The Ron Flatter Racing Pod

The 500th episode is celebrated this week with calls to some milestone guests on this special edition of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Voices who were heard on the 100th, 200th, 300th and 400th episodes are brought back to reminisce and look ahead. Breeders' Cup-winning trainer Peter Eurton, Las Vegas sports writer Mike Brunker, game-show producer Laura Chambers, London turf journalist Nick Luck and...

Barry Spears, known as the Urbn Handicapper without that first A, talks about his growth as a respected horseplayer and tournament competitor when he is the special guest this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. A native of New England who lives in Florida, Spears recounts his early days when his parents and grandparents took him to racetracks to learn how to bet on horses. Those early seeds led S...

The best race yet this year for older horses and the closing of a historic racetrack are the big stories this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. The Grade 1, $2 million Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs has attracted the likes of reigning horse of the year Sovereignty and multimillionaire veteran White Abarrio. It also has Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Magnitude. Ron Winchell, his owner, tak...

From growing up in Kentucky to three decades at NBC as one of its most reliable broadcasters, Tom Hammond brings the stories of a career in racing and sports to the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Hammond talks about his earliest days not only in Lexington, Ky., radio but also in going to the track and getting involved with horses. He even spins a yarn about an early job as the announcer at a sales ring....

Rick Hammerle, a horseplayer and a longtime racing executive who sits on the American Graded Stakes Committee member, is the special guest this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Hammerle talks about topics that range from why there are so many graded stakes to the bigfooted presence of computer-assisted wagering to why racetracks should have newer music played for spectators. In a myth-busting t...

Anticipating Saturday's finale to the Triple Crown season, there are as many humans as there are Belmont Stakes 2026 horses on the regular episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Chris Fallica, who is best known as The Bear on Fox Sports' "Big Noon Kickoff" during football season, leads off the guest list. He also is a seasoned horseplayer who has opinions about how the Belmont will be run. Andy Se...

Deep analysis of every horse in Belmont Stakes 2026 is ready to hear now from the hard-core handicappers in their latest pop-up episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Horse Racing Nation handicappers Mark Midland and Ed DeRosa are joined by FanDuel TV's Caton Bredar. They go through the entire field, 1 through 9, including morning-line favorite Renegade and Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo. How...

Belmont Stakes 2026 next Saturday concludes the Triple Crown series as well as the race's three years at Saratoga. It is the focus of this week's Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Maggie Wolfendale-Morley of Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association checks in with early angles on some of the top choices in the Belmont, including likely favorite Renegade as well as Kentucky Derby 2026 winner Golden Temp...

Broadcasting icons and sports bettors Brent Musburger and Chuck Todd get together to discuss their ideas to cure what ails the Triple Crown in an exclusive conversation on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Musburger's years at CBS, ABC and VSiN took him to assignments that included the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. Todd's work at NBC did not keep him from having a run at betting on horse...

From Laurel Park in Maryland, this weekend's Preakness Stakes at its unique 2026 location is the centerpiece of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Two-time Eclipse Award-winning turf writer John Scheinman pays his annual visit by way of an after-dinner interview from his hometown Baltimore. He talks about the changing landscape of Maryland racing as it moves to new caretakers and a reimagined Pimlico nex...

With a 14-horse field to ponder and study, the hard-core handicappers are back to analyze every horse in Preakness 2026. They are on this special, pop-up episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. FanDuel TV's Caton Bredar joins Horse Racing Nation handicappers Ed DeRosa and Mark Midland as well as host Ron Flatter from Laurel Park. They consider whether Iron Honor is a worthy 9-2 favorite on the morn...

Reaction to the decision not to send Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo to Preakness 2026 is the main topic of discussion this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Sports Illustrated writer Pat Forde talks about the choices he had to make in writing his story about Golden Tempo's victory last week, especially balancing Cherie DeVaux being the first woman to train a Derby winner and the Ortiz brothe...

The final preview of Kentucky Derby 152 brings together the best of TV personalities, trainers and handicappers on this week's Ron Flatter Racing Pod. NBC's Steve Kornacki spends some time talking about the field for this year's Derby and how he will go about dispensing statistical trends that are his specialty on the national telecast. Trainers Brad Cox, Todd Pletcher and Mark Glatt chat about th...

Deep analysis of every horse in Kentucky Derby 2026 from the main draw through the also-eligibles is ready to hear now with the hard-core handicappers pop-up episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Horse Racing Nation handicappers Ed DeRosa and Mark Midland and FanDuel TV's Caton Bredar go through the entire field from the favorite Renegade to the longest of long shots. They evaluate every horse fr...

The field for Kentucky Derby 2026 will be drawn this weekend, when final breezes will show up on the Churchill Downs work tab. That is the setting for this episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Riley Mott, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, is preparing his first two Derby horses for next Saturday's big date. He talks about Virginia Derby winner Incredibolt and Grade 2 Wood Memorial victo...

A fortnight before Kentucky Derby 2026, a rematch between Sovereignty and Journalism highlights the weekend as well as the discussion this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Godolphin USA bloodstock director Michael Banahan about reigning horse of the year Sovereignty and his third meeting with Journalism, this time in Saturday's Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap. Sovereignty won both their previous showd...

The field is penciled into place for Kentucky Derby 2026 in three weeks at Churchill Downs. It also is set for Saturday's Grade 1, $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn. Both races come into focus this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. U.S. and Canada hall-of-fame trainer Mark Casse discusses Eclipse Award winner Nitrogen's bid to win the Apple Blossom. He also has Oaklawn stakes winne...

For the first time since he left FanDuel TV in February, racing host and analyst Todd Schrupp breaks his silence, and the last of the major preps for Kentucky Derby 2026 are the focus this week of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Not only does he talk about his exit, but Schrupp also discusses last week's announcement that FDTV will go out of existence by the end of next year. Super Screener creator Mi...

Two Grade 1 points preps for Kentucky Derby 2026 and a long-range view of the Triple Crown are on offer this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. The $1.5 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn and the $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park will send their winners and probably their second-place finishers to run for the roses May 2. Gustavo Delgado Jr., a co-owner and assistant trainer of The Puma,...

The news of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's decision to split his deep stable between two states is a dominant topic this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Co-hosts John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park discuss the news that Baffert will have a string of horses during the entire spring meet at Churchill Downs. It will have repercussions in California, where S...

From the National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas, past winners discuss present issues for the sport on the first live-ish episode since January of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. David Harrison, Mike Gillum and defending victor Dan Piazza, three of the last four NHC winners, gather in a roundtable to talk about the secrets to their successes. They also weigh tournaments against everyday play i...

Two media professionals who have chronicled their love of the Thoroughbred game are featured this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Tommy Smyth with a Y, who has been a longtime sports personality in New York, discusses his ongoing trips to tracks both in the U.S. and his native Ireland. Smyth voices his concerns about computer bettors and how they have impacted his playing. He also advocates fo...

Andrew Beyer is the most important pioneer of analytics in horse racing. The legendary turf writer and the creator of Beyer Speed Figures is the featured guest this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Beyer talks about why he made the decision to take his closely guarded formulas and figures that gave him a player's advantage and sell them for public use. He also discusses how his speed figures ar...

They are as much a part of racing as the horses and the bettors. Buglers have been a track tradition for more than 140 years. Four of the best-known convene for an episode full of stories and laughs on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Retired New York Racing Association bugler Sam Grossman, Santa Anita's Jay Cohen, Kentucky's Steve Buttleman and former Arlington Park fixture Monica Benson compare notes...

Former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson has been a horse owner and continues to be a racing ambassador. Terry West was a trail-blazing jockey who holds a seat on the Maryland Racing Commission. In celebration of Black History Month, both Johnson and West are featured this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Johnson talks about growing up in New Orleans and what he learned from his father on thei...