This week on Rail Talk! We’re less than six weeks out from Kentucky Derby 151, and Joe Bianca and Jon Green take stock of the 3-year-old class heading into crunch time. Joe, just back from New Orleans, gives his in-person reaction from the Louisiana Derby, while Jon has a bee in his bonnet about the Jeff Ruby Steaks being a 100-point Derby qualifier.The boys then look forward to this weekend’s Florida Derby and Arkansas Derby, the latter featuring family horse Sandman taking on Rebel winner Coal Battle and potential superstar Cornucopian. Jon and Joe will be there in person to cheer the big gray home, as will Green Group/DJ Stable founder Len Green, who joins the show to give viewers/listeners a treasure trove of tax advice as the filing deadline approaches.Finally, we conduct the supplemental draft for our Mage Rage Derby contest with Michelle Yu, Samantha Perry and Dan Tordjman, as everyone discards and picks up three horses each in an attempt to reel runaway leader Jon in.Don’t miss any Rail Talk content! Become one of our—near 20,000!—subscribers on YouTube, you can also smash that button on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods. Thank you to our all-star cast of sponsors Fasig-Tipton, Taylor Made, The Green Group, Airdrie Stud and EPIC Insurance Brokers for their making this all possible!

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green are back from Ocala, and dive into the statistics from HISA’s 2024 metrics report. Racing fatalities at HISA-run tracks were nearly half of those at the non-HISA tracks, proving that the system is working in keeping horses safer, and for the first time, we have data on training-related fatalities. Other takeaways include the increased safety of dirt surfaces, to the point where they’re nearly on par with synthetic tracks, and the credit due to unsung heroes like track superintendents and their crews.Joe and Jon then touch on the Florida decoupling bill, as it passes out of the state’s house committee and moves one step closer to imperiling racing in the Sunshine State. Jon gives his analysis and lets our audience know what’s next in the fight to protect Florida racing and breeding. The guys also preview this weekend’s Louisiana Derby and shout out Eddie Woods in the EPIC Performance of the Week.Don’t miss any Rail Talk content, become one of our nearly 20,000 subscribers on YouTube; you can also join the family by smashing that subscribe button on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Audible. Thank you to our sponsors Fasig-Tipton, The Green Group, Taylor Made and Epic Insurance for seeing and supporting the vision!

This week on Breakaway Rail Talk presented by Arion Pedigrees, Joe Bianca sits down with New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association president Tina Bond to discuss her bold marketing initiative, The Heart of Horse Racing. As a passionate advocate for the sport, Bond has enlisted an impressive array of stakeholders to tell their stories and organize to create a sustainable future for racing. Marketing and attracting new fans has been a consistent challenge as we fight for the game’s survival, and Bond also discusses the outside help she’s brought in to chart the path forward. The Heart of Horse Racing relies on financial support, and you can donate to the cause here.Don’t miss any episodes of Rail Talk, be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods. Thank you to Arion Pedigrees for their support of Breakaway Rail Talk!

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green react to the latest deeply unflattering New York Times article about the racing industry, this time coming in the form of a scathing, 4,600-word (!!) guest essay questioning the necessity of the sport’s existence. The boys let it rip on the negative slants, misrepresentations and omissions of the article, while also acknowledging and responding to the legitimate arguments it raises.Then, three-time Eclipse Award-winning writer and Paulick Report editor in chief Natalie Voss joins the show to provide her takeaway from the Times piece before showing why her work is so renowned, as she, Joe and Jon engage in a candid and expansive discussion on the existential issues facing the sport. What have we made progress on, and what still has to get much better?Joe and Jon also react to a monster weekend of Kentucky Derby preps as Jon builds his lead in the Mage Rage Derby contest with less than two months to go until the first Saturday in May.Don’t miss any of this one-of-a-kind Rail Talk content. Join our ever-growing family by subscribing to the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods. Thank you to our sponsors Fasig-Tipton, The Green Group, Taylor Made, Epic Insurance and Airdrie Stud for continuing to be the wind beneath our wings.

This week on a special Breakaway Rail Talk presented by Arion Pedigrees, co-hosts Joe Bianca and Jon Green continue to explore the impact of Lasix with guests Tony "Tinky" Cobitz and Southwest Stakes Winning trainer, Ron Moquett. Tinky provides a plethora of facts and figures backed by extensive research including how it affects two-year-olds, older horses and stakes competitors. Ron counters with anecdotal evidence he's witnessed over his four-decade long career. The lively discussion includes ingredients like Bull-butter, milkshakes and blood/mucus residue - which sounds like a great recipe for entertainment. Thank you to Arion Pedigrees for their sponsorship and helping us tell these stories!!!

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green start a jam-packed show appreciating the immense progress being made in the HISA era. Racing fatalities dropped below 1 per 1,000 starts at tracks under HISA’s jurisdiction in 2024, the first time racing has crossed that benchmark since the advent of the Equine Injury Database in 2009. The same week the numbers were released, HISA also busted a veterinarian and 13 trainers at Penn National for allegedly breaking their rules on intra-articular joint injections, proving again the necessity of having cops on the beat.Joe and Jon then welcome back friend of the show Tinky aka Tony Cobitz alongside trainer Ron Moquett for a fascinating, substantive discussion on what the future of the HISA era will look like, initiatives to improve Thoroughbred aftercare, the importance of combatting misinformation about the sport and much more.The boys also react to the Rebel as Jon surges to the lead in the Mage Rage Derby contest presented by Airdrie Stud, and look forward to an action-filled weekend of prep races headlined by the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream and San Felipe at Santa Anita.Don’t miss any Rail Talk content—be sure to join our ever-growing family by subscribing to the show on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible or wherever you get your pods. Thanks as always to our sponsors The Green Group, Taylor Made, Fasig-Tipton and Epic Insurance for all of their support!

This week on Rail Talk! We break some major news, as longtime Kentucky state senator Damon Thayer and Ocala Stud general manager David O’Farrell join the show to announce the creation of the Thoroughbred Racing Initiative, an alliance of major stakeholders organizing to stop the potentially devastating decoupling efforts in Florida.Thayer, whose experience includes spearheading the passage of historical horse racing legislation that’s been a boon for Kentucky racing and O’Farrell, whose family stallion/breeding farm has operated in Florida for 70 years, lay out the steps being taken as we speak in Tallahassee to secure a long-term future for the sport in the Sunshine State. They also discuss potential future interventions by the TRI to help racing fight existential crises across the country.www.thoroughbredracinginitiative.comJoe and Jon also discuss Equibase’s plan to create a rating system to replace some claiming and allowance races, hopefully increasing field size and decreasing the amount of times horses have to change stables. They then touch on Magnitude’s blowout win in the Risen Star and look forward to this weekend’s Rebel in updating their Mage Rags Kentucky Derby contest standings.No other racing podcast is having these kinds of substantive, passionate and constructive conversations to face the challenges of the day. Be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods. Thanks as always to our sponsors Fasig-Tipton, Taylor Made, The Green Group, Epic Insurance Brokers and Airdrie Stud for their support.

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green discuss the Los Angeles Times article reporting that The Stronach Group has let potential buyers know that Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita are available for the right price. What needs to be done to ensure racing continues in Florida and especially California? What responsibilities do other racing-rich states have in maintaining the industry beyond their borders? Can the situation at Santa Anita be resolved with the installation of Historical Horse Racing machines and how likely are they to be greenlit?Tampa Bay Downs analyst and friend of the show Ren Carothers then jumps on to discuss the weekend’s stakes races, the Derby trail as a whole, and whether or not Tampa could potentially fill the role of Florida’s main Thoroughbred racing hub. The boys also preview this weekend’s Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds and update their Mage Rage Derby Contest standings.Don’t miss any of these invaluable conversations as the industry continues to attempt to navigate these choppy waters. Be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods. Thank you to our sponsors Fasig-Tipton, Taylor Made, The Green Group, Epic Insurance Brokers, and Airdrie Stud for their steadfast support!

This week on Breakaway Rail Talk presented by Arion Pedigrees, Joe Bianca sits down with Frank Taylor and Christian Countzler, the co-founders of Stable Recovery, a groundbreaking program helping men struggling with addiction take back their lives.

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green welcome Resolute Racing founder John Stewart for a a wide-ranging, in-depth discussion as he continues to make early waves in the racing world.