The Ron Flatter Racing Pod

Familiar names one day are gone the next. It long has been a reality of the ever-transient nature of media work. Four people who had memorable horse-racing chapters in their careers are reunited this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Former TV analysts Candice Hare, Joanne Jones, Rich Perloff and Jason Portuondo exchange stories of their days covering racing, including highlights they would put...

With a little more than three months before the run for the roses, a mock draft for Kentucky Derby 2026 brings together seven handicapping minds for this week's Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Horse Racing Nation hard-core handicapper and fair-odds author Ed DeRosa will be joined by Chip Gehrke, the Doctor Derby curator of weekly division rankings who won last year's draft by picking Sovereignty in the se...

The Pegasus World Cup Invitational has evolved from a bold experiment to a decade-long fixture on the South Florida racing scene. The 10th running Saturday is the focus of this week's Ron Flatter Racing Pod. FanDuel TV's Christina Blacker checks in from Gulfstream Park to set the scene for the Grade 1, $3 million race that serves as both a punctuation mark on the preceding season and a springboard...

The creator of a new-media source for racing news and an old-school horseplayer who created a counterintuitive way of betting are featured this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Carlos Morales, the creator of Agentes 305, talks about the growth of his social-media platform and how it has become a go-to place for behind-the-scenes interviews in English and Spanish. He discusses his start as a rad...

From "A Day at the Races" to "Let It Ride" to "Seabiscuit," racing movies have had an important corner of the film world. The best of them and some bad ones are the subject of this week's Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Allen Johnson, who has been the film writer for 25 years at the San Francisco Chronicle , and Richard Migliore, the New York Racing Association TV analyst and lifelong movie buff, compare...

Discussion and debate about the 2025 Eclipse Awards are featured on the first 2026 episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Sara Elbadwi of Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association, Steve Kornacki of NBC News and Sports, Jessica Paquette from Parx and two-time Eclipse Award-winning writer John Scheinman from Baltimore get together in a panel discussion going in-depth on every championship cate...

The postponed opening day at Santa Anita and a Pegasus preview at Gulfstream Park are the main points of discussion this week in the final 2025 episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Horse owner, player and handicapper Jon Lindo previews Sunday's card at Santa Anita. That is where Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has five entrants in the $300,000 Malibu Stakes, the last Grade 1 race of the season...

A holiday celebration turns into a world tour with visits with friends from Japan, England and Australia this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Kate Hunter checks in from her home base in Japan, where Forever Young provided bookended highlights this year with his triumphs in the Group 1 Saudi Cup and the Breeders' Cup Classic. The Nashville native who has been based for 17 years across the Pacif...

Three people who have been involved with popular sports television shows also have horse racing in common. One more thing. They are on this week's Ron Flatter Racing Pod. David Israel, the former chairperson of the California Horse Racing Board, takes time for a rare interview. He talks about what he would like to see change with the sport as well as his favorite races and his experience as a youn...

With Belmont Park reopening to nearly year-round racing next fall, the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap will be run at Aqueduct for the last time this weekend. The day's top races are previewed on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. NYRABets analyst and Gallop Out podcast co-host Kaylie Shapiro offers her thoughts about the feature race of the fall meet as well as the Remsen Stakes (G2), a points prep for Kent...

The long holiday weekend of stakes action at Churchill Downs and what could be another long winter in the Florida decoupling drama are the main topics this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Former Kentucky state senator Damon Thayer provides his updated point of view from his role in the fight to keep Gulfstream Park from splitting its racing and gaming licenses. He also responds to what the Flo...

What goes into making a successful podcast for horseplayers and fans? The answers are the subject of a roundtable discussion this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Hosts Pete Fornatale of the In the Money Players Podcast, Ryan Anderson and Jackson Muniz from the Gallop Out Podcast and Tatiana Ryann from the Business-y Podcast compare and contrast notes and strategies about their programs. Some o...

Taking a new turn this week, the Ron Flatter Racing Pod is off on a fishing expedition at a pond in Scott County, Kentucky. Eric Reed, who trained Rich Strike to an 80-1 upset victory in Kentucky Derby 2022, is joined by his father Herbie Reed, who living with cancer. While fishing for crappie and bass and shellcrackers from the shore of Lake Tyson, the Reeds reminisce about their lives. Herbie Re...

Forever Young's victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic will be celebrated by racing fans in Japan for generations to come. It will be reviewed in America one more time on this week's Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Handicapper and workout analyst Bruno De Julio spent nearly two weeks at Del Mar covering the championships from the first morning workout to the final race last weekend. He offers his assessment...

Breeders' Cup 2025 brings together 14 divisions of racing into as many races this week at Del Mar. It also becomes common ground for the media, horsemen and handicappers, each of whom is represented on this week's Friday episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. FanDuel TV's Andie Biancone provides her perspective not only as an analyst but also a morning exercise rider for the likes of her father, t...

Fierceness from New York and Forever Young from Japan stand out among older horses. So does Sierra Leone, who looks for a rare repeat victory. Horse-of-the-year frontrunner Sovereignty was reported to have a fever. They are the storylines going into the $7 million Classic. The race may provide the climax, but it is only part of the Breeders' Cup. For the ninth year in a row, the two richest days o...

The prevailing thought that computer bettors have become the bane of the average American horseplayer has been burnished with news that the Breeders' Cup will not carry on Del Mar's two-minutes-to-post cut-off of batch wagers. It was exacerbated further during the Keeneland fall meet with the big odds changes after races already had started. With new controversies boiling over, the Ron Flatter Rac...

Breeders' Cup 2025 bills itself as the world championships, and international horses will be front and center. They are the focus of this week's Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Kate Hunter, who is the Japan liaison for big races in the U.S., offers her expertise on horses like Forever Young, who tries to improve on last year's third-place performance in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Maddy Playle of Racing Po...

With a lull before the Breeders' Cup, some comings and goings for races this week and for the long term are the focus of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Mattress Mack said he is done with horse racing. Texas businessman, former horse owner and renowned sports gambler Jim McIngvale says in his own words why he has left the game after 30 years. Laurelin takes her 5-for-5 record to the Grade 1 Queen Eliz...

Eight Grade 1 races are spread across America this week. Fifteen Breeders' Cup qualifiers make this an overflow weekend that includes super Saturday at Aqueduct, Keeneland and Santa Anita. All this makes for a stacked episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. The Keeneland fall season opens this week with five Grade 1s. In her new role with the racetrack, former FanDuel TV host Gabby Gaudet offers a...

The Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita and the return of a familiar media personality are the focus of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.  Former FanDuel TV host Ken Rudulph talks about what he is doing now and his thoughts about the sport he used to cover daily. He also weighs in with his forecast for the Goodwood. Trainer Brad Cox discusses First Mission's bid to get his first Grade 1 win when he r...

The Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion, a pair of Grade 1, $1 million stakes for 3-year-olds, will be run this weekend at Parx. They also are the focus of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Track announcer Jessica Paquette checks in from Parx to discuss the two races and their context in the 2025 championship picture. She also provides perspective on the arc of the 3-year-old season for both males and fema...

The first race carrying points toward qualifying for Kentucky Derby 2026 arrives this weekend, and it is the focus of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. TV analyst Kaitlin Free offers a preview of Saturday's Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs and the context it has not only for next year's Triple Crown series but the final four months of the 2025 racing season. Eddie Kenneally trains Comport, the...

The climactic weekend on the turf at Kentucky Downs is the focus this week of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Trainer Brendan Walsh has four horses in the multimillion-dollar weekend stakes. He discusses Spanish Eyes, New Century, Pondering and Z Z's and their strategies this weekend. Walsh also talks about Special Wan, who won for him at Kentucky Downs last Saturday in the Grade 3 Ladies Turf, and a...

Local standouts Journalism and Nysos face eastern shipper Fierceness in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, and Mindframe gets a high-profile rematch with Sierra Leone in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga. These 1 1/4-mile, Grade 1, $1 million races are spotlighted this week on the Ron Flater Racing Pod. Christina Blacker of FanDuel TV provides insight on the east vs. west matchup in California. Sh...