Down The Stretch Podcast

From Woodbine, the Bison City Stakes for the fillies and the Niagara for the boys. Garnet Barnsdale calls in from New Jersey with the Hambletonian and the Hambo Oaks. Trainer Dale Desruisseaux won the Plate Trial with Highwaytothemoon. He discusses the colt’s Kings Plate chances. Trainer Kevin Attard sent out a winner at Colonial Downs last Thursday.

Jockey Christoph Douglas is the new kid on the block at Woodbine. His agent, Leroy Trotman tells us why this young man is having some early success. We’ve got a wrap of the Wednesday card at Ajax Downs and we’ll tell you why it was a very good day for veteran rider Brian Bell.

And Dancer – A Musical in 10 Furlongs is a production coming soon to Toronto about Northern Dancer. The writer, Jim Betts explains the inventive way they portray Canada’s heroic thoroughbred.

It was the Seagram Cup Stakes at Woodbine on Saturday and it featured 2 Kings Plate champions.

Trainer Jordan Lay has just one horse – Go Olivia - and you will wish you bet her in her second lifetime start.

It rained so hard last Wednesday that the races at Saratoga were cancelled. We wondered how that would affect the quarter horses that day at Ajax Downs.

And we skew younger this week thanks to

+ 12-year-old Adrianna Mongrain who triumphed in the Canadian Jr Driving Championship

+ 18-year-old Kevin Detweiler who swept all 8 races on a card at Connersville Fair

+ 22-year-old Nathan Klein, not only the youngest full time race caller in North America, but a young man who says his autism is a benefit in his job

A Stakes filled weekend at Woodbine – we have the Ontario Colleen, the Hendrie, the Trillium, the Thunder Bay and the Lake Superior. Will trainer Josie Carroll add a King’s Plate to her 3 Queen’s Plates? She tells us no decision has been made yet about Oaks winner, Luster. Corbourg’s Melanie Giddings won another at Saratoga and you’ll wish you bet it. Chantal Sutherland won a pair at Monmouth and it won’t sadden you if you didn’t bet her. How amazing were Jody Jamieson last week? He won 9 Stakes races in 5 days – 7 for his father Carl, then trotted over to Clinton Raceway to win the National Driving Championship. And we speak with jockey Jason Hoyte who was about to win a race at Woodbine, except his horse, Bonjino Warrior had other ideas.

Sunny and smoke free skies on Sunday at Woodbine for 3 Stakes races, including the Woodbine Oaks and the King’s Plate Trial. Also, a tribute to legendary trainer Roger Attfield. There was also great weather at Ajax Downs for special Sunday card. We have Canadians winning in the U.S. – Charles Fipke’s Shirl’s Soul Town was brilliant in her debut at Saratoga, and Chantal Sutherland won on Friday and Saturday at Monmouth; all 3 of these horses paid great.

Should pacing fillies race against the boys? Loua Dipa gave it a shot at the Meadows in an elimination for the Adios Pace.

We’ve got driver Jason Ryan this week telling us about his experience winning races at 3 different tracks on the same day...

And writer, horse player Mark Paul talks about his wild and crazy book, The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told, about 3 guys who bet  $25,000 on the filly  Winning Colours to take down the 1988 Kentucky Derby and how they went about trying to collect over $1 million from the Mexican drug cartel.

The Provincial Government announced some lovely gifts for horse racing: Dave Briggs of Ontario Racing Management breaks the totals down. Trainer Steve Owens won the Pink Lloyd Stakes with Poulin In Ot and tells us how a boy horse was named after a woman. A natural hattrick at Mohawk for Bob McClure and of the 4 wins that night from James MacDonald, one of them pushed him past the $90 million mark. Evan Stephenson tells us what it was like when he won a harness race for the first time at Clinton. Jockeys Ismael Mosqueira, Alexis Sanchez and Brian Bell each doubled up last week at Ajax Downs. Happy birthday to jockey Perry Ouzts – he won a race on the day he turned 72. And horse racing’s rarest outcome – a triple dead heat at Hippodrome 3r.

This podcast has a record 19 horse race calls as follows:

+ 3 from Robert Geller, including the Pink Lloyd and Ballade Stakes and the Highlander Stakes, which trainer Gail Cox really liked thanks to Miss Vyvyanne

+ The very last horse race at Aqueduct called by Chris Griffen

+ 7 calls from the great Tom Durkin, including his guest appearance on the last day at the Big A, some of his historic descriptions and a couple more when he was just having fun

+ 7 More from Frank Ferrari at Ajax Downs, where bettors went nuts on Canada Day

+ Kenny Livengood’s call from Northfield when a 145-1 shot romped

From a huge Saturday at Woodbine, we have the Marine, the Highlander, the Selene, the Dominion Day and the Royal North Stakes and what a good day it was for Julia Carey, Gail Cox, Josie Carroll, Ryan Munger, Fraser Aebly and Sid Attard.  Could Beau Jangles return to the winners’ circle in an OSS Gold Leg at Mohawk?  On the first Thursday card of racing at Mohawk, let’s just say it was a good night if your last name was MacDonald. Props to the Meadows harness track in Pennsylvania - they had a Fathers’ Day twist in which 5 pairs of dads and sone raced against each other. Down The Stretch contributor, Garnet Barnsdale has reason to be excited about the debut of a horse he owns. And how cool is it to win a race when the horse you’re driving has the same name as you do. This happened at Vernon Downs.

From Woodbine, the Lake Huron and Georgian Bay Stakes. A monster night at Mohawk for Doug McNair and we’re saying what he did will never happen again. James MacDonald talks with us about his North America Cup win and what’s left on his bucket list.

We drop into Aqueduct for another win by Canadian trainer, Melanie Giddings

Yves Turcotte is the only survivor of the 5 Turcottes who rode thoroughbreds. He is the latest recipient of the Avelino Gomez Award and he talks with Down The Stretch about his career and that of his brothers

Dom Romeo was honoured with the Mint Julep Award from the CTHS and his son, Mark explains why his dad deserves it. On Father’s Day at Ajax Downs, there was a Stakes race that had the last three Canadian Quarter Horses of the Year.

And stay to the end because our story about the betting cup pulled off by Declan Queally on the Irish bookies is sublime.

The biggest night at Mohawk featured multiple Stakes races including the $1 Million North America Cup. On the thoroughbred side, after almost 2 months of racing at Woodbine, the leading Stakes winning trainer is Dale Desruisseaux. He talks with us about his 4 Stakes wins. The 4-year-old Conn Smythe won again to become the first horse to capture 3 races this year.

Which Canadian-born trainer has won the most races in the last decade at Saratoga? Her name is Melanie Giddings and we got her on the phone.

The Fort Erie jockeys paid an emotional farewell to Francine Villeneuve, the Queen of Fort Erie. And we pay our weekly visit to Ajax Downs to see how the quarter horses are running. Spoiler alert – they’re running really fast.

We’re not angry, but we do have the Fury Stakes from Woodbine. What happened to the unbeaten Beau Jangles when he met the strongest field of his 16-race career in an elimination for the North America Cup? The 158th Belmont Stakes went to Kentucky Derby champ Golden Tempo thanks to another last to first surge. Canadian Melanie Giddings scored a win last week at Saratoga, and after Tawny Port won the Belmont Gold Cup in record time, Garnet Barnsdale issued a warning to any bettors planning to bet that horse in the Melbourne Cup.

Down The Stretch remembers the career of jockey Francine Villeneuve, who died last week. Opening Day at Fort Erie was a tour de force for jockey Sofia Vives and owners Icon Racing. Trainer Anthony Adamo tells us he had never before won 4 races with the only 4 horses he sent out on the same day.

A mare with a North American resume won the famed Elittlopet in Sweden. We have the call...in Swedish.

And at Ajax Downs, Cassandra Jeschke won for the first two times this year, Cristian Benitez added to his leading win total and Had To Be Fabulous suffered a rare defeat.