Join In The Money Media for this in-depth handicapping analysis looking over the major races on the greatest day in harness racing taking place this Saturday (Aug. 8) at The Meadowlands with the $1,000,000 Hambletonian! Ray Cotolo hosts this Roundtable discussion with regular co-host Mikee P and is joined by a pair of expert handicappers in Garnet Barnsdale, former analyst for the Daily Racing Form and current author of the Horseplayer's Journal at Woodbine Mohawk Park, as well as Diamond Creek Farm's Shaun Laungani, who started in horse racing as a gambler before finding a career on the breeding side of the business. The four will analyze the major stakes on Hambletonian Day which also includes the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks and many other big-money stakes gathering the best of the best in the harness racing world on a day that also coincides major stakes on the flat side with Whitney Stakes 2026 taking place at Saratoga Race Course. The Meadowlands offers a robust betting menu for the $1,000,000 Hambletonian card. With 16 races on tap, bettors can tap into $350,000 in guaranteed pools on the day highlighted by the $125,000 Guaranteed Pick 4 starting in Race 8, which includes the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks and $1,000,000 Hambletonian finals. The Meadowlands will also offer a $3 Late Pick 3 on the last three races as well as a $5 Late Daily Double on the last two - a pair of bets that have grown in popularity on the flat side over recent years. This year's Hambletonian has gathered an intense three-pronged matchup inside of the 10-horse field with Ohio sensation Big Ranger earning morning-line favoritism at 2-1 following a 1:50 romp in his elimination for driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Anette Lorentzon. The colt, who spurred controversy when the ownership opted to switch trainers ahead of the Hambletonian, will face his toughest test to date as he confronts the 1-2 finishers from the other elimination Apex and Endurance, who together tussled through a long ways off of the pylons to finish noses apart in a 1:50.4 mile. Apex, by generational sire Walner and out of world champion mare Mission Brief, is listed as the second choice on the morning line at 5/2 while Endurance, the gutsy Chris Beaver-trained son of Hambletonian 2021 winner Captain Corey, is listed as the third choice on the morning line at 5-1. Below are the fields for the biggest races in harness racing, the Hambletonian Oaks 2026 and Hambletonian 2026: $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks No. 56 FINAL | 3YO Filly Trot (PP-Name // Driver-Trainer // Morning Line) 1-Busy Miss Lissy S // Ake Svanstedt-Ake Svanstedt // 4-1 2-Nezuko Kamado S // Scott Zeron-Marcus Melander // 2-1 3-Custom // Jason Bartlett-Per Engblom // 8-1 4-Setyoursightshigh // Dexter Dunn-Marcus Melander // 6-1 5-Lainey W // Dexter Dunn-Marcus Melander // 12-1 6-Carve // Andy McCarthy-Noel Daley // 7/2 7-Leading Lady // Matt Kakaley-Nancy Takter // 10-1 8-Storybook Love // Todd Ratchford-Matt Bax // 25-1 9-Frattina Diablo S // Tim Tetrick-Tony Alagna // 25-1 10-Madam Cheval // Tim Tetrick-Nancy Takter // 25-1 $1,000,000 Hambletonian No. 101 FINAL | 3YO Trot 1-Minoan // TBA-Noel Daley // 25-1 2-It Could Be Worse // Scott Zeron-Linda Toscano // 8-1 3-Apex // Dexter Dunn-Marcus Melander // 5/2 4-Big Ranger // Tim Tetrick-Anette Lorentzon // 2-1 5-Captain Naughty // Jason Bartlett-Per Engblom // 15-1 6-AI // Yannick Gingras-Ron Burke // 12-1 7-Endurance // Andy McCarthy-Chris Beaver // 5-1 8-Magic Punk // Yannick Gingras-Ake Svanstedt // 15-1 9-Spencer Hanover // Jason Bartlett-Marcus Melander // 20-1 10-American Power // James MacDonald-Marcus Melander // 10-1

In The Money Media's Players' Podcast returns with this special show presented by TwinSpires Tournaments focused on some of the big horse racing action taking place at Saratoga Race Course this Saturday (Aug. 8) headlined by the Whitney Stakes, which shapes to be an absolute brawl with Kentucky Derby 2025 champ Sovereignty looking for a signature win as a 4-year-old against Dubai World Cup 2026 winner Magnitude and Oaklawn Handicap champ White Abarrio just to name a few in the stacked eight-horse field, which does also include a filly in Mark Casse's Nitrogen.

The future stars of Thoroughbred racing take center stage on this episode of Baby Talk Presented by Keeneland Sales!

Join In The Money Media's Peter Thomas Fornatale (PTF) and Dean Roethemeier, Director of Keeneland Sales, as they break down the loaded lineup of 2-year-old races at Saratoga on Saturday, August 8! Get expert insights into the pedigrees, sales backgrounds, and racing potential of the most exciting juveniles on the card before they hit the track.

Many of these rising stars trace their roots to Keeneland Sales, and Dean also previews the upcoming Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the world's largest and most influential Thoroughbred auction. Learn what buyers should expect, which pedigrees are generating the most buzz, and why the September Sale continues to shape the future of racing around the globe.

This edition of the In The Money Media late-week show begins with a special look at the 2026 Hambletonian, the biggest race in harness racing! Their sport's Kentucky Derby, the stakes-laden card gets underway at 12 p.m. (EDT) on Saturday (Aug. 8) and Peter Thomas Fornatale (PTF) got the skinny on the marquee races with the hosts of the Harness Players' Podcast Ray Cotolo and Mikee P. The harness pair then take the reins to look at some flat action up at Woodbine Racetrack for Saturday before handing the mic back to PTF for the closing segment focused on horse racing action from Monmouth Park with guest Duke Matties.

Charlotte in for Nick this Friday and joined by Lydia Hislop as they begin by looking back on Sandown’s card last night, before looking ahead to the action in Britain over the next couple of days. Lydia also offers her thoughts on the rise of interference cases and careless riding. With the annual Shergar Cup taking place at Ascot tomorrow, we hear from Melbourne Cup winning jockey Jamie Melham as she prepares to take part in the competition for a second time and James Willoughby shares how the horses are allocated to each jockey across the card. Katie Carr, Head of Sustainability at the BHA, shares what racing is doing in response to growing concerns around climate change to protect itself for the future.

JK and Allaire Ryan (Sales Director) discuss all 8 of the Lane's End horses available at the 2026 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearlings Sale.

In The Money Media's Peter Thomas Fornatale is joined by NBC Sports contributor Randy Moss to go over some of the major changes that have recently been announced inside of the Triple Crown Series in horse racing.

Earlier this week, Churchill Downs and the New York Racing Association announced that they would team to present a six-race series spanning from May to November with the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes serving as part of this new series for 3 year olds. The announcement brought to question to fate and state of the Preakness Stakes, which for long has been scrutinized for its close proximity to the Kentucky Derby on the racing calendar. Soon after Churchill Downs and NYRA announced the new series, Maryland governor Wes Moore announced that the Preakness Stakes would be moved to 22 days after the running of the Kentucky Derby in the hopes that the Derby runner would take a shot at the Triple Crown. But with this new series in the fold on the stakes schedule, the placement and status of the Preakness currently sits in jeopardy.

Randy Moss joins PTF to break down the happenings behind the scenes of the Triple Crown for the last few years. Randy, a longtime advocate for adjusting the timing of the races on the Triple Crown, goes over the feuds between tracks and organizations that have stymied any remedy to the Triple Crown, which itself has struggled as a series in recent years with the Kentucky Derby winner opting off the trail entirely over the last two years. Both winners, Kentucky Derby 2025 champ Sovereignty and Kentucky Derby 2026 champ Golden Tempo, resurfaced to race in the Belmont Stakes and win, spurring further controversy about the value of the Triple Crown since both horses had just the Preakness Stakes missing from their resumes.

Show Me The Money!

CARMA thon is coming this weekend and its the BEST way to give back to the horses who give us their all. Lucinda Lovett gives us more info on what CARMA does and how to help

Charlotte in for Nick today and joined by RTE’s Jane Mangan. They begin by discussing the movement of the Preakness stakes, the second leg of the American Triple Crown, in response to the creation of the three-year-old Championship Series in the US and whether this means the Triple Crown as we know it has come to an end. Ahead of a couple of Group Ones in Europe this weekend, we hear from Michael O’Callaghan who runs Celeron in the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh and Johnny Murtagh, who has Take Charge Star in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville on Sunday. Emmet Mullins has an update on Cox Plate entrant Zia Zabel and looks at where we could see him make his first start for the stable. Finally, Andrew Braithwaite of the British Racing School discusses how trainers can benefit from the current apprenticeship schemes.

And the Tournament Winner Was Episode 45 - Jeff Bussan won the NYRA Bets $1,000 Jim Dandy contest this past weekend. Go to NYRABETS.com for more contests information. Jeff is an 11x NHC qualifier based out of Highland Beach, Florida.