Keeneland’s Track Announcer Kurt Becker / The New York Racing Association’s Director, Communications - Keith McCalmont / Thoroughbred Trainer Kelsey Danner

Ponies 24-7 The Radio Magazine

Ann and Larry are joined by Keeneland’s Track Announcer Kurt Becker, who talks about the Blue Grass Stakes and why it is an important race on the road to the Kentucky Derby. Kurt also talks about the field for today’s race and who he believes has the best chance of winning and talks about the history of the Blue Grass and where it all began, He also mentions some Canadian content that played an important part to the history of the Blue Grass. The New York Racing Association’s Director, Communications, Keith McCalmont who discusses the stakes filled card at Aqueduct, which includes the Wood Memorial, one of the final points races for this years Kentucky Derby. Keith also discusses the progress being made to the revamp of Belmont Park and the fact that this years Belmont Stakes will be run at Saratoga at a new distance and mentions the retirement of NYRA Track Announcer John Imbriale. Thoroughbred Trainer Kelsey Danner, who talks about racing a string of horses at Woodbine this year and the reasons behind adding a Canadian division to her stable. Kelsey also talks about the robust family background that contributed to her interest in Thoroughbred racing and mentions some of the top Trainers that she worked for and who have helped move along her career. In our feature, ‘In Case You Missed It’ A Look At The Way It Was In Horse Racing News, Larry talks about the Kentucky Derby contender and recent Florida Derby winner Fierceness and whether he will end up the pre-Derby favorite, and also the undefeated Japanese bred, Forever Young, whose win in the UAE Derby in Dubai ,qualified him to start in this years Kentucky Derby. In our new feature, ‘Road Trip,’ Larry talks about todays Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland Racecourse and the history behind the race itself and who he believes the race ‘goes through’ later today. He also provides his ‘Ponies Picks of the Day’ selections for several North American Racetracks today, later in the show.

Key Points:

• Kurt talks first about today’s card at Keeneland and the $1 Million Blue Grass Stakes, which is one of the last major points races for the Kentucky Derby and a race that will see Dornoch and Sierra Leone faceoff against one another again and whether these two horses have a rivalry of sorts. He also talks about a horse that may upset in the Blue Grass and mentions a race on the Keeneland undercard that he is looking forward to watching and gives a quick history of the Blue Grass and how the race eventually ended up at Keeneland. He also mentions about some Canadian content that helped contribute to the successful history of the Blue Grass and mentions whether it is possible that the winner of todays Blue Grass Stakes could possibly win the Kentucky Derby in May.

• Keith talks about the stakes filled card at Aqueduct today and the Wood Memorial and some of the contenders in this Kentucky Derby points race. He also discusses racing at Aqueduct this season and whether it has been a successful meet and talks in detail about the current build out taking place on the new Belmont Park facility. He also talks about the Belmont Stakes and the fact that it will be raced at Saratoga and at a new distance of ground and discusses about Track Announcer John Imbriale who announced his retirement this week. Keith mentions whether he still misses Woodbine where he worked for a long period of time and adds about what he believes are the major differences between NYRA racing and racing at Woodbine.

• Kelsey updates the listeners on how many horses she expects to have racing at Woodbine this year and why she thought that the time was right to have a string of horses stabled here. She also mentions whether she has any goals set for the 2024 season and discusses her family tree and how so many of the branches contain participants in horse racing. She also talks about some of the top trainers that she had an opportunity to work for during her career and whether any of them were close to being a mentor to her. She talks about two of her most successful horses and one that is racing over the weekend at Keeneland and discusses why having so many grass and Tapeta surface horses made sense for her to race at Woodbine this year.