Rail Talk Episode 117: A Farewell to 2025

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green bring down the curtain on their 2025 season by discussing one of the hottest topics of the year—the future of Florida racing. Thoroughbred Racing Initiative releases a comprehensive feasibility study for a variety of future alternatives and Jon, co-founder of TRI, expounds on each option while giving his take on which he thinks would work the best. The boys also put a bow on the racing symposium in Arizona, where NYRA CEO David O’Rourke announced new restrictions on CAW betting. How meaningful are the changes, and will any other racing outfits follow their lead? Plus, more controversy around a card cancellation at Aqueduct, and Joe stumps one more time for Super Corredora for champion 2-year-old filly. We’re so grateful to our viewer/listener base for all of your support through 2025. It’s been an incredible year, thanks largely to you. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods. Special thanks to our all-star lineup of sponsors, Fasig-Tipton, The Green Group, Taylor Made, Epic Insurance and Arion Pedigrees for their partnership with us this year!

Rail Talk Episode 116: Zany Week

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green are back together, on the heels of the last major racing weekend of the year and an eventful racetrack symposium. The boys first touch on the breakout performance of Zany in the Demoiselle at Aqueduct—where does her dominant win put her in the 3-year-old filly discussion? They also react to the sudden closure of Hastings Park in Vancouver—what does the latest shuttered racetrack mean for the sport as alternate gaming revenue is threatened in other areas? CAW bettors continue to wreak havoc on regular horseplayers, and the answers coming from the supposed cops on the beat are not great. Plus, Joe and Jon analyze the Q3 fatality data from HISA, and welcome friend of the show Dan Tordjman to discuss his trip to the Japan Cup, what lessons can be drawn from the sport’s success in the Far East, how to capitalize on Griffin Johnson growing racing’s visibility among the youth and more.

Rail Talk Episode 115: Never a Dull Moment

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca is joined once again by guest co-host Nick Tammaro to react to a controversy-filled holiday week in the ever-messy world of horse racing. NYRA’s jockeys made headlines when walking out on Sunday’s card at Aqueduct after the first race, citing a variety of issues with management. As always, the engines of the game—owners and bettors—get the shaft. Joe and Nick discuss how we move forward from here, then they analyze the damning neglect charges levied against trainer Rudy Rodriguez by HISA, and the reflexive anti-HISA stance taken by so many, even when it comes to horse welfare, supposedly everyone’s top priority. Eventually, they get to the action on the racetrack, as Magnitude takes an exciting renewal of the Clark Handicap to highlight the last major stakes weekend of the year in Kentucky. They also look forward to the final Cigar Mile day card to be run at Aqueduct, before Belmont takes over the New York racing calendar full-time next year.

Rail Talk Episode 114: Talking Turkey with Everett Dobson

This week on Rail Talk! It’s almost Thanksgiving, and Joe Bianca and Jon Green are in the holiday spirit, looking forward to a great long weekend of racing and welcoming several special guests. First, Chairman of The Jockey Club Everett Dobson stops by for a state-of-the-industry discussion, covering the increased fan engagement among 20-somethings in 2025, the declining foal crop, how we manage the CAW issues, what TJC’s role should be, and more. Then, NYTHA board vice president Aron Yagoda joins the show to explain the impasse between NYRA and NYTHA about 2026 race dates before providing updates about the future of Belmont Park. The boys also touch on the near-tragedy at Evangeline Downs, as an ambulance driving the wrong way on the track nearly plows over a field of horses soon after they leave the gate. How did this something so ridiculous and dangerous happen, and where will the accountability come from?

Rail Talk Episode 113: Friends, Romans, Countrymen

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green are reunited and it feels so good, as they catch up after an eventful few weeks that included their respective trips to the Breeders’ Cup, Jon’s week in Kentucky and his resulting illness. Joe makes the Eclipse case for Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine Super Corredora, Jon gives his take on the ongoing vet scratch controversy, and the boys collectively appreciate the war horses of the Claiming Crown. They then welcome champion trainer Dale Romans, who talks about the motivation for his U.S. senate run in 2026, fixing America’s immigration system, how he plans to juggle training and campaigning, and what he hopes to accomplish for our industry if he wins.

Rail Talk Episode 112: Winners Win

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca is back from an unforgettable Breeders’ Cup, and is joined by guest co-host, Sam Houston racecaller and outstanding handicapper Nick Tammaro to break it all down from every angle. Forever Young takes a classic Classic, a monster upset in the Turf, and Joe tells us all about the best day of his racing life thus far, as Super Corredora takes the West Point Thoroughbreds team to the winner’s circle in the Juvenile Fillies. Joe and Nick are then joined by FanDuel TV’s excellent host/reporter Christina Blacker and get her reactions to all the scintillating racing action, plus her thoughts as a horsewoman on the controversy surrounding the unprecedented amount of vet scratches. The hosts then give their takes on that sensitive topic, the latest major CAW-affected odds plunge, and Joe’s got a bee in his bonnet about an otherwise stellar Breeders’ Cup experience.

Rail Talk Episode 111: Going for Gold in Breeders’ Cup XLII

This week on Rail Talk! The Breeders’ Cup is finally upon us, and Joe Bianca and Jon Green can barely contain their excitement. The boys take you into the mind of a participant in the World Championships, with West Point Thoroughbreds sending out Intricate Spirit, Super Corredora and Vahva and DJ Stable’s Nitrogen attempting to lock up an Eclipse Award. Joe and Jon then pore over a Classic for the ages, give some of their best longshot ideas for the weekend, and welcome Arion Pedigrees’ Andrew Stewart to tell you which international runners to lean into and which are worth betting against. They also celebrate a major viewership milestone for the show as Rail Talk has surpassed 5,000,000 total views on our YouTube channel! On that note, if you haven’t yet, please be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods! Thank you to our world-class lineup of sponsors Fasig-Tipton, Taylor Made, The Green Group, Epic Insurance and Arion Pedigrees! Best of luck this weekend and enjoy the Breeders’ Cup!

Rail Talk Episode 110: Del Mar Dreaming

This week on Rail Talk! Breeders’ Cup pre-entries are out, and Joe Bianca and Jon Green are here to guide you through the 200+ horses entered for a spectacular 42nd running of the World Championships at Del Mar. That list includes over 50 international entries, and a star-studded lineup for this year’s Classic, which stacks up with any renewal of the $7-million centerpiece. Joe and Jon react to it all, plus look forward to some of the ‘home team’ entries highlighted by Nitrogen in the Distaff. The boys also discuss another decline in the foal crop numbers, Santa Anita experimenting with races written by an Equibase rating system, Monmouth Park not paying its purse money yet, associate producer Julia Agresta’s fabulous wedding and more! 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! Thank you to our brilliant lineup of sponsors Fasig-Tipton, Taylor Made, The Green Group, Epic Insurance and Arion Pedigrees for their support!

Rail Talk Episode 109: Running Down a Dream

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green start to look forward to the Breeders’ Cup and share the perspectives of readying participants for the World Championships at Del Mar. That leads into a deeper conversation filled with gratitude about the ups and downs of competing to win races and being around special horses. They also bestow a new Rail Talk Citation after a historic win at Keeneland and look forward to their friend and star associate producer Julia Agresta’s wedding this Sunday! Joe and Jon then welcome Damon Thayer to give the industry a briefing on where the fight against decoupling in Florida stands. Thayer discusses the intense lobbying/fundraising effort necessary to stave off the demise of Gulfstream Park, how crucial Florida is to the racing and breeding ecosystem, potential alternative racing sites and much more. Don’t miss any Rail Talk content, as we approach two major viewership/subscriber milestones, be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods! Huge thanks to our sponsors Fasig-Tipton, The Green Group, Taylor Made and Epic Insurance for their support.

Rail Talk Episode 108: Forward Motion

This week on Rail Talk! The last round of major Breeders’ Cup preps is in the books, and Joe Bianca and Jon Green react to all of it: Nitrogen’s narrow second in the Spinster, a fitting win for Rhetorical in Keeneland’s Turf Mile, Ted Noffey’s continued dominance in the Breeders’ Futurity, Intricate Spirit punching his ticket to Del Mar for West Point and much more. The boys are then joined by legendary trainer Graham Motion for an illuminating discussion on HISA, Paco Lopez, the importance of speaking out in a Trump-heavy industry and much more. Joe and Jon also discuss the economic indicators through three quarters of 2025—what does it mean that total handle is down but handle per race day is up?

This week on Rail Talk! Joe Bianca and Jon Green give their takes on the major controversy surrounding jockey Paco Lopez’s six-month suspension by HISA: Does the punishment fit the crime? What effect should Paco’s extensive prior record of being unable to follow the rules have? What’s the significance of his fellow riders standing so uniformly behind him? The boys also react to the first of two huge Breeders’ Cup weekends and look forward to the second at Aqueduct and Keeneland, which provides two of the best days of racing in the sport. There’s also a ton of exciting action on tap for the home teams, with Ewing, Curtain Call and Nitrogen headlining a jam-packed weekend of high-profile runners trying to punch their BC tickets for West Point and DJ Stable. Don’t miss any Rail talk content! Be sure to join our ever-growing family by subscribing to the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible or wherever you get your pods. A million thanks to our sponsors Fasig-Tipton, Taylor Made, The Green Group and Epic Insurance for their support.

Murray Valene: October Member of the Month Spotlight

In this episode of TOBA Breakaway Rail Talk, Jon Green sits down with Murray Valene, TOBA’s October Member of the Month, whose Valene Farms operation has long been a force in Louisiana racing. Valene shares the story behind Smoken Wicked, his Louisiana-bred standout who clinched the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) at Saratoga this summer. From spotting him in sales prep to celebrating his success as a juvenile champion, Valene’s approach to horse selection and development comes through in every story. With roots in polo and a racing journey that traces back to the 1960s, Valene reflects on his family’s legacy, the strength of the Louisiana-bred program, and how patience, perseverance, and smart partnerships have defined his stable’s success on both local and national stages. Don’t miss TOBA’s Pedigree & Conformation Clinic on Monday, October 20 at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, held in conjunction with the Kentucky October Yearlings sale. Topics will cover everything from conformation and pedigree insights to auction strategy, nutrition, genetics, and more. Registration is open through October 16. TOBA members receive discounted pricing, and each attendee will get meals, materials, and a TOBA gift bag.