Down The Stretch Podcast

The $1Million North America Cup was part of an extraordinary night of harness racing at Mohawk Park. We have the one Stakes race from Woodbine on Sunday and Woodbine’s Michael Copeland breaks downs how horse racing will be integrated into the tsunami of betting sites that have erupted in Canada. Two wins for 16 year-old Slade Jones on the weekend and he’s just 16. Canadians Chantal Sutherland and...

This podcast has Stakes races from Woodbine and the 154th Belmont Stakes from New York. There were two elimination heats for the North America Cup at Mohawk as well as huge miles from both Test of Faith and Bulldog Hanover. Garnet Barnsdale went all the way to Cleveland to report on the Battle of Lake Erie. We have races from Fort Erie and Ajax Downs; as for the latter - we talk with a buoyant Che...

In this episode we have two Stakes races from Woodbine and a six-pack of big heats from Mohawk Park. Woodbine’s Director of Thoroughbred Racing, Tim Lawson reveals the details of this year’s Ladies of the Lawn Series. Woodbine conducted its first grass races on Thursday; one of winners was ridden by Slade Jones, who registered his first pari-mutuel victory at the age of 16. Sandy Hawley talks abou...

We cover a lot of ground this week, from Woodbine for an upset in the Stella Artois Eclipse Stakes to Sweden for the Elitloppet to Presque Isle Downs where Kazushi Kimura is winning races. We go to Gulfstream because Moncton’s Ailsa Morrison is bringing in price horses and we go to The Raceway at Western Fair where Trevor Henry went crazy and Jimmy Freight was awesome. Everyone loves good six and...

This week. Jim Lawson and John Kopas help us look at the great life of Dr. Glen Brown. We’ve got the 147th Preakness Stakes and a Canadian-bred filly winning the Black Eyed Susan Stakes. Chantal Sutherland won a big race on Preakness day at Pimlico, Ailsa Morrison had a great day at Gulfstream and Kazushi Kimura tripled up at Presque Isle. We’ve got Mark Casse sweeping the board in the Ruling Ange...

This podcast features races from Woodbine, Mohawk and Ajax Downs. We have the Jacques Cartier Stakes from Woodbine, and some huge payoffs thanks to Chantal Sutherland, Trevor Henry and Sylvain Filion. Larry Collmus breaks down his historic and spine-tingling call of 80-1 shot Rich Strike in the Kentucky Derby. Jennifer Morrison explains – logically - why she bet on Rich Strike and Morrison also pr...

We have two Stakes races from Woodbine - the Star Shoot and the Woodstock. We love women jockeys and we have three of them – Emma-Jayne Wilson, Chantal Sutherland and Ailsa Morrison with winning rides. There will be a dramatic purse adjustment to the Free For All Paces and Trots at Mohawk and race secretary Tony O’Sullivan tells us why they’re boosting the prize money. Garnet Barnsdale has been in...

Very much about milestones and big numbers this week. Driver Paul Mackenzie talks about hitting the 9000 win mark and bears us no ill will that we never previously talked to him. It’s easy to lose track of how many Sovereign Awards Mark Casse and the horses he trains have won. Casse tells us it never gets lame. Michael Whelan became a $10 million man on the weekend. Driver/trainer Dagfin Henriksen...

On Opening Day at Woodbine, we talked with Jim Lawson, Emma-Jayne Wilson and Robert Geller, and apparently, it was a good thing that jockey Patrick Husbands didn’t retire. This podcast mentions every winner from the Sovereigns, a noble deed since Down The Stretch lost in its category. Clips from Mighty Heart’s owner Larry Cordes, Groom of the Year Denzil Fonseca and winning jockey Kazushi Kimura....

This one is all over the place – to Tampa Bay and 2 wins from Chantal Sutherland, and to Gulfstream for a brilliant upset by Ailsa Morrison. There were Kentucky Derby preps at Keeneland and Santa Anita. Ho Hum, another 6 win night for James Macdonald. Pat Hudon tells us about his remarkable 11 year-old trotter Odds of Amethyst. Did you know that soccer star Cyle Larin is also a horse owner? We hav...

We have 3 Kentucky Derby Preps, but why is the one at Turfway Park not too persuasive? Lots of Canadians winning in the U.S. - Chiefswood Stables’ Weyburn and Susan and Jim Hill’s Phantom Currency taking down Stakes races and we have the calls. Have you ever heard of Ailsa Morrison? In this podcast, you will hear about this jockey from New Brunswick winning in New York and Florida. Jennifer Morris...

Woodbine’ CEO Jim Lawson tells us about a soccer stadium being built kitty corner to the racetrack, how good Opening Day will be, and why he’s very anxious for the Sovereign Awards. On the same day at Gulfstream, Canadian horsemen, Marty Drexler, Bruno Schickedanz, Mike De Paulo, Bill Tharrenos and Steven Chircop all sent out winners. Down The Stretch travels from New Orleans to Dubai for Kentucky...

Jennifer Morrison, author of Run With A Mighty Heart talks about her book and who will be Horse of the Year in the upcoming Sovereign Awards. We have Bruno Schickedanz, Marty Drexler and Chantal Sutherland winning at Gulfstream. James MacDonald did it again – he won 5 races Saturday night at Mohawk. Owner/driver/trainer Rick Uppal explains how is 16 year-old pacer, Best Dream Seeker is even allowe...

This week we present a critical Kentucky Derby prep at Tampa Bay Downs. Nine brave owners have committed $100,000 each for September Mohawk Million. We talk with Brad Grant and the stable.ca’s Anthony Macdonald. We have Dawn Lupul’s call of Natasha Day winning the International Women’s day race at Mohawk and comments from the winning trainer, Bob Fellows. Driver Scott Young chats about his career...

This podcast covers a lot of ground, gender and nationalities. We go to Aqueduct, Gulfstream and Santa Anita for Kentucky Derby preps. We have the most bizarre dead heat of all time from Yonkers. Chantal Sutherland winning by maybe 2 centimetres. A first at Mohawk Park for driver Natasha Day who will be one of 10 ladies in a special race to celebrate International Women’s Day. A first for Montreal...

There were some mind-blowing payoffs when Emblem Road, as the longest shot, won the $20,000,000 Saudi Cup. Woodbine Jockey Daisuke Fukumoto won a Grade 3 race at Santa Anita and it was a good Thursday at Gulfstream for trainers Bill Tharrenos and Marty Drexler. We have longshot Canadian content from Tampa Bay. Hill ‘N’ Dale Farms bred a winner and trainer Julie Belhumeur also had one. We stir the...

The 2021 Sovereign Awards will be given out on April 14 and the Down The Stretch Podcast is a finalist! Groom Denzil Fonseca doesn’t have to wait – he’s already been told he’s the Groom of the Year and trainer Mike Doyle tells us why. We have calls of Kentucky Derby preps from the Fairgrounds and Tokyo and how could we leave out an 18-1 shot delivered brilliantly by Chantal Sutherland at Gulfstrea...

Exciting horse races, Kentucky Derby preps and odds defying outcomes in this podcast. We have the Sam Davis from Tampa Bay and the El Camino Real from Golden Gate. Ivan Dalos won a case because his lawyer, Stephen Jack argued successfully there was nothing wrong with a horse winning without the use of lasix. We have writer and horse owner Andy Cohen throwing shade on the industry for not taking cr...

This podcast is loaded. We start with the O’Brien Awards honouring the best in Canadian harness racing. We reveal the Horse of the Year. American horse racing podcaster, Jon Stettin talks about the guy who got DQ’d from a betting contest and we borrow from Stettin an interview with Chantal Sutherland. We have Sutherland winning at Gulfstream and Emma-Jayne Wilson bringing in a 9-1 shot in a Stakes...

People are now allowed to enter Ontario racetracks. Woodbine’s CEO Jim Lawson discusses that and the fact that even though he has never lined up at Saratoga’s Big Red Spring to get a cheap baseball cap, he’s open to the idea of enticing fans with giveaways. They ran the $3Million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream and let’s just say that Life is Good for jockey Irad Ortiz. It’s not so bad for Chantal...

In this episode, we remember harness racing legend Bud Fritz. Should horse racing be concerned that Michael Beychok, one of its brightest and most successful bettors is backing away? Why are there no full-time lady race callers in North America? We seek the answer from Turf Paradise’s Craig Braddick, who persuaded Dani Jackson to come from England to call the races. Shannon ‘Sugar’ Doyle has cease...

It was a great week for Woodbine’s boss, Jim Lawson, who explains why more money is bet at Mohawk than at any other North American racetrack. Moira Fanning and John Campbell tell us why Mohawk was awarded the next Breeders Crown races. Kevin Attard is a finalist as Outstanding Trainer in the Sovereign Awards. Nick Gallucci is up for an O’Brien as Outstanding harness trainer. Both of them join this...

The Down The Stretch Podcast loves stories about the relationship between people and their horses and this one fulfills that quotient. Mark McKelvie lays out the rules for watching the races at Mohawk. George Millar tells us how satisfying it is to be nominated in several O’Brien Award categories, especially after what he went through in 2021. Debi O’Brien-Moran talks about her favourite horse, Ci...

Race callers Robert Geller, Ken Middleton, Frank Ferrari, Frank Salive, Peter Aiello, John Imbriale, Larry Colmus, Dan Loiselle and even Earl Lennox help us this week remembering the greatest races of 2021 and the events that touched, inspired and disturbed us. From Safe Conduct to Weyburn to Munnyfor Ro to British Royalty and Pink Lloyd, Essential Quality, Medina Spirit and Knicks Go. From Venera...

To celebrate the 100th podcast, we present 30 minutes of the craziest, funniest, most touching and most unusual moments in horse racing in 2021. A wonderful interview with Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo, a woman dq’d because her brother claimed foul, the night Garnet Barnsdale went 10 for 10, a horse named Ho Ho Ho that didn’t have anything to laugh about, Punxatawney Phil winning on Ground Hog Day and w...