The news of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's decision to split his deep stable between two states is a dominant topic this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Co-hosts John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park discuss the news that Baffert will have a string of horses during the entire spring meet at Churchill Downs. It will have repercussions in California, where Santa Anita scrambles to fill cards three days a week without an auxiliary gambling source of added revenue. Readers' feedback about Baffert also is on this episode.

The Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds is one of Saturday's two win-and-you're-in qualifiers for Kentucky Derby 2026. Trainer Cherie DeVaux talks about her colt Golden Tempo, who carries 7-2 odds into the race.

Handicapper Mark Midland zeroes in on the Louisiana Derby card as well as Turfway Park, where Saturday's Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) also will send its winner to the Kentucky Derby.

Tom Rooney, the president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, gets into issues affecting the sport. The conversation took place last weekend at the National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas.

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.

From the National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas, past winners discuss present issues for the sport on the first live-ish episode since January of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

David Harrison, Mike Gillum and defending victor Dan Piazza, three of the last four NHC winners, gather in a roundtable to talk about the secrets to their successes. They also weigh tournaments against everyday play in racing and the impact of computer-assisted wagering on their handicapping.

Back at the track, trainer Will Walden discusses maiden winner High Camp, who tries to extend his one-turn acumen Saturday in the Virginia Derby, a virtual win-and-you're-in qualifying prep for Kentucky Derby 2026. Walden also discusses his conquering of substance abuse and how his stable has reached out to others who have had similar challenges.

Super Screener creator Mike Shutty has tips for Saturday races, including the Virginia Derby, the Grade 3 Whitmore Stakes at Oaklawn and the Captiva Island at Gulfstream Park.

John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson from Fairmount Park are along with their weekly host chat, including the latest developments in the bankruptcy story at Hawthorne, the rejection of north-state racing in California and the latest defeat of the decoupling of Thoroughbreds and slot machines in Florida.

There also is listener and reader feedback to the evergreen episodes of the podcast that ran in the last six weeks.

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.

Two media professionals who have chronicled their love of the Thoroughbred game are featured this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Tommy Smyth with a Y, who has been a longtime sports personality in New York, discusses his ongoing trips to tracks both in the U.S. and his native Ireland. Smyth voices his concerns about computer bettors and how they have impacted his playing. He also advocates for fixed-odds wagering to be lined up alongside pari-mutuels.

Alex Evers, one of racing's top photographers, talks about his frequent trips overseas to shoot races, especially in Hong Kong. He shares memories of stars like Romantic Warrior and Golden Sixty and how his close access to top horses might help him bet.

John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson from Fairmount Park are along with their weekly host chat.

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.

Andrew Beyer is the most important pioneer of analytics in horse racing. The legendary turf writer and the creator of Beyer Speed Figures is the featured guest this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Beyer talks about why he made the decision to take his closely guarded formulas and figures that gave him a player's advantage and sell them for public use. He also discusses how his speed figures are best used and perhaps misapplied in modern-day racing.

The conversation also turns to how his figures have changed over the years, how they have inspired more analytics and the impact of computer-assisted wager on the game today.

John Cherwa from the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park join in with their weekly host chat.

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.

They are as much a part of racing as the horses and the bettors. Buglers have been a track tradition for more than 140 years. Four of the best-known convene for an episode full of stories and laughs on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Retired New York Racing Association bugler Sam Grossman, Santa Anita's Jay Cohen, Kentucky's Steve Buttleman and former Arlington Park fixture Monica Benson compare notes about their craft, their other gigs and even some stories of betting on horses.

Their challenges of playing in bad weather and trying conditions are combined in this episode with the celebrities they have met and the odd interactions they have had with racegoers and connections behind the scenes.

Co-hosts John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park also offer their anecdotes.

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.

Former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson has been a horse owner and continues to be a racing ambassador. Terry West was a trail-blazing jockey who holds a seat on the Maryland Racing Commission. In celebration of Black History Month, both Johnson and West are featured this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Johnson talks about growing up in New Orleans and what he learned from his father on their weekend trips to Fair Grounds. He also discusses his role as an ambassador for the Breeders' Cup and racing's need for central leadership.

West recounts her lifelong love of horses and how she became a standout jumps rider who has continued to compete for more than a half-century. She also details the challenges she faced being one of the first Black women to compete in Thoroughbred races.

Both Johnson and West expound on the goal of greater minority participation in all phases of horse racing.

There also is a tribute to the late trainers King Leatherbury and John Shirreffs, both of whom died this week.

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.

Familiar names one day are gone the next. It long has been a reality of the ever-transient nature of media work. Four people who had memorable horse-racing chapters in their careers are reunited this week on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Former TV analysts Candice Hare, Joanne Jones, Rich Perloff and Jason Portuondo exchange stories of their days covering racing, including highlights they would put on their sizzle reels and those unintended moments in live reporting that turn into funny memories.

They also talk about where they are now and how they got there. Hare is a TV news reporter at WKYC in Cleveland, Jones started a family in Los Angeles and is returning to the sport, Perloff is also in Los Angeles and has returned to his theater roots, and Portuondo is a steward based in suburban Toronto.

Co-hosts John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park discuss the big sports events this month, including their predictions for Super Bowl LX.

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.

With a little more than three months before the run for the roses, a mock draft for Kentucky Derby 2026 brings together seven handicapping minds for this week's Ron Flatter Racing Pod.

Horse Racing Nation hard-core handicapper and fair-odds author Ed DeRosa will be joined by Chip Gehrke, the Doctor Derby curator of weekly division rankings who won last year's draft by picking Sovereignty in the second round.

Five others take part, including Churchill Downs analyst and Turfway Park host Kaitlin Benson, 2012 National Horseplayers Championship winner Michael Beychok, Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies author Richard Eng from Las Vegas, sports-gambling host and former NFL quarterback Shaun King and Fox Sports and New York Racing Association TV analyst Maggie Wolfendale-Morley.

The draft will last four rounds to determine who will be best positioned to have the winner among their four horses who could be in the May 3 running of the Derby. This episode was recorded Monday, before Ted Noffey came off the Triple Crown trail because of bone bruising.

A video version of the draft is available on the Horse Racing Nation YouTube page.

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