As horse racing seemingly disappears from the public consciousness over the next 11 months, we wonder aloud about the 21st century realities of a sport that ruled a large part of Maryland sports in the 20th century. Leonard Raskin and Nestor discuss the future of the Preakness, Pimlico and whether Baltimore cares enough – or at all?

Nestor Aparicio and Leonard Raskin discuss the perception of American destinations, highlighting the common European view of America as encompassing New York, Disney World, and Las Vegas. They delve into the unique experiences of horse racing in Maryland, particularly at Laurel and Pimlico, noting the state’s $7 million annual support for the tracks. Leonard emphasizes the need for innovative facilities to attract younger generations and improve the overall experience. They also touch on the potential of TikTok influencers to revitalize interest in horse racing. The conversation concludes with a bet on how many people will discuss horse racing during Nestor’s trip to Las Vegas.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Ask at least 10 people you run into about their thoughts on the Preakness/Pimlico track and report back with their answers (capture whether they attended recently and general sentiment).
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Locate the three young TikTok creators (and their mother) met at Laurel, collect contact details, and arrange to have them appear on the show or be connected with media opportunities.
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Book and bring additional guests onto the program (follow up on previously mentioned contacts such as Donna Brothers, Dick Girardi, Randy Moss/insider connections).
• [ ] Convene a follow-up meeting next week to review responses about the track and confirm next steps (set day/time and agenda).

Maryland Crab Cake Tour and Travel Experiences

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the Maryland Crab Cake Tour, mentioning upcoming events in Catonsville and Las Vegas.
• Leonard Raskin shares his experiences in Italy, noting that many Europeans only know New York City, Disney World, and Las Vegas.
• Nestor and Leonard discuss the bucket list destinations in the U.S., including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Niagara Falls.
• Nestor talks about attending the Preakness in Laurel, Maryland, and the unique experience of horse racing there.

Horse Racing and Preakness Experiences

• Nestor and Leonard discuss the small crowd at the Preakness and the unique experience of attending horse races at Laurel.
• Leonard mentions the grandstands and dining facilities at Laurel, noting the lack of infield space.
• Nestor shares his experience of running into a friend at the Preakness and the general lack of interest in horse racing among the public.
• Leonard and Nestor discuss the financial support given to horse racing tracks like Laurel and Pimlico by the state.

Challenges and Opportunities for Horse Racing

• Nestor and Leonard discuss the state’s investment in Pimlico and the plans for a new multi-purpose facility.
• Leonard emphasizes the need for the state to build an amazing facility to attract horsemen and the public.
• Nestor shares his skepticism about the new Pimlico and the lack of multi-dimensional, multifunctional facilities.
• Leonard highlights the potential for community revitalization in the Park Heights area through the rebuild of Pimlico.

Public Interest and Future of Horse Racing

• Nestor expresses concern about the future of horse racing and the lack of public interest outside of major events like the Preakness.
• Leonard suggests that more people would talk about horse racing if it were a year-round activity like baseball or football.
• Nestor shares his experience of meeting young TikTok influencers who are passionate about horse racing and the potential for engaging the younger generation.
• Leonard emphasizes the importance of making horse racing a destination and attracting more people to the tracks.

Innovation and American Dream

• Nestor and Leonard discuss the innovative developments in Las Vegas, such as the Fremont Street Experience and the spheres.
• Leonard shares his thoughts on the American Dream and the importance of innovation and creativity in achieving success.
• Nestor reflects on his own journey in radio and the importance of dreaming big and making things happen.
• Leonard encourages people to live their lives to the fullest and experience the world, emphasizing that life is not a dress rehearsal.

Final Thoughts and Future Plans

• Nestor and Leonard discuss the importance of engaging with the public and getting their opinions on horse racing and other sports.
• Leonard challenges Nestor to ask at least 10 people about their thoughts on horse racing and the Preakness during his time in Las Vegas.
• Nestor shares his plans to attend the Maryland party and the potential for more innovative developments in Baltimore.
• Leonard emphasizes the importance of making horse racing a more accessible and engaging experience for the public.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Maryland Crab Cake Tour, Las Vegas, Disney World, Niagara Falls, Preakness, Laurel, horse racing, Pimlico, American Dream, TikTok, Keeneland, Saratoga, Maryland party, Steve Wynn, Baltimore.

SPEAKERS

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Leonard Raskin, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W N S T A M 1570 Towson Baltimore. We’re Baltimore Positive. We are positively bringing the Maryland Crab Cake Tour to Catonsville on Thursday. We’ll be at the Fishmonger’s Daughter, the newest location. It is now open by reservation. I was over actually at Beaumont having brunch before the Preakness on Saturday, so I will be doing Life is Great in 21228 I am in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the Maryland party. The Leonard Raskin is in Orlando doing the business that he does, that is the American dream. Tell you what, man, from Vegas to Disney World, we’ve got every European’s dream. All we got to do is get every city, and we have all of America covered, right, Vegas in New York City, and you’ve been to America, right?

Leonard Raskin  00:44

You know, it’s funny because when we were in Rome, well, all over Italy, when we were on the Italy trip, we had guides that were taking us to different places to see different things, and we would ask him, you know, have you ever been to the States? Oh, I’ve been to New York City, and the one guy, he said, ‘Oh, my wife and I, we would love to go to Disney World in Florida. It was just so funny. This is their view of America, New York, Florida to Disney, and you’re right, to Vegas. That’s it. It’s like, wait a minute, that’s not America. Well,

Nestor Aparicio  01:19

you know, when, when Neil saved Jen’s life, we had his bucket list, and we took him on his – he had San Francisco on his bucket list, believe me, he had Los Angeles, he had

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Leonard Raskin  01:29

Los

Nestor Aparicio  01:29

Angeles on his bucket list. Okay, but it was the big three, it was, it was right, and the other one, and this is for Asian people, is Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls is a big thing that you come from Asia to go to New York City, you will go to Niagara Falls. You will

Leonard Raskin  01:45

go,

Nestor Aparicio  01:45

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because Niagara Falls is like a wonder of the world, kind of. Absolutely,

Leonard Raskin  01:50

absolutely, you have to see.

Nestor Aparicio  01:52

Yeah, but like I’m in Vegas, and it’s 101 minute, and it’s 50 the next minute, and the wind’s blowing, and you know we’re watching baseball out here, where the horse racing thing. I went to Preakness on Saturday, and I was

Leonard Raskin  02:06

small crowd.

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Nestor Aparicio  02:08

Well, I was unique at the pool on Sunday in Las Vegas, because they were all like, ‘You went to Preakness, what was it like? What was Laurel like? And I’m like,

Leonard Raskin  02:17

‘Same as Laurel always

Nestor Aparicio  02:19

is. Have you ever been to Laurel?

Leonard Raskin  02:20

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Yes. Yes.

Nestor Aparicio  02:22

Oh, you have. Okay,

Leonard Raskin  02:23

absolutely.

Nestor Aparicio  02:24

I know a lot of people, a that don’t know anything about horse racing, people like you, right, that were like, I’ve never been to a Preakness, or I’ve only wanted one Preakness, and didn’t see a horse, and I drank be

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Leonard Raskin  02:35

right.

Leonard Raskin  02:36

Exactly,

Nestor Aparicio  02:37

there are horse racing people, and then there are not. There are not a whole lot of people that just went to the track once because somebody took them or whatever, but Laurel might as well be in Las Vegas.

Leonard Raskin  02:49

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Another world, another world.

Nestor Aparicio  02:51

I like, I don’t know very many people that like you went to Laurel, wow, Laurel, and I’m like, like it’s some fantasy,

Leonard Raskin  02:59

but they go to DC, they go to DC,

Nestor Aparicio  03:02

right?

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Leonard Raskin  03:04

Nobody stops there. It’s not a, it’s not a destination.

Nestor Aparicio  03:08

Well, either it’s on one.

Leonard Raskin  03:10

You gotta, you gotta get off, you gotta get off the road and drive a piece. But it’s lovely. It’s a great place. The grandstands, nice. The bedding windows are easy, and the problem is, you can’t have the infields they have. They said 4800 people is small. It’s really small. What I

Nestor Aparicio  03:28

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noticed in walking around was that a and my buddy Steve, who’s a big horse racing guy, I saw him. I saw him five times after we just kept running at each other, and we were only there, so I had to fly to Vegas, so

Leonard Raskin  03:42

right.

Nestor Aparicio  03:43

We’re walking around, and I got to talking to him, and he’s like, “Hey, he goes to the track a lot, he goes to Laurel, he’s a horse racing guy. Yeah, no more than a gambler. He’s not like a football gambler, he’s a horse racing guy, you know. So

Leonard Raskin  03:55

I got it. Yeah, got it.

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Nestor Aparicio  03:57

He said to me all of those years they gave the magma people, when I knew this intellectually, I’ve been on the radio a long time, I’ve talked about it, but I don’t talk about it with people like you, because you don’t like care about horse racing. I don’t know very many people who do, right, which is really that’s a dirty little secret, but you’ll love it. But can you read the form? Do you go out there three times a week? No, you don’t. Like, I don’t know many people that do,

Leonard Raskin  04:19

no, no, no, a couple of times, one or one or two a year,

Nestor Aparicio  04:22

right? And, like, I’m out at the OTB, I see people that are gambling, but the Laurel thing, when you go there and you helicopter in, and my wife has only been the Laurel three times, I’ve probably been to Laurel five times in my life, in my life, and three in the last 23 years of my marriage, it’s nice and you wonder, like, well, why is it nice, and why is Pimlico torn apart? Well, the state gave the magnet people $7 million a year, every year, like the Orioles and the Ravens got their 600 million from the stadium authority.

Leonard Raskin  04:57

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Yes, yes,

Nestor Aparicio  04:58

to do whatever. They wanted to do with it, and the Magna people,

Leonard Raskin  05:02

and they

Nestor Aparicio  05:03

weren’t trying to get the Breeders Cup, and in trying to get the Breeders Cup, they were trying to make Laurel, and there they were trying to move, there was a movement afoot to move

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Leonard Raskin  05:14

the Preakness,

Nestor Aparicio  05:15

the Preakness to

Leonard Raskin  05:16

absolutely,

Nestor Aparicio  05:17

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because it would involve DC, and DC would be able to embrace it, and the state could embrace it. Maybe they could drain the infield as a pond, dude. The infield,

Leonard Raskin  05:28

yes, yes,

Nestor Aparicio  05:29

has ducks and mallards and like it’s not a place for humans. No. So I went down there and just sniffed.

Leonard Raskin  05:37

Does you want to have a swimming party,

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Nestor Aparicio  05:40

and you’re a duck, yeah, exactly. I

Leonard Raskin  05:42

don’t think it’s deep, it’s not deep,

Nestor Aparicio  05:44

but the one thing you notice about hanging around Laurel is like they have all of these rooms that look like the Queen of England could come and sit in there, they’ve all been remodeled, they’ve all been, you know, they’re for eating and dining and fine dining, and

Leonard Raskin  05:59

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there’s also some tech rooms in there. I’ve been there for conferences.

Nestor Aparicio  06:02

Oh, okay. I didn’t know that.

Leonard Raskin  06:04

Oh, yeah, let’s go to Laurel for a conference. They hold 50 people, 30 people, hundreds. You’re

Nestor Aparicio  06:10

talking about in the big television room where they

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Leonard Raskin  06:13

have

Nestor Aparicio  06:13

that’s where the governor’s party was. You couldn’t get in there unless you were special into that part, but underneath it there is the clubhouse.

Leonard Raskin  06:23

Yes,

Nestor Aparicio  06:24

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it’s all glass, and it’s beautiful, except it’s missing one key ingredient, air conditioning.

Leonard Raskin  06:30

It is a

Nestor Aparicio  06:31

giant glass glass house, but it has fans.

Leonard Raskin  06:38

Yeah,

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Nestor Aparicio  06:38

so the reason that they couldn’t, as I’ve been explained, as it’s been explained to me. I’ve not had anybody from the track ever reached me, or Marilyn, these new people, the Sal Sinatra’s begat, the bill, not whatever these people are, never met them. They, I did get a press credential on Saturday, but, and I wondered why it was so empty. Leonard, you walked into the club, and it felt like Covid, because it looks like empty, and as it turns out, they couldn’t allow people in there because of breathing and 90 degrees, and how hot it would be, and how unsafe it would be to be in there, so even Laurel has this sort of weird half closed off thing going, I mean, I don’t know what they’re doing with horse racing, Leonard. I mean, you’ve admitted three times now that you’ve raised enough to go,

Leonard Raskin  07:29

yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  07:30

and

Leonard Raskin  07:31

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Black Eyed Susan Day,

Nestor Aparicio  07:32

they don’t even do their best to get you there, I guess, is my point,

Leonard Raskin  07:36

right? Right. Well, that’s the whole thing with, with Pimlico, now the rebuild is supposed to be magnificent. I haven’t really studied the plans, but it’s supposed to be amazing what they’re doing there. They weren’t going to move the track, now they have to move the track because the way they’re going to construct the grandstand, and they’re building a multi-purpose facility. It’s supposed to be amazing, and if indeed the state wants the horsemen locally to win. They’ll make that place, they’ll build an amazing facility. There’s no reason not to at this point. They’ve got the money, it’s dirt. They’ve literally knocked the place down. So, if you now look, if you go out and buy a house, let’s say you want to buy a beach house, you go buy the sand with a $10,000.40 year old home on there, and you knock it down. You better build the Taj Mahal, you know, you better build an amazing home on that property, or you’re an idiot. So let’s face it, the state has built two really beautiful stadiums, you know. Camden Yards is the envy of the league. They modeled how many other new stadiums after it, or close to it, but you got the warehouse, you got the beautiful sight lines. It’s an amazing facility. M and T is beautiful, easy access, great place, plenty of room inside to walk around. If they don’t build a track that’s fantastic, shame on them. It would be really a shame to not build a 2026 amazing facility there.

Nestor Aparicio  09:17

Yo, it’s interesting hearing me say this, because, like, you and I have not talked about this, but by the way, Leonard Raskin is here from Raskin Global. We’re talking post Preakness, and I’ll bring some more people on, and you know, I’ve had – I had Donna Brothers on last week, and I had Dick Girardi. I misconnected with Randy Moss, who’s an insider, and I could talk football with him too. But at the track on Saturday, I ran into five people I know, and they were all horse racing people. They were people that go to the track, and I quiz them in the hours I was there. I walked around the paddock, and my wife loves it, right? My wife loves looking at the horses,

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Leonard Raskin  09:53

amazing creatures, amazing creatures. I

Nestor Aparicio  09:55

can’t contain her when I’m there, she leaves me and walks towards the horses. And I had pictures of her just admiring the horses, because she loves horses, because she rode horses. She always says to me, “You never rode a horse, you’ve never been on a horse. I’m like, “I’m 57 now, I’m probably

Leonard Raskin  10:10

not starting,

Nestor Aparicio  10:10

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I’m not starting, I’m not getting on that creature. So

Leonard Raskin  10:15

they’re amazing.

Nestor Aparicio  10:16

Yeah, I would say this for every person that I spoke to, yes, loves racing. They believe that they believe in the new Pimlico, and they believe it’s a place that they’re going to want to go, because it’s like they have all said to me it’s going to be really nice, and I’m like, nobody even building it has said to me it’s going to be really nice. I don’t know whether it’s blind faith or where you’re like, hey, they’re gonna.. I’m not seeing multi.. I’ve

Leonard Raskin  10:45

seen play

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Nestor Aparicio  10:46

dimensional, multifunctional, you know, it’s still in a neighborhood that’s challenged. There’s no question about that. Well,

Leonard Raskin  10:52

one of the things, one of the things also that came with the rebuild was a package to renovate and upscale and help the Park Heights community, which would be outstanding. Look, you’ve been to the Pimlico. You went to the Pimlico back in the day, didn’t you?

Nestor Aparicio  11:10

The Pimlico Hotel

Leonard Raskin  11:12

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restaurant..

Nestor Aparicio  11:12

never the restaurant. No, no, no.

Leonard Raskin  11:15

It was one of the best. It’s one of the best. Gone, you know that that facility over there, across from on Northern Parkway, used to be the was it the fire department or the police department training facility, you know, garbage, it’s a garbage facility. They’ve moved to the University of Baltimore and are using part of the University of Baltimore to do training, because the facility there was so bad, because that area, it’s the old Pimlico High School, but the state and the track was given a certain amount of money to help the community there rebuild.

Nestor Aparicio  11:51

Well, I hope it actually happens, and I hope the people that are involved in it will come here and sit with me and tell me about it, and be as excited about it as maybe some of the people were Laurel the other day. I mean, listen, Leonard, you and I go at this every week, or try to, we talk ravens, you talk, or like, who comes up to me and talks to me about horse racing? Who comes up to me and talks to me about anything other than maybe Preakness Week? I hear it for a minute, right, but

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Leonard Raskin  12:20

like

Nestor Aparicio  12:21

at least

Leonard Raskin  12:21

got to be more when

Nestor Aparicio  12:23

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you

Leonard Raskin  12:23

got to be more for the horsemen to stay.

Nestor Aparicio  12:25

Well, you and I were kids, at least Vince Bagley read the results from the eighth and ninth race,

Leonard Raskin  12:30

right? Yeah,

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Nestor Aparicio  12:31

and at the newspaper when I worked at the newspaper 40 years ago, it began with there was a whole hey of horse racing, which you would put the entries in, and the picks, and the results, and then it became, well, we don’t really need to put all the entries in, or the long form, we can just put the name of the horse, the jockey, and the trainer, and then it became, it was about

Leonard Raskin  12:54

nobody cares, nobody cares,

Nestor Aparicio  12:57

and I’ll never forget this one night, we did not put the entries or the results in, in the late 80s. Mike Marlow, my boss, we didn’t put – he just cut them out. He just, like, said, “I’ll take the heat in the morning from the boss. I’m just not going to run them, and we didn’t run them, and there wasn’t one complaint.

Leonard Raskin  13:16

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Nobody cared,

Nestor Aparicio  13:18

and that was four years ago, and that’s where I’m telling you, like they’re telling me they’re going to rebuild this race. They tell me they’re going to move the race a week or two. They tell me the Triple Crown’s coming back. They’re telling me that horse racing is coming back. They’re telling me that Fox and ESPN are going to bid for it and take it away from NBC, and it’s going to be rebirthed and revived and rejuvenated and re everything. And you know what, I don’t believe it, and it’s not that in it, it’s not that I don’t get in it, right, that I won’t support it. I was at the freaking track on Saturday, like I’m not the guy, and I’m 57 I’m not young, so like anymore. I used to some days I feel younger than others, but

Leonard Raskin  13:57

they got to get to 20 somethings, they

Nestor Aparicio  13:59

got to figure out what they even are, and until they figure out what they are, I can’t say that. Well, the new Pub Luco is going to be a success based on what, based on the last 40 years, we’re the only day of the year they make money,

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Leonard Raskin  14:13

two days, right, one day, one day, right.

Nestor Aparicio  14:15

So I am concerned about them, and I am heartened that you and I actually are talking about it, because you and I don’t think we’ve ever talked about horse racing, other than I’m sure you’ve ever been to Preakness, and you’re like, “No, and I’m like, “Well, then we better not talk horse racing with Leonard, he’s probably not

Leonard Raskin  14:30

giving

Nestor Aparicio  14:30

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me the buyer’s speed number, you know what I mean? So,

Leonard Raskin  14:32

right, no, I love it, I think they’re amazing animals, I love watching the races, I think it’s fantastic, these two

Nestor Aparicio  14:42

coming off to twist your wife’s arm to go to the track, right? Like, she would go to see the horse, yeah, that would salute. She put a hat on, you wouldn’t, you know, Kathy, my wife’s the same way. If I say to my wife, ‘Hey, we’re going to go to the track, she’d be like, ‘Hey, I’ll put a hat on, it’ll be fun. I love the horse,

Leonard Raskin  14:56

yeah, yeah.

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Nestor Aparicio  14:57

It’s not a tough sell in that way. No,

Leonard Raskin  15:00

right. No, no. I mean, my hope is Preakness Kinlac goes back. Preakness is there. We go to the grandstand, watch the race, spend the day. We wouldn’t do the infield. We’re too old for

Leonard Raskin  15:12

that. I

Nestor Aparicio  15:12

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don’t know if there’s going to be a grandstand, Leonard. I don’t know.

Leonard Raskin  15:14

It’s got to be.

Nestor Aparicio  15:15

No, no, no. The way they’re building it, it’s going to be like a hill. It’s not going to look like a racetrack, from all of the designs I’ve seen. I

Leonard Raskin  15:25

don’t know,

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Nestor Aparicio  15:25

from the designs I’ve

Leonard Raskin  15:26

seen, you got to attract the money. Where’s your money going to be? Tense,

Nestor Aparicio  15:29

tents, tents, and temporaries. That you didn’t go to the BMW of here, right? The golf tournament, yeah? Right? I mean, they turned caves into a stadium, right? They, yeah, they have those, just they have those trailers that they bring in. Yep, Churchill did that for years to make money until they made it more permanent. Pimlico’s done that. The infield was a big scene of that with Under Armor when Kevin Plank did his brought in this giant outhouse, giant, you know, trailer with glass and seats, right? It shimmies a little bit, but they can put serving dishes and cold beer and whiskey sours in there. And

Leonard Raskin  16:09

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well, wait and see, wait and see. But my hope is to go and see it, and I hope that it, that it works, and I hope that they have some concerts there, and that people go there, and they’ve had a couple things, but they got to have more. They got to keep the track, and they got to keep the horsemen. It’s dwindling, and you’re right. I mean, they got to get 20 somethings, 30 somethings interested somehow.

Nestor Aparicio  16:30

Baseball’s trying to figure one day. I mean, you know, all of these sports are trying to figure it out where I kid, but the bananas have captured whatever vaccination, whatever

Leonard Raskin  16:42

that it is. Yes,

Nestor Aparicio  16:44

that maybe Michael Jordan once did in the NBA, or LeBron did, or Fernando Mania did in baseball. Did you see the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend? The kids were swinging their shirts. Google this,

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Leonard Raskin  16:57

I heard about it.

Nestor Aparicio  16:58

Yeah, the kids were swinging their shirts. The manager got in on it, and it wasn’t some corporate thing, right? Right down from the team president, right? Like, everything’s contrived about the Ravens and Orders on their social media. Yes, it’s all a plan. It’s all like a reality TV. This was something that, like, happened. A bunch of kids that played ball showed up there, took their shirts off, everybody started doing it, and

Leonard Raskin  17:21

there’s a.. there was a big thing from the government came out, right? Or from the team.

Nestor Aparicio  17:25

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The team invited them down into the locker room to meet the player.

Leonard Raskin  17:29

It’s okay, it’s okay to take your shirt off or something. I saw that.

Nestor Aparicio  17:33

Yeah, I don’t even know what it was, but whatever it is, that’s what they’re trying to do in the splash zone with the orals, right? Right, like the Ravens don’t feel like they need to do that. The Ravens feel like they need a center and they need a quarterback who’s an MVP, and they can win, and they don’t need to sell you tickets 81 times a year. And

Leonard Raskin  17:51

if they make the Super Bowl and win or lose, they got you for another couple years,

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Nestor Aparicio  17:55

or if they open up their horse track 200 times a year, run the horses around that they want you out there. Most of my gambling buddies say they don’t really care whether you come or not. They care that people are gambling on the races from Simlico from wherever in Dubai. It doesn’t matter

Leonard Raskin  18:10

from where, it doesn’t matter from where they didn’t handle

Nestor Aparicio  18:13

it’s just about the gambling, and I’m like, well, aren’t we getting there with baseball and football now? It doesn’t matter whether they play the game in Rio or they play it Wednesday afternoon in Pittsburgh, Australia, wherever it is, they can bet on it. We’re all making money on it, as long as it plays on TV, and we can bet on it if people care about it enough. But the horse racing thing for me, a couple of days after this shocker, Preakness and Laurel, and great Kentucky Derby, which was an amazing race, like

Leonard Raskin  18:41

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previous was a great race. Speaking of, forget all the rest, it was a great race.

Nestor Aparicio  18:46

But if we’re going to invest in this, I’d like to think that you’re not my only conversation of the week about the race, and you will be, and that’s kind of a shame. As I said,

Leonard Raskin  18:56

so let me ask you this. Let’s do this. You’re in Vegas, you’re at a Maryland event, right,

Nestor Aparicio  19:06

the Maryland party, and there are,

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Leonard Raskin  19:08

which is being held in Vegas, which is kind of odd, right,

Nestor Aparicio  19:12

at Steve Wynn’s hotel.

Leonard Raskin  19:13

It’s not, it’s not being held in Maryland, it’s not held at the Ocean City Convention Center.

Nestor Aparicio  19:17

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Well, that’s me, held in, happens in August, yes,

Leonard Raskin  19:20

right, but I’m just saying, so let me make a bet. Let’s make a bet, since we’re talking gambling. Let’s make a buck bet. I want you to bring up the track, the Preakness, the racing with at least 10 people you run into. How long are you out there? A couple days.

Nestor Aparicio  19:37

I’m still here, a day and a half. I big party tonight. Yes,

Leonard Raskin  19:41

a day and a half. Oh, so there you go. Talk to 10 people randomly, ask them their thoughts about Preakness, Pimlico, whatever. I bet you every one of them has an opinion, a thought, an idea that just doesn’t come up because it’s not a thing, except like you said, one or two days a year. That’s the problem, the Ravens are all year round, the NFL is all year round, horse racing is all year round in Kentucky, it is, there’s tracks, there’s breeders, there’s the whole thing there.

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Nestor Aparicio  20:14

Well, it’s like this car in Charlotte, it’s exactly, it’s like lacrosse in North Baltimore, right? It’s a year-round. Yes, yes.

Leonard Raskin  20:22

So I think people will talk to you about it. I think they’ll have interest in it. I think you’ll be surprised, but it’s not a thing if you don’t talk about it. It’s not an everyday, let’s talk about the track

Nestor Aparicio  20:33

you say interest in it. Nobody ever comes up to me and says, you see that jockey out at the track who’s the leading rider, or that King Leatherbury, that trainer, I mean, all the King Leatherburys, and the Dale Capuanos, and the names of all of these Nicky Zitos, and the people horses, my buddy Stan, my buddy Stan Salter, you know, his name was up, he’s, he calls the races in Delaware,

Leonard Raskin  20:56

8

yeah, yeah, yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  20:57

and his dad was a trainer, and their name was always on the, remember the old pamphlets in the 80s, they, when you go to the track, that they were like they were like church hymnals, they were little books that you look through and they had some ads in there, but they were the program at the track, and they were short program, they were racing form, they were like, which is a newspaper, so yes,

Leonard Raskin  21:16

so I worked my first real job that had a paycheck and a W-2 was for the.. we’ve talked about it, was for a farm store back in the day, and I remember very distinctly on our rack you had the Sun Paper, News American, whatever, whatever, and there you had the racing form,

Nestor Aparicio  21:35

because you had to pick up the form, because you’re going to the track tomorrow,

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Leonard Raskin  21:37

and there were people that came in, this was in Randlestown, every day, you knew who they were, fail, and got the racing form.

Nestor Aparicio  21:45

Gotta read them, you gotta read

Leonard Raskin  21:46

the form every day.

Nestor Aparicio  21:47

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So, when you show up tomorrow, you’re ready to bet the horses. Put your work in, put your work at length last. Well,

Leonard Raskin  21:55

now it’s an app, of course. I was in Keeneland when I went to Keeneland last year, it’s an app.

Nestor Aparicio  22:03

Listen to you, you went to Keeneland. How do I not know about that? I’ve never been to Keeneland.

Leonard Raskin  22:08

It’s beautiful.

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Nestor Aparicio  22:09

Keeneland’s beautiful.

Leonard Raskin  22:11

It’s magnificent. It is a magnificent facility, and people dress every day like it’s public, like it’s Preakness, like it’s the Derby. Beautiful facility. We went there. I was there for a business conference, and it was one of these nine to noon. They have the business conference at noon, the rest of the day you’re off. So, what we did was, we had a conference, nine to 11, and 100 people got in a bus, you know, charter bus, and 40 minutes, 2530 minutes later, we were Keeneland, and we met the ponies for the afternoon, had a big lunch, big dinner. After it was magnificent.

Nestor Aparicio  22:46

Yeah, my man Martin McGee has been trying for 40 years. I finally made it to Saratoga, you know. I went, I went to.. and so, so fascinatingly enough, and I’ll.. and then we can talk Orioles, Ravens, whatever. You, I don’t.. did you really want to talk about the Orioles, Leonard. Leonard Raskin’s here, he follows the American Dream. He’s Raskin Global. I showed up at the track with my wife, and we were only going to be there a couple hours, because I had to fly out to Vegas at 5o’clock on Saturday. So I was up in the air watching the race, believe it or not. So I show up at the track, we walk into this empty-ish clubhouse because of the breathing issue, and the, but it has no reactioning, whatever, and these three little whippersnappers come up to me, and I wanted to think they might have been 1213, because they were okay, they were kind of not post-puberty, they were not 16 or 17, right, but they weren’t eight or nine, but they were middle school kids, like, and they were all bow tied up, they had little hats on, they had those seersucker jackets, right,

Leonard Raskin  23:56

8

yeah, yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  23:56

and they had microphones and cameras, and they had little passes, they weren’t the media pass that I had. They looked immediately, hey, you got the real media pass, we got these, and they were the sweetest kids. They were three kids, funny, that’s funny. And so they were, so they, they, they wanted to interview me, and they had one of those little fuzzy mics that all the now, so they had the little fuzzy mic, and they interviewed me, and then I talked to them, and I said to them, What are you guys doing? And they’re like, Well, we came down from Saratoga, we haven’t, we have a TikTok channel. Okay.

Leonard Raskin  24:35

Oh my goodness,

Nestor Aparicio  24:36

I got their names, they were 12 and 13 years old,

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Leonard Raskin  24:38

that’s awesome.

Nestor Aparicio  24:39

And I said, Where are your parents, and they got like real coy, and you know, might have been in trouble, and they’re like, well, really, you know, my mom brought us down, my mom knows we have dreams of being a journalist and covering horse racing, so I met three boys who live in South. Whose dream is to cover it, is that racing?

Leonard Raskin  25:02

How great is that?

Nestor Aparicio  25:04

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So I get

Leonard Raskin  25:04

in touch with Bob Costas.

Nestor Aparicio  25:06

You know, I, well, I ran into Jason Newton from WBL, sure, who’s doing live hits. I said to Jason, you got to go find those three kids down there and bring it on, and they even said that this is the funniest part, and you’ll appreciate this, because you know I know you chased your kid around with Bandcamp, and I don’t know how much the band, you know, the mom I never met, the mom, the three boys got dropped off at the track by their mother, they’re like she’s back at the hotel, she drove us down, and I’m like, does your mom not like horse racing, and they’re like she doesn’t really care about horse racing, but she just knows we love

Leonard Raskin  25:44

it,

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Nestor Aparicio  25:45

isn’t that sweet? These kids, and I have

Leonard Raskin  25:51

got to get them on the radio,

Nestor Aparicio  25:52

gave me their card, Leonard,

Leonard Raskin  25:54

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you got to get them on the show,

Leonard Raskin  25:55

they had

Nestor Aparicio  25:56

a business card, dude.

Leonard Raskin  25:58

Guess what, if they got a following on Tick Tock, they are, they’re gonna be making money at 12 and 13,

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Nestor Aparicio  26:03

I think. They told me they had, like, 500 followers. They were really proud of their number, you know. They get their number

Leonard Raskin  26:09

until they get to 500,000 start paying them.

Nestor Aparicio  26:12

So, this is what I’m saying. You know what? What I said to people is, these are the people that the Maryland Jockey Club needs to meet, these kids in the mud, and make sure that they’re at next year’s Preakness. Absolutely, make sure you get them on the television programming, because you need young people

Leonard Raskin  26:29

8

and TikTok’s where they’re watching,

Nestor Aparicio  26:30

and you know why these kids, they told me this. You know why these kids love horse racing, and they had funny upstate New York accents. They had, like, a really, they had a really interesting little accent, and they said we sold water outside the track, made a lot of money. They said to me, we made a lot of money. There’s your, there’s your capitalism, Leonard Raskin, right there. They’re like, brother, we’re making a lot of money selling water outside the track in the summer during the meet. So, these kids are industrious. You mentioned selling newspapers to see these kids were hustlers, and they had fallen in love with horse racing because it’s in their town. It takes over Saratoga in the way that it takes over Keeneland. It does not take over Lincoln, it does not take over

Leonard Raskin  27:19

Pimlico,

Nestor Aparicio  27:20

Pimlico or Upper Park Heights, right? It just doesn’t, and

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Leonard Raskin  27:23

that’s what they have to get happening. They have to make that a destination when the season is the season, and they got to figure out how to do that. And hopefully they’re working on that. Hopefully they, they can find a way to do that. I think it’ll be great, and I think it’d be great, and those kids, you know, they’re.. I love it. Capitalism and profitability, and a passion, and you know, you hear all these people out there in our world, sadly, in our country, you know, worried that you can’t get ahead anymore, that you know America is not the place it used to be. I say, bull, you can get ahead doing anything, you can get ahead selling water at Saratoga, you can get ahead. There is no question that you just have a kind of a great idea, a better product or service than other people, and as Steve Jobs, when he came out with the first little was it not iPad, what was the little with the tunes on it, the iTunes,

Nestor Aparicio  28:31

iPod,

Leonard Raskin  28:33

iPod. Yes, thank you. The iPod was the first one lost it, and his thing was I’m not giving people what they want or need. I’m giving them what they didn’t even know they needed, and soon they won’t be able to do without 1000 songs in your pocket. And look at what Apple’s become. Amazon needed to send books to their house, go to bookstore, go to library. Amazon, AWS can’t live without it, can’t live without it. That’s what it’s about. And if these kids on TikTok find a following, come to Piblico, like you said, get people to come out. I don’t care what it takes.

Nestor Aparicio  29:17

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Well, I was heartened by that, running into these three young men, I will have them. I’ll find them and their mother. I’ll find the kid’s mother, right? But they made their way, so I don’t really want to talk about the Orioles with you. I mean, at this

Leonard Raskin  29:30

talk about baseball, so what?

Nestor Aparicio  29:33

I’m frustrated. People are frustrated. They’re in Tampa. Luke and I will reconvene later on the week. Tell me what you’re doing with the American Dream, and doing things like, you know, I’m out here seeing.. I had a great conversation with a couple of Bill Cole’s people. Bill Cole’s one of his employees, AJ, his wife is with us this time, Kobe, so we have to behave with the boys out here this time. So, you know, we’re out in the cabana, and she hasn’t really seen Vegas, like modern Vegas, and she’s been walking. And she’s like the amount of ingenuity, every room, every hallway, every piece of art, Steve Wynn has thought about that in the way that you mentioned Steve Jobs and these innovative people, but you know, you don’t have to go far to see innovative things or people to your point making products and doing things that make the American dream, but I come out here to Vegas, and every time I come, there’s something that you know. Is it? I was with Ryan Ripken at dinner on Sunday night, and he had never seen the Fremont Street Experience, and I was trying to explain to him, I’m like, 30 years ago, nobody had ever seen anything like the Fremont Street Experience, and think about how far I said, in your 30 years old, you wouldn’t even have any idea how Vegas always gets the first cool thing, like the spheres,

Leonard Raskin  30:48

the Eagles back there.

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Nestor Aparicio  30:50

No doubt, no doubt. Gwen Stefani was at the sphere this weekend. Yes.

Leonard Raskin  30:55

Okay, I’m thinking they’re supposed to be doing a sphere in Baltimore

Nestor Aparicio  31:00

at the National Harbor, National

Leonard Raskin  31:02

8

Harbor Sphere, National Harbor, right. Okay, and that’s a place that transformed itself, right? Was nothing.

Nestor Aparicio  31:08

Well, they get me down there to Bruno Mars, and you know, they’ll get me down there to see Sammy Hagar next month.

Leonard Raskin  31:13

Absolutely, but when the sphere’s there, they’ll, they’ll start drawing. Even, I

Nestor Aparicio  31:17

mean, I guess dreamers dream the dreams, right? That’s the..

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Leonard Raskin  31:20

they make it happen, that’s what it’s about.

Nestor Aparicio  31:22

I dream to do in a little AM radio station, talking sports, and you’re right here. You are 30

Leonard Raskin  31:26

years

Nestor Aparicio  31:27

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still pissing people, so you know,

Leonard Raskin  31:28

right? Amen. Well, as they say, if you don’t have enemies, you ain’t doing something right. That’s the way I look at it. So, let’s, let’s help people with their money, let’s help them do great things, save, grow, invest, and go to the Pimlico, go to the Orioles, go to the Ravens. Do what you want to do, make it happen. Go to these places, experience your life, because guess what, it ain’t a dress rehearsal. We ain’t got another one. So live every day, make it magnificent, and see the world. Inspire

Nestor Aparicio  31:56

me to have two drinks at the pool today at the Maryland party.

Leonard Raskin  32:00

10 people, at least 10 people, ask them about the track. Come to go horse racing, you’re gonna get eight out of 10 are going to talk about it and have a have a thought about it.

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Nestor Aparicio  32:10

And the eight out of 10, I want to ask them like I’ve asked you, when’s the last time you went to the track?

Leonard Raskin  32:15

Absolutely

Nestor Aparicio  32:16

right.

Leonard Raskin  32:16

8

Let’s convene next week. Let’s find out the answer.

Nestor Aparicio  32:19

I mean, I can, the Oriole things like that too. I talked to you about the Orioles, and say, yeah, do you go to the games now and watch them sometimes, you know? And they’ve made it harder to watch them, which is, you know, part of the issue too. Horse racing just doesn’t come to you, you know what I mean. You got to go find it, and I found it this weekend down at Laurel. Laurel’s lovely, you know, if you get a chance to go to Laurel, you’re not gonna have a bad experience at Laurel. Laurel’s kind of nice, you know, like in a way that I had forgotten that it was kind of nice. So not Camden Yards nice, but nice enough. Brady, but nice, nice the way I like it. Old school night, he is nice. He is Leonard Raskin. He is Raskin Global. He will do nice things with your American money and your American dream. Meanwhile, Luke is doing nice things. Yeah, with our WNSD tech services, all brought to you by Cole Roofing and Gordian Energy. If you’re on it, whatever the Orioles are doing. And by the way, the biggest conversation I’ve had at the pool out here is, who’s going to play center for Lamar? We’re going to try to get to the bottom of that as well. We are WNSD AM 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking, Baltimore positive.