# Javier Castellano, Hall of Fame Jockey / Tara Neigel, Thoroughbred Trainer / Garnet Barnsdale, Standardbred Handicapper

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ponies-24-7-the-radio-magazine-7078697/javier-castellano-hall-of-fame-jockey-tara-neigel-thoroughbred-trainer-garnet-barnsdale-standardbred-handicapper
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ponies-24-7-the-radio-magazine-7078697/javier-castellano-hall-of-fame-jockey-tara-neigel-thoroughbred-trainer-garnet-barnsdale-standardbred-handicapper.md
Podcast: [Ponies 24/7 The Radio Magazine](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ponies-24-7-the-radio-magazine-7078697)
Published: 2026-03-13T18:55:13+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/84fc7bb6
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/84fc7bb6/3c8759d3.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ponies-24-7-the-radio-magazine-7078697/episodes/javier-castellano-hall-of-fame-jockey-tara-neigel-thoroughbred-trainer-garnet-barnsdale-standardbred-handicapper
Duration seconds: 3648

## Resource

Today, Larry goes one-on-one with Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, who returns to Ponies 24-7 following a major victory in the Grade three Tampa Bay Derby aboard The Puma, firmly placing the three-year-old on the Kentucky Derby trail toward the first Saturday in May. Castellano, one of the most accomplished riders of his generation, has recorded more than five thousand nine hundred career wins and purse earnings exceeding four hundred sixteen million dollars. A four-time Eclipse Award winner as North America’s outstanding jockey from two thousand thirteen through two thousand sixteen, Javier also captured the two thousand twenty-three Kentucky Derby aboard Mage, trained by Gustavo Delgado Sr. In the interview, Castellano reflects on The Puma’s impressive Derby prep performance, discusses the similarities between The Puma and Mage, and considers whether the colt could emerge as a legitimate Kentucky Derby contender. He also talks about his journey from Venezuela to the top of the North American riding ranks, mentors who helped shape his career, his involvement with the Jockeys’ Guild, and the races that remain on his personal bucket list. Also today, Thoroughbred trainer Tara Neigel joins the program for the first time as she prepares for a new chapter in her training career at Woodbine. Neigel recently relocated from Vancouver following the closure of Hastings Racecourse, ending more than a century of Thoroughbred racing history in British Columbia. She discusses the difficult decision to leave the Hastings circuit, the impact the closure has had on horsepeople across the region, and why Woodbine became the next destination for her stable. Tara also talks about spending the winter months at Gulfstream Park preparing her horses for the upcoming Woodbine meet, outl…

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