Rail Talk Podcast

This week on Rail Talk! It’s our most highly-anticipated episode yet, featuring the great debate between Mike Repole and Tinky aka Tony Cobitz. This conflict has been simmering on horse racing Twitter for months, and the two agreed to get in the ring together for a verbal showdown on our podcast. No topic is off limits, as the outspoken billionaire owner and self-proclaimed commissioner of racing squares off against the industry veteran and pseudonymous online critic.Subjects covered include: the durability of the modern racehorse, shuttered racetracks, potential changes to the Breeders’ Cup, marketing the game, improving the product for horseplayers, HISA, stallion mare caps and much, much more. There’s plenty of animosity and feistiness, but also areas of agreement, understanding and even the potential to work together as a result of this debate. You don’t want to miss it!Joe Bianca and Jon Green also celebrate the likely demise of the Florida decoupling bill, crediting the industry for its organization (!) and spinning it forward to figure out what comes next.This episode is exhibit A for why you need to be subscribed to Rail Talk! Smash that button on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods. Major shoutout to our sponsors Epic Insurance, The Green Group, Fasig-Tipton and Taylor Made for giving us the platform to have these crucial conversations about racing and its future.

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green react to the final round of Kentucky Derby preps, as Journalism solidifies himself as the favorite, Rodriguez wires the Wood and Burnham Square dives late to capture the Blue Grass. What holes are there, if any, to poke in Journalism’s case, and are the other winners contenders or pretenders?The boys then welcome star NBC correspondent Steve Kornacki to the show! Fresh off of signing a new contract to expand his coverage of politics and sports, Kornacki discusses his impressions of the Derby field, what he’s learned in broadcasting the Run for the Roses, his ownership experience with West Point, how he got his start in politics and much more.Joe and Jon also update the Mage Rage Derby contest standings, with Samantha Perry now the one to catch, and celebrate Kendrick Carmouche’s 4,000th win in the Epic Performance of the Week.Don’t miss any of this illuminating Rail Talk content! 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 and Epic Insurance Brokers for their support!

This week on Breakaway Rail Talk presented by Arion Pedigrees, Jon Green talks to Keeneland CEO and President Shannon Arvin about the upcoming Spring Meet, sales grounds improvements and upgrades in the paddock and viewing areas. They discuss her five-year tenure at the helm and what is on the near horizon for racing and sales fans.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 are back from a thrilling Saturday at Oaklawn Park, where they witnessed, along with 68,000 of their closest friends, Sandman punch his ticket for the Kentucky Derby with a convincing win in the meet centerpiece Arkansas Derby. The boys react to one of the most thrilling moments of their racing lives and start five weeks of spine-tingling anticipation with a horse who will be among the favorites in the Run for the Roses.Dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse then joins the show to discuss his expert development of Sandman, the strategy for Derby day, his overall training philosophies and his dedicated involvement in the fight to kill the decoupling bill in Florida’s state Congress. Joe and Jon also react to the Florida Derby and look forward to this Saturday’s Wood Memorial in the Mage Rage Derby contest update, where Samantha Perry has caught Jon and Joe has climbed out of last place!Don’t miss any Rail Talk content, especially as we approach Derby 151 with a chance to win it! We’ve eclipsed 20,000 subscribers on YouTube—thank you RT family!!—and if you haven’t hit that button yet, please do. You can also subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Audible. Major thanks to our sponsors Fasig-Tipton, Taylor Made, The Green Group and Epic Insurance for making this all possible.

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!