John Tapp Racing

Nov 18 2024 501 ep. 42 mins 65

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John Tapp interviews the people who make racing tick.

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Episode 501: Keith Ballard - 71 Year Old Jockey Bows Out On a Hometown Winner !

Nov 18 2024 53 mins

We had our podcast interview with Keith Ballard safely “in the can” before he reported for duty at Saturday’s Julia Creek Cup fixture at Mount Isa. It’s now history that the legendary jockey went out a winner on the final ride of his 55 year career. Keith was winless in the first four races, but turned it around in the last when he went straight to the lead on Metal Bar and

Episode 500: Ray Hadley OAM - Ratings Record Breaker and Ace Sports Caller Quits Radio

Nov 07 2024 76 mins

It was mid October when I invited Ray Hadley to be special guest on the occasion of our 500th podcast episode. Never once during the conversation did the legendary broadcaster so much as hint that he was contemplating calling time on his 2GB morning programme. We made arrangements to record the interview on the afternoon of Thursday November 5th. Like many of his listeners and coll

Episode 499: Lee Freedman

Nov 03 2024 78 mins

The story of the Freedman era is one of racing’s all time best - four enthusiastic young brothers who made an amazing journey from the family stud farm at Yass to the establishment of a Victorian based training powerhouse. Lee held sway as trainer with Anthony, Richard and Michael handling crucial roles in the background. Together they had an enormous impact on Australian racing

Episode 498: Frank Cleary

Oct 28 2024 47 mins

A hat trick of recent country wins by improving gelding My Last Hooray rekindled memories of Frank Cleary’s glory days in Australian racing. The popular trainer wound down his training operation following two health scares in 2020, and has been training only a handful of horses in recent times. He even hinted that he may walk away from a business that took him to racing’s bigge

Episode 497: Billy Owen

Oct 21 2024 42 mins

With the Sydney jockey’s room virtually a closed shop, other talented riders are obliged to carve themselves a niche in one of several strong NSW regional centres. With no shortage of race meetings, these jockeys are able to pursue a healthy livelihood, sneaking to town from time to time when an opportunity arises. One such jockey is Billy Owen who’s services are in regular dem

Episode 496: Lacey Morrison - A Queensland Jockey Of Many Talents.

Oct 14 2024 50 mins

I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Lacey Morrison but I’ve been long aware of her notable achievements. This resilient 40 year old has had a diversified career in the racing industry as a jockey, a trainer and a two year stint as a member of the Darling Downs steward’s panel. Lacey’s comeback from injury in 2021 has far exceeded her expectations. In the recently conclude

Episode 495: Darren Beadman

Oct 07 2024 64 mins

I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Darren Beadman many times but not so much in recent years. Spotted him at Graham McNeice’s recent funeral service, and it occurred to me that “Shadow” would have insisted I feature the former star jockey on this podcast. Darren’s a busy boy these days in his role as Race Day Operations Manager for Godolphin, with little time to spare.

Episode 494: James Orman

Sep 30 2024 45 mins

If pedigree has any bearing there was always a strong likelihood James Orman would become a jockey. His father Michael showed some talent in a very brief career before increasing weight terminated his aspirations. His mother Caroline Allardyce has been a trainer for forty years, and increased her team numbers when James became her stable apprentice in 2013. Young Orman’s emergenc

Episode 493: Josh Fleming - The Voice of Sky Racing in South East Queensland

Sep 23 2024 54 mins

I first met Josh Fleming when he visited the Sky Studios with family members in 2000. He was just 15 at the time, but already a professional race caller in Queensland. He’d debuted at Longreach a year earlier and had subsequently called the action at several far flung tracks. He was too young to take part in Sky’s first “young race caller scholarship” but landed a job in hi

Episode 492: Aaron Bullock

Sep 16 2024 53 mins

Aaron Bullock has emerged in the last five years as one of Australia’s most consistent jockeys. In the 2022/2023 season his astounding strike rate saw him win the national jockey’s title with 207.5 winners. He’s due to return to the saddle at the end of the month following a two month injury layoff. While he had a little spare time on his hands the father-to-be was happy to t