Down The Stretch Podcast

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A colourful, entertaining and passionate weekly look at thoroughbred, standardbred and quarter horse racing in Ontario hosted by Peter Gross.

  1. 22 HR AGO

    Down the Stretch 328 for April 27, 2026

    Complete coverage of the Sovereign Awards including Rosie Day, Sid Attard, Santino DiPaola, Pietro Moran, Rafael Hernandez and Kevin Attard. Patrick Husbands tells us why he is retiring after 37 years and why he might un-retire. Sofia Vives is back riding at Woodbine and she delivered Mony Mony to victory in the first Stakes race of the year. Kentucky Derby #152 is upon us. Mike Smith has ridden in 28 of them and he tells us - he still gets chills. We talk with Smith about some of the greatest moments in his amazing career. The 6-year-old trotter, Ghostly Casper, cracked the $1,000,000 barrier. His favourite human, Sara Baillargeon tells us how special this horse is. And when an absolute sure thing broke stride at the start at Mohawk, how much did the other horses pay?

    30 min

  2. 18 APR

    Down the Stretch 327 for April 20, 2026

    We’re all over Opening Day at Woodbine with Jeff Bratt, Robert Geller, Rafael Hernandez, Romero Maragh, Jose Campos and Garnet Barnsdale.  Micah Husbands and Mike De Paulo combine for a win at Gulfstream.  Award winning writer Jennifer Morrison provides her pick of Horse of the Year for the upcoming Sovereign Awards. A landmark win for driver Bob McClure – he’s now cracked the $60 million barrier. Kazushi Kimura is putting up excellent numbers down south, but he got days at Keeneland and it’s kind of strange. And if you struggle to hit the daily double, bow down in awe at Ryan Willis who spearheaded a bet in the Meadowlands Pick-8 and was the only winner.

    30 min
  3. Down the Stretch for April 13, 2026

    12 APR

    Down the Stretch for April 13, 2026

    This week we have wins at Aqueduct by 2O24 Sovereign Award winning jockey Sahin Civaci. Rachel Halden had Kazushi Kimura aboard for a win at Keeneland for Chiefswood Stables. The Eclipse Award winning Pietro Moran is coming back to Woodbine and we know this because he told us from the Keeneland Jocks’ room. On Saturday, Moran was at Gulfstream to win a nice little handicap for Gail Cox. The latest inductees into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame were announced last week - harness driver Mike Saftic gets in and so does jockey Richard Dos Ramos. Making it even better for those two athletes - each of them has a Down The Stretch interview. Rideau Carleton is the latest Canadian racetrack to close its doors. We discuss the impact of that with race caller Melissa Keith and trainer Mandy Archer. And those wise enough to follow Garnet Barnsdale’s recommendations in the Mohawk Journal were nicely rewarded Friday night. I'm Peter Gross.

    31 min
  4. Down the Stretch for April 6, 2026

    5 APR

    Down the Stretch for April 6, 2026

    Jockey Pietro Moran made a good first impression at Keeneland. There were 3 Kentucky Derby preps – the Wood, the Blue Grass and the Santa Anita Derby. Trainer Kevin Attard handicaps his chances at a 2nd Sovereign Award and chats about the jockeys who have won for him this year at Gulfstream. Harness driver, Garrett Rooney was epic last week at Western Fair – he won with 5 consecutive drives. Pat Valenzuela is 63 and when he finished 1st in a race last week at Turf Paradise, it was his first win in over 9 years. And off we go to Las Vegas – well, by phone to gamble and eat by proxy through Garnet Barnsdale.

    29 min
  5. Down the Stretch for March 30, 2026

    29 MAR

    Down the Stretch for March 30, 2026

    Canadians winning at Gulfstream – Steve Owens, Pietro Moran and a bunch from Kevin Attard, including an 18-1 Stakes win. Kentucky Derby Preps from Florida, Arkansas, Dubai and Japan. The iconic Roger Attfield announced his retirement from training and he told us why as we delved into some of his great memories. Harness driver Mike Saftic talks about being a finalist for the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and admits, he probably would not have voted for himself. Hastings trainer Barbara Anderson-Heads has a lovely mare named Avana as a Sovereign Award finalist. She admits that Avana is a longshot and shares the sadness of many about the demise of racing at Hastings. We have the 10 lucky owners who have won slots to the Mohawk Million and sketch comedian/announcer Evan Loucks gave us a smile inducing race call.

    32 min
  6. Down the Stretch for March 23, 2026

    22 MAR

    Down the Stretch for March 23, 2026

    Pietro Moran continues to sizzle in Hallandale. Trainers Kevin Attard, Steve Owens and Marty Drexler were winning at Gulfstream. Melanie Giddings scored at Aqueduct. There were two Kentucky Derby Preps - the Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway and the Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds each offered 100 points to the winner. No one wins more races than Bruno Schickedanz, but he tells Down The Stretch he does not believe he’s favoured to win the Sovereign as Canada’s Outstanding Owner, Bruno has a horse named Hunt Master who did something in two consecutive races we have never seen before. What we have seen before is James Macdonald winning in big numbers at Mohawk. MacDonald talks about how he and his fellow horsemen raised money last weekend for the family of driver Hunter Myers. Another harness driver, J.R. Plante found the winners circle for the 3000th time and tells us now that he’s getting more comfortable at Mohawk, his passion for driving has been reignited.

    30 min
  7. Down the Stretch for March 16, 2026

    15 MAR

    Down the Stretch for March 16, 2026

    Jockey Pietro Moran, who recently won the Eclipse Award as top apprentice in North America went nuts last week at Gulfstream – 9 rides and 5 wins...other Canadians winning in the U.S. - Marty Drexler, Devon Gittens Randy Exelby and Kevin Attard scoring at Gulfstream, and owner Bruno Schickedanz won at Aqueduct and Oaklawn on the same day. The one Kentucky Derby prep was the $500,000 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs. We‘ve got last week’s Women’s Day race at Mohawk, which was won by Julie Walker. We already know who will win the Sovereign trophy as Groom of the Year in Canada - we’ve got a few minutes on the phone with the delightful Rose Day. It was just an $18,000 pace at Mohawk but that win by Ten Carat Garret had a huge emotional impact. Jim Whelan tells us what it meant to win with a horse named after his late son. And Ismael Mosqueira is a versatile jockey. He wins on thoroughbreds, he wins on quarter horses and recently he won at the Quarter Horse awards. Mosqueira was asked to decide what meant more - the award for his riding or the award for his favourite filly.

    29 min
  8. Down the Stretch for March 9, 2026

    8 MAR

    Down the Stretch for March 9, 2026

    Canadians winning in the U.S. this week include Melanie Giddings and Marty Drexler at Gulfstream, John Bianco doubling down at Aqueduct and the team of Julie Mathes and Bruno Schickedanz scoring at Charles Town. We’ve got Kentucky Derby preps at Tampa Bay and Santa Anita with 50 Derby points to the winners. Woodbine and the NYRA have forged the Empire Trillium series and Woodbine’s Tim Lawson reveals how lucrative this will be for local horse people. Amy MacDonald will be driving in her first parimutuel race in the International Womens’ Day race at Mohawk and she tells Down The Stretch what her strategy will be from post 10. New Jersey saluted the ladies by having Rideau Carlton’s Melissa Keith call the entire Saturday night card at the Meadowlands. And Romero Maragh tells Down The Stretch why he’s bringing his tack to Canada.

    30 min
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A colourful, entertaining and passionate weekly look at thoroughbred, standardbred and quarter horse racing in Ontario hosted by Peter Gross.

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