The first race carrying points toward qualifying for Kentucky Derby 2026 arrives this weekend, and it is the focus of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

TV analyst Kaitlin Free offers a preview of Saturday’s Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs and the context it has not only for next year’s Triple Crown series but the final four months of the 2025 racing season.

Eddie Kenneally trains Comport, the morning-line favorite for the Iroquois. He is at the Keeneland September yearling sale, which is where he identified the colt around this time last year.

Handicapper Ed DeRosa has tips for the Iroquois as well as Saturday’s Pocahontas (G3), the first points race for the Kentucky Oaks (G1), and the Woodbine Mile (G1). 

Co-hosts John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park join in the reading of feedback from listeners and readers.

The Ron Flatter Racing Pod via Horse Racing Nation is available via free subscription from Apple, Firefox, iHeart and Spotify as well as HorseRacingNation.com.