Brook Smith of Rocket Ship Racing / Woodbine Entertainment’s, Director, Communications Jamie Dykstra / The University of Guelph’s Peter Physick-Sheard

Ann and Larry talk with Brook Smith of Rocket Ship Racing, who discusses some of his horses that are racing over the next week, including a horse by the name of Blue Devil who is expected to run in the Clark Handicap next Friday at Churchill Downs. Brook also mentions why he is such a dedicated supporter of Thoroughbred racing on both sides of the Border and how he ventured into Woodbine as an owner for the first time this past year. He also outlines his Bourbon business located in Kentucky and how he became part of this ‘spirits’ industry.  Woodbine Entertainment’s, Director, Communications Jamie Dykstra who discusses his time at the Canadian Football League, before being hired by Woodbine and with this being Grey Cup weekend, are there any similarities between promoting a football event, or a horse race like the King’s Plate and whether there has already been a reach out to Buckingham Palace for next years race. Jamie also discusses whether preparations have already started for next years King’s Plate and talks about an old initiative that Woodbine is trying to revitalize to support the local neighbourhood. The University of Guelph’s Peter Physick-Sheard, who discusses this week’s ‘Equine Industry Symposium’, which is an online event and held over three consecutive evenings. Peter also outlines the itinerary of the Symposium that has a theme of ‘Stable Solutions’ and discusses what he believes is the state of the horse racing industry and what he hopes that people participating will take away from the Symposium when it wraps up late next week. In our feature, ‘In Case You Missed It’ A Look At The Way It Was In Horse Racing News, Larry discusses a recent accident that Woodbine Jockey Emma Jayne Wilson is currently recuperating from and talks about the 2022 Kentucky Derby winner Real Strike, who was pulled out of a horse auction this past Thursday. Larry also provides his ‘Ponies Picks of the Day’ selections for several North American Racetracks. 

 Key Points:

 

Brook discusses the upcoming American Thanksgiving weekend, and particularly a stakes race at Churchill Downs next Friday, the Clark Handicap and a horse by the name of Blue Devil that is owned by his Rocket Ship Racing, that he is hoping to enter in the event. Brook also discusses why he is such a dedicated supporter of Thoroughbred racing in Canada and the United States and how he ended up setting up a Rocket Ship Racing Canada division at Woodbine. He also talks about how he became so heavily involved in the bourbon business in Kentucky and the bourbon lifestyle business and discusses why he originally became so interested in Thoroughbred horse racing and what motivates him to stay so heavily involved in the racing industry today.
 
 Jamie discusses how he originally worked for the Canadian Football League and now being at Woodbine, what it is like to work on two iconic events during his career, the Grey Cup and the Kong’s Plate. Jamie also talks about whether there are any similarities when promoting the Grey Cup, or the King’s Plate and mentions whether plans have already begun for next years King’s Plate. Jamie also talks about whether there has been a reach out to Buckingham Palace for next year and talks about plans to revitalize the community garden on some property at Woodbine, which provided home grown food for local food banks, but was forced to shut down because of Covid. Jamie also talks about whether there has been an upsurge in wagering since the agreement between Woodbine and bet365 and mentions a couple of other races this year that could be considered ‘highlight reel’, like the King’s Plate. 
 
 Peter discusses the upcoming Equine Industry Symposium this week and to whom he believes this initiative is directed. He also talks about how the Symposium will be held over three evenings online and how interested people can register and talks about in his opinion, what is the state of the horse industry. Peter also discusses the goals the University would like to achieve through this weeks Symposium and, what is one of the key issues that continue to plague the horse industry. Peter also talks about what he believes is the main problem facing the equine industry now and why it continues to remain a significant issue.