds-maker, community volunteer and all-round good guy, Ed Meyer, is between racing meets and can join us again. He will be tackling the Gr. 1 $750,000 Santa Anita Derby and the Gr. 2 $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks. Then he will time travel to Oaklawn Park to the ladies in a highly competitive Gr. 3 $600,000 Fantasy. Eclipse Award winning writer and handicapper Marty McGee from the DRF will select his best bets from three of the top graded races that will be part of six graded races on an excellent betting program. Undefeated champion Essential Quality will compete in the Gr. 2 $800,000 Blue Grass Stakes; a tough group of fillies will go to post in the Gr. 1 $400,000 Ashland and we will round out his picks for the quality laden Gr. 1 $300,000

The man who brings us “The Derby Dozen” in the Blood-Horse, Byron King will be our first guest. The Louisville native will explain his methodology in creating the list for national distribution and tell us about recent changes in his selections. He will join John to discuss some of the top races on the 10-stakes card, focusing of several of the five graded races. Two “points” races will highlight the program – the Grade 1 $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby and the Grade 2 $200,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks. The duo will then examine the Grade 2 $200,000 Pan American on the turf. Veteran turf writer, handicapper and author Bob “Railbird” Roberts will be our second guest handicapper. He just returned from a vacation from Florida where he caught the Florida Derby and several days at Gulfstream Park, with a few games of golf mixed in. His analysis of the Florida Derby will lead off his selections and then he will look at two rare “points races” contested over Turfway’s All Weather Track now owned by Churchill Downs. The n