Will Cain Country - The Fastest Two Minutes In Sports: Breaking Down The Kentucky Derby (ft. Bonnie-Jill Laflin)

Episode Date: May 2, 2025

On this edition of The Will Cain Show’s Friday sports episode, Will is joined by the Founder of 'Hounds & Heroes,' Bonnie-Jill Laflin, who also happens to be a longtime attendee of the Kentucky Derby. Will and Bonnie-Jill break down if you should bet on the winners by trainer, jockey, or horse for the 'Greatest Two Minutes in Sports.'  Bonnie-Jill also shares why she loves the Derby and the grand atmosphere as well as some of the horses to root for with fascinating backstories.  Tell Will what you thought about this podcast by emailing [e-mail] Subscribe to The Will Cain Show on YouTube here: Watch The Will Cain Show! Follow Will on Twitter: @WillCain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trainer, jockey, horse. How do you bet the Kentucky Derby? It's the Will Cain Show streaming live at Fox News.com, Fox News YouTube channel and Fox News Facebook page every Monday through Thursday at 12 o'clock Eastern Time. This is a Canaan Sports. Special edition of the Will Cain Show every Friday that you get by subscribing at Apple or on Spotify. It is the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby. The most exciting two minutes in sports this weekend on Saturday. Bonnie Jill Laughlin, who visited with us at the Super Bowl, is very into the Kentucky Derby.

She is the first and only female NBA Scout. She has grown up around horses, as a ranch outside of Fort Worth. She has a rodeo flag, the Liberty Bells, features a female cowgirls who perform at rodeos. And she has us charity, hounds and heroes, which is going to support an event May 8 for the Will Kane Show. We're going to be streaming this show live from the KRLD showroom in Dallas, Texas. It's going to have a live studio audience, which you can attend.

You can be a part of by going to kRLD.com buying a ticket. And the money that you spend on that ticket is going to go to supporting hounds and heroes, which places. Dogs without a home with heroes, warriors, wounded veterans who need a friend. It's a great charity. I've gotten to know Bonnie a little bit and done some work before with hounds and heroes. I think it's a great charity for you to support. And by the way, it's a great opportunity for us to get together for you to meet me one-on-one. So go to karelde.com, buy that ticket.

There's about 50 to 80 seats in that range. come hang out with us on May 8th. But to get us ready for the Kentucky Derby, here is Bonnie Jill Laughlin. Bonnie Jill Laughlin is the founder of Hounds and Heroes, a national nonprofit. She's also the author of A League of Her Own, the first and only female NBA Scout.

She joins us now on the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby. Hey, how you doing? Hey, I'm good. Well, thanks for having me. You've got your hat on. you're all ready for the Derby. I am. Yes, today is the Kentucky Oaks, which is for the Phillies.

And so it always goes towards breast cancer, towards a nice day. So we all have our pink, all the ladies and the gentlemen. They wear their pink. And so I've got my pink and black and kind of looking like a pinup. That's the look I was going for. Because when you go to the Derby, when you go to the Oaks, it's all about the fashion.

Of course, it's the races and the horses. But the fashion is you always have to make sure that you come and you show your best. Now, you have a ranch in Texas, and I can't imagine that fashion is the only thing that appeals to you about Kentucky Derby. Before we get into the specifics of the 151st Kentucky Derby, why is it that you love it so much? What's your connection to the Kentucky Derby? Yeah, absolutely. This is my 25th, well, Kentucky Derby consecutively. So my daddy's own race horses before I was even born.

And so I grew up with horses. They've always been a part of my life. And the Kentucky Derby is just something that, you know, the greatest two minutes in sports, but it's just one of the best sporting events, and I love being a part of it. I love the pomp and circumstance of southern hospitality, and just everything goes along with it. But more importantly, I just love seeing the jocks and the horses and who's going to end up having those roses around their neck at the end of the race. Now, did you grow up around thoroughbreds, or was it quarter horses in Texas? Thoroughbreds.

You say you've always been around thoroughbreds your entire life. Thurbreads and quarter horses. Quarter horse for me when I was doing rodeo, but thoroughbreds for race horses, absolutely. that's incredible i don't think i've ever been around thoroughbreds a lot i've been around horses no i'm gonna get you one of my thoroughbreds that i we retired off the track his name storm fashion so well i'm gonna throw you on storm fashion let you go i would love to know because look i've been around quarter horses a lot in my life and quarter horse mixes of some kind just kind of around ranch and uh you know hunting packing i lived in montana and we had horses where we packed hunters

into the mountains, and we had draft horses. I was on a draft horse a lot. Those big, gigantic monsters. But, you know, I've never been around a thoroughbred. Like, and the implication I've always heard is just a level of, I don't know if it's wildness or energy. Is it that way? Is it just a little more of a roll of the dice when you get on a thoroughbred?

Yeah, absolutely. That's why they don't really like to, like my quarter horse, they know how to stop like on a dime. But a thoroughbred, if you ever watch a horse race, have to continue to run after the finish line because they have all that energy and they're still going. It's hard for them to stop. So it's like they have, they're athletes, like all the horses that compete, but these athletes, these thoroughbreds, they are just one of a kind. And the speed they have and the strength they have and they're just phenomenal animals. And it's really incredible

to be around them like I am. Let's talk about this running of the derby. I think I, like most people, haven't heard of most of these horses before the Kentucky Derby. I'll continue to hear about them through the Belmont and the Preakness, should we get somebody who threatens the triple crown? But I was looking at odds, and you have a couple of favorites this year. Journalism is three to one. Yeah, that's a morning. My favorite is five.

Yep, sovereignty is five to one, Sandman six to one, and Burnham Square, 12 to one. And you have a host of 20 to ones and 30 to ones. As you look at right now, and we're tuning in, and we haven't heard a lot of these horses, who do you like the best? Well, it's funny you say that because it's such a gamble. It's such a big field when you're betting on the derby, right?

So the favorite sometimes does not end up even, you know, getting on the board. So for me, I like to get a long shot, a favorite kind of mix it in my parlay and, you know, kind of wheel one of the horses that I like up top and then do a lot of exactives and stuff. But it's really tough. I mean, you look back, there's so many long shots. I mean, Giacomo, 61 end up winning. And, you know, there's so many great storylines. So a lot of people will love some of the storylines like Render Judgment, Toby Keith, who the late Toby Keith, I should say, who was a friend of mine, he has a horse and he always wanted a horse in the derby.

And his dream walk in stables, they, uh, it's pretty amazing that, you know, this one year after he's passed, that now his horse is in the derby and that's what he always wanted. So if you're looking at storylines, which sometimes people love and sometimes they actually do, uh, end up, um, cash in a ticket. That's one to look at. I think he's in the 15th hole. And another one is flying tomahawk, Jason Worth, who is outfielder, most notably for the Phillies and the gnats.

He has a horse, second time in the row consecutively, Will, that he's got a horse in the derby. So that's another kind of storyline as well. So there's great storylines, but journalism, you know, like I said, he's the morningline favorite. Another one to look at is Final Gambit. He's a mutter. He's great in the mud, and it could be raining, I think, at posttime it's going to be pouring rain. So you kind of look at some of these horses that are great mudders. And a lot of the horses, if you look at the farm, they broke their maiden while they were in the rain.

So that's something to look at as well. All right. Okay, so there's a couple of horses. I did, I looked up three things this morning. Funny, I looked up. Are you a better at, Will? Do you like to bet on the ponies? I don't, I don't bet a lot if I'm being honest, but I watch the derby every year.

But maybe I should this year put a pick in and we'll get your pick at the end of this. But here's another thing I did. You tell me if I'm wrong, but the jockey has a lot to do with this as well. Like, how good is the jockey? And so I looked up who the top jockeys in this derby. And here's what I came across. I want you to tell me who here you like or what this means to you. John Velazquez is on Grand or Grand Day.

I don't know how they're pronouncing it. And he's won the derby three times. Mike Smith has two derby wins, four second place at the derby. And he's on Rodriguez, but it's been scratched, I think. Yeah, Rodriguez has a sore foot, so he's not running. So Mike's not even going to be here. Okay. And let's see. Joel Rosario has won once. Flavian Pratt has won once. They're on Neo Echoes and Tistastic. But I was looking for jockeys who have done well before. And interestingly, they're not on the favorites. Right. And that's so funny exactly what you said. They're not on the favorites. So you never know. All those names that you mentioned, also a lot of them are Hall of Fame jockeys.

And so you do look at that because there is a different type of pace. And when you have the derby, you do like a jockey that's experienced. So I would say that you can look at the jocks and see like what you're doing. That's one way to handicap. But another way to handicap is just to look at how these horses have their workouts, their morning workouts, how they run. Like I said, in the mud, what hole, what position they're going to coming out of. So that's something as well that you look at. So there's so many factors of derby.

It's so hard to vet and find a winner. I mean, I've been, like I said, I've been betting on the derby forever. And I think I've cashed in a ticket will once or twice on the derby. I do bet on the open. Yeah. It's impossible because I'm also betting, you know, exactas, you know. So it's like I can't, I'm not just going for the winner. It's like, you know, I got to get first and second.

And, you know, so it's, it's tough. But it's fun. I think it makes it interesting. Even if you put a $2 bet in, it just makes it so much more exciting when you have, like, a horse in the race. More of the Will Cain Show, right after this. This is Jason Chaffetz from the Jason in the House podcast. Join me every Monday to dive deeper into the latest political headlines and chat with remarkable guests. Listen and follow now at Fox Newspodcast.com or wherever you download podcasts.

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our generous viewers have answered the call to action across all Fox platforms and have helped raise $6.5 million. Visit go.combe forward slash TX flood relief to support relief and rebuilding efforts. Welcome back to the Wilcane Show. All right, that there was a final third category that I looked at. And this is a casual thing, I think, notice and that's the trainer and you see a lot of the same names it feels like all the time the names you hear are de wayne lucas bob baffert todd pledger i even as a casual i see those names so

baffert has uh what is he's got the most derby wins in history which is six and two triple crowns he's got two triple crowns exactly yeah and so his horse this year is citizen bull i didn't see citizen bull's odds well here it is 20 to one and then Dwayne Lucas, four-time Derby winner, and he has American Promise, which is at 30 to 1. And then Todd Pletcher has won the Derby several times as well, and he has Grand. So I've got, now I've got Todd Pletcher with Grand. I've got John Velasquez on Grand. So now I'm starting to look at Grand, and it's 21 odds.

Right. And that's a good bet. So I like where you're going. By the way, I think it's Grande. There's an E on the end. Rhonda, yeah. I like that bet, actually, because you're actually handicapped and will. I'm impressed.

So I love how you're, like, looking at the jock, the trainer, because that's something you do want to look at as well, because you get those names, especially back for, you know, coming back after his suspension. So him being back as well, you always know that he's going to be up there on the board. So those are things that you should look at because you do have trainers that will always cash in a ticket. So that's important.

Everything you're saying is exactly how if you're a new better is to look at. to look at the horse, to look at the jock, to look at the trainer and the track conditions and everything else. But a lot of time, you've got like my friend here, Cheryl, who's her first derby, she'll just pick which horse is the prettiest, and she'll cash a ticket. And then I do all this research, all this handicap, tearing up my form, and she'll end up catching a ticket. So sometimes beginner's luck and just kind of having fun with the name, the colors, the color of the horse, they seem to do better than me handicapped in my butt off. Well, now that you've laid down all that credibility about your past winning so much, we're still going to have to ask you, what do you have? Who do you have, you know, who do you have placing top three?

What is your, where are you leaning right now? I do like journalism, even though he is the favorite because he just looks good. He does run good in the mud. I do like a final gambit, but he's a really good mudder. I think I'll probably do like a parley exact box there. And then I do, I am going to have to throw in. flying tomahawk. And I also like rendered judgment just because of the stories and I know both of them. So I'll probably wheel journalism maybe at the top. And if you wheel him, that means him on top and then the rest of the horses come in. But I'll do so many different bets. But I am going to do render judgment. I'm going to go with render because of storyline and because I feel like you got the guardian angel up above who's going to be hope to get that horse through the finish line. Now, where are you going to be tomorrow?

Are you going to be in Tom Brady's box? What are you going to do, Bonnie? How do you watch the Derby? We'll be in Millionaire's Row, and so we're there. And it's like I said, it's like everyone dressed atop of the nine. It's like crazy how everyone, you know, the men, the women, everyone just, it's such a fun atmosphere. You know, like I said, there's something about the Derby that's so different. It's on everyone's bucket list.

It's like the place to be, it's, you know, from the mint juleps to the fashion to the horses to, So it's just a great, great environment. That's why I come every year. And it's like a reunion. You see all the guys, all the Hall of Famers, you know, everyone shows up and everyone's just, you know, having a good time. So, Will, you need to come at some point if you haven't. I want to. I've never been.

I would like to go. Oh, you would love it. You would love it. Let's take a quick break. In just a moment, we'll be back on the Will Kane show. Hey, I'm Trey Gowdy host of the TradeGaddy podcast. I hope you will join me every Tuesday and Thursday as we navigate life together and hopefully find ourselves a little bit better on the other side.

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Just kidding. It's only a three-hour show. Listen live at noon Eastern or get the podcast. podcast at fox across america.com welcome back to the will cane show all right i mentioned it and you and i were together at the super bowl first and only female NBA scout um tell me one story from your day's scouting that you're like that player was guy i found or i love and even in retrospect is still my favorite player just give me something from your scouting days in the NBA I mean, just for so many, there were so many players that, you know, you were on the Lakers.

So Phil Jackson was our coach, and so he made every player, like, the best, he brought up the best of them. So, I mean, Jordan Farmer was one of my guys, and it was nice because he had come from being a local kid at Taftai and in L.A., and then UCLA, and then coming over. And Phil really likes really big guards, you know, so he wasn't sure about him, his basketball IQ, but he ended up, you know, fitting in great being our point guard, bringing up the ball. ball and you know got his world championship and so I was like that because he did so well and he stayed with the team for so long because there's so many guys that it was so hard to make the lakers you know team so some of them end up going to you know the G league or developing or getting traded away but Jordan Farmer he stayed there a while I saw this the other day Bonnie I saw okay best players by decade in NBA I'm going somewhere with this you know and it was

like Bill Russell, then it was Kareem, and then it was magic in the 80s, and then Jordan in the 90s, and then they had Kobe Bryant for the 2000 to 2010 period, and then they had LeBron for the 2010 to 2020 period. But it said for the 2020s, the best player of the decade is already established, and it is Nicole Yolkich. And what it stood out to me about that is, first of all, I think that's probably true. I think that is also secondarily not appreciated. Like people, even in real time, people don't understand how good he is. And then thirdly, what stands out to me is all the rest of them were expected to be good. Yokic was a second round pick. Everybody passed on him. And we're talking about a generational decade, one of the best

players to ever play in the game. Oh, yeah, absolutely. And he's one of the only to get the back-to-back MVP. And people just, I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's because the endorsement deals or, you know, being in Denver, it's a big market. But he, is, I mean, everything he does, he's not one-dimensional, he can do everything. And he's like that Magic Johnson. You can put him in any position, and he can play it and play it well. Not just the all-star caliber, but he makes his teammates better. He's just incredible. He's humble. I've met him several times. Humble guy, fun guy, but humble. He's not trying to claim himself as the king or, you know, whatever it may be. I have a lot of respect for him.

And I do, I love the players that are playing for the heart. And not because the money or because the fame or the endorsement deals, whatever, he actually plays because he loves the game of basketball, which is so important. And you don't see that much. I'll have to say that unfortunately. So I'm a huge fan. We continue to be a fan of his. And we'll obviously see him in the hall, you know, down the line. Okay. In less than a week, you and I are going to be together in Dallas. I have a live show for KRLD in Dallas with the studio audience. You're going to be with this as well. It's got about 50 to 80 tickets available for the audience to go and buy tickets. come hang out with us, go to kRLD.com, but your ticket purchase is going to support

Hounds and Heroes, which you, it's, it's your national nonprofit, and you founded it. And I'd love for you to tell us a little bit more so everybody understands what they're contributing to if they come see us at KRLD. Yes, well, so I found it in 2010, Hounds and Heroes, and I had done so many U.S.o tours, actually the U.S. tour with Toby, and I saw when the veterans and the, you know, the, active military that there wasn't a lot of resources through the VA to help these, so many of these women warriors, they dealt with so much. And so I wanted to be able to provide what I thought would help them through their PTSD, TBI, amputees. And so we were rescuing dogs. So there's so many

dogs that are euthanized in our shelters. So I said, you know, let me find a way to kind of combine both of this. And so we rescued dogs from the shelter. And then we pair them up with veterans, combat veterans, wounded warriors that are dealing with, like I said, PTSD, TBI, amputees. as service dogs and therapy dogs. And so you're saving essentially two lives with the suicide rate of veterans being so high. And then we've now created another initiative. So we have it hounds, heroes, and horses.

And so the horses that are on my ranch, we do equine therapy retreats. And so we do that for our wounded warriors, also children of fallen soldiers as well. And first responders. So we have them come to the ranch and be able to have them enjoy just being around the horses

because as we know, horses, dogs, animals just have a way to touch our soul and be able to change the lives our veterans. And so for me, that's my big mission. I love my career, but my mission is giving back to our veterans. That's awesome. And like I said, we'll be together next Thursday, May 8th. So we hope you come see us at carolty.com. Yes, thank you so much for having me be a part of that. And heroes. Absolutely. We're excited to. One day, one day in the not too distant future. I hope we're together a part of the Kentucky Derby as well. I've got to take it at some point. I've got to go to the Derby. I'm going to drag you here to come because I think you really

would enjoy it. It's a good time. All right. Bonnie Joe Laffin. Thank you so much. Bonnie Jill Laffin. Thank you so much for being with us. I always love talking to you. Thank you soon. And good luck at the Derby. Happy Derby. All right, you too. Bye-bye. There you go. I hope you enjoyed the Kentucky Derby this weekend. We'll see you again on Monday, live 12 o'clock Eastern time Fox News.com, Fox News, YouTube, Fox News, Facebook. I'll see you next time. Listen to ad-free

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