Down The Stretch Podcast

It is very hard to sweep the Triple Crown. Even though Mighty Heart, trained by Josie Carroll was unable to take the Breeders’ Stakes, Carroll gets credit for sending out the winning horse in all three legs. Find out why. The third leg of the fillies’ Triple Tiara produced the third of three winners in the series. Owner Marvin Katz of Toronto had two winners at Hoosier Park in the eliminations for the upcoming Breeders’ Crown. Chantal Sutherland is still winning at Keeneland. We have an amazing call of an 18 horse Stakes race in Australia – amazing because the race caller is 10 years old. And we meet Eric Lloyd who not only plays Elwood Blues at Orlando’s Universal Theme Park, but he’s also written a great book about 11 Triple Crown winners meeting in Heaven for a race.

It’s just a few days until Mighty Heart runs in the Breeders’ Stakes as he shoots for a sweep of the Triple Crown and host Peter Gross talks with trainer Josie Carroll and Mighty Heart’s jockey Daisuke Fukumoto. Peter reminisces about being at Monmouth Park 40 years ago when Glorious Song raced against Spectacular Bid. Last Saturday at Mohawk they had 8 OSS Super Finals, each worth $250,000 and we have the stretch call of every one of them. Country Boy 123 is the greatest quarter horse in Canadian history, but his attempt at a 4th straight win in the Alex Picov Maturity was foiled. With Racing Night Live back on TSN, Woodbine has rewarded bettors with a unique and tempting wager. And how does Bonnie Tyler, Japanese music and Scorpion Racing in Mumbai figure in this podcast?

Woodbine and TSN have agreed to extend Racing Night Live through to December. Christina Litz is the woman who struck the deal and she tells us just how good this is for horse racing. True to our promise to cover thoroughbred, standardbred and quarter horse racing in Ontario, this podcast has two Stakes races from Woodbine, both won by Patrick Husbands and Mark Casse, all kinds of Stakes races from the harness side and the Alex Picov Memorial Futurity from Ajax Downs. Driver Bob McClure pulled off a rare triple, winning big money races at Flamboro, Mohawk and Western Fair in a span of maybe 27 hours. Trainer Bob Broadstock sent out a winner at Ajax Downs last week and he did so for the First Line Syndicate. Then he told us how much fun the 18 shareholders in the syndicate are having. This Podcast also includes music from The Reklaws and a cat who thought he could outrun some horses in France.

How great is Mighty Heart? This podcast has him winning the Prince of Wales, so he’s just one step away from sweeping the Triple Crown. We've got interviews with Mighty Heart’s owner Larry Cordes and the groom Siobhan Brown. Woodbine CEO Jim Lawson updates us on happenings at Woodbine and Mohawk and how September may have been the most exciting month ever in Canadian horse racing.How about mic’d up times two – the listener will have to decide who did it better – Bob McClure or Peter Gross who got behind a standardbred at Carmen Auciello’s farm. A filly won the Preakness and ran very fast doing it. Also, we have Stakes races from Woodbine and Ajax Downs and one of the worst beats for a certain horseplayer – his horse took the lead...then made an abrupt right hand turn. It’s another packed Down The Stretch Podcast.

The first Mohawk Million provided more proof that owner Brad Grant knows his trotters. He dealt his slot to get Venerate into the race and that was the winner from post 10. Host Peter Gross talks with Grant, whose horses won the Hambletonian and Maple Leaf Trot as well. This Down The Stretch Podcast has the call of all the big money Stakes races at Mohawk and the added money events from Woodbine. Quarter Horse jockey Cory Spataro made this podcast by winning 5 straight races at Ajax Downs. Jockey Jeffrey Alderson doesn’t bring in too many winners, but the one he had last week at Woodbine generated a huge payoff. Fort Erie Race caller Frank Salive is along to discuss the Prince of Wales Stakes and some of Peter’s twisted betting strategies. And what were the officials in New Zealand thinking when they approved the name Colin Oscopy for a race horse. This...and more in the Down The Stretch Podcast.

Like a 14 horse field for the Queen’s Plate, this podcast is filled with great racing outcomes, stories and interviews. Host Peter Gross hits the Queen’s Plate superfecta by interviewing winning trainer Josie Carroll, her groom, her exercise rider and the owner of Mighty Heart, Larry Cordes. The sensational mare, Starship Jubilee won the $1.2 million Ricoh Woodbine Mile and maybe the most unusual thing about this is how much she paid. This podcast has four Stakes races from Mohawk, including another impressive win by Hambletonian champion, Ramona Hill. Ajax Downs conducted 6 elimination heats for upcoming Stakes races and not only does this podcast play all 6, but we also have more rapping from Tony Phillips. The 6 day racing meet at Kentucky Downs is unique and it got a little more so when the stewards screwed up and placed the wrong horse first, and just for a giggle, another Coronovirus race call. All this in the Down The Stretch Podcast.

Turns out June’s loss is September’s thrill. The 161st Queen’s Plate went on September 12 at Woodbine and trainer Josie Carroll not only won with 15-1 shot Mighty Heart, she got the bottom half of a huge exactor when Belichick came second. We have the complete call of the Plate as well as the four other Stakes races on the card. That same night Mohawk offered both the Peaceful Way and the William Wellwood Stakes for trotters and the latter race went to On A Streak who chose a half million race to break his maiden. Down The Stretch stole a few moments with winning driver Scott Young after the biggest score of his career. What did Sandy Hawley sound like 50 years ago when he was interviewed on Hockey Night In Canada? We have that audio and got the 2020 version of Hawley to talk about it. And the most charismatic jockey at Ajax Downs is Tony Phillips, aka TP. He was in full rapping mode after winning 4 races on September 7, including a dead heat.

In this Down The Stretch Podcast, host Peter Gross warms up for the Queen’s Plate with selections from from Jennifer Morrison, Jason Portuondo and race caller Robert Geller. The 146th Kentucky Derby ran on the first Saturday in September and despite more than $10 million bet to win on Tiz the Law, there was an upset. Saturday night at Mohawk gave us the Maple Leaf Trot and the Canadian Pacing Derby and that afternoon at Woodbine, the amazing Pink Lloyd won again. Trainer Bob Tiller joins the podcast to talk about his heroic 8 year-old gelding. Mark Mckelvie of Woodbine Entertainment reveals how a limited number of fans will be allowed to watch harness racing at Mohawk Park. Jockey Ed Walton continued his unprecedented streak at Ajax Downs and Jim McKenny sat down with host Peter Gross as they talked about what might have happened if they’d been allowed to go to Saratoga this summer. The only way you can hear what went down is to find the Down The Stretch Podcast.

The 33rd Down The Stretch Podcast is so full of thrilling horse racing stuff that the Pointer Sisters joined in with the background singing. A monster pacing machine named Tall Dark Stranger won the North America Cup at Mohawk. The following Sunday featured three Stakes races at Woodbine. We talked with NYRA’s Keith McCalmont about what it’s like to be at Saratoga without fans. Jockey Ed Walton’s amazing streak at Ajax Downs is still intact, so much so that novelty song performer Ray Stevens makes an appearance. Race caller Kenny Middleton gave another excellent rendition of the NA Cup, but what did he sound like when his own horse, She’s a Sassy Beach won a race as he was in the booth? You might be surprised. And bettors never agree with the judges’ decisions when a horse is DQ’d, and we have two races in which horses were taken down leaving us wondering, “Huh?”. Friend of the Down The Stretch Podcast, Jim McKenny got jammed out of a $1,200 score even though his horse never made contact. But six days later, he got it all back and more in three glorious races from Del Mar. Find out how by listening to this episode of the Down The Stretch Podcast.

When Peter Gross started the Down The Stretch Podcast in February, he got to a point in March when he had no actual horse races to run. Now he has an embarrassment of riches. This podcast has multiple Stakes events from Woodbine and Mohawk and another win at Ajax Downs for the amazing Country Boy 123. Will there be a Canadian horse in the Kentucky Derby next month? Looks like it, as Darren Rogers at Churchill Downs tells us. A rare moment for track announcer Robert Geller who almost never misses at the finish line....but...Down The Stretch loves jockeys and we find out from Marklee Z Buchanan not only what it was like to win 4 races on one day at Fort Erie, but also what the ‘Z’ stands for. And just to top that, Justin Stein captured 6 races last Friday at Woodbine and we have the call of all of them. Teenagers are going at each other’s throats in the Leamington Raceway Handicapping Challenge... and how did Peter get both Mike Myers and Wayne Gretzky into this episode? If you listen, you’ll find out.