This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green are refreshed, recharged and back at their mics for the first show of 2026, kicking things off by analyzing the decrease in handle and purse numbers from last year. How can we reverse these trends? Are there any silver linings in the data? And who in the industry can we look to for solutions?The boys then welcome NBC Sports and Santa Anita on-air analyst Michelle Yu to give us the state of California racing, from the torrential rain forcing cancellations to the vastly improved safety record to issues with field size leading to stakes downgrades.Speaking of the latter, Jon was in the room for the American Graded Stakes Committee’s rulings for 2026, and gives Joe and the audience a groundbreaking look behind the curtain at how those crucial decisions are made.Nowhere else in racing are these insightful conversations being had, so make sure you join our ever-growing family by subscribing to Rail Talk on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods. Thanks to our all-star sponsor lineup of Fasig-Tipton, The Green Group, Taylor Made and Epic Insurance for their continued support, and we wish all the best in the new year to our beautiful viewers and listeners!