McPeek, Talamo, Davenport Guests on KY Racing Spotlight

Trainer Kenny McPeek, jockey Joe Talamo, and Bellarmine University men's basketball coach Scotty Davenport are this week's featured guests on Kentucky Racing Spotlight presented by the Kentucky HBPA. 

The radio program runs 6-7 p.m. ET on Fridays over Louisville's ESPN 680 AM/105.7 FM through March 4.

McPeek will discuss his Kentucky Derby prospects, including the exciting 2-for-2 Smile Happy , who in his second start captured Churchill Downs' Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) Nov. 27. Classic Causeway , the runner-up that day, captured last Saturday's Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) in Tampa, and White Abarrio  won Gulfstream Park's Holy Bull Stakes (G3) after finishing third in the Kentucky Jockey Club. Smile Happy makes his 3-year-old debut in a very tough edition of the Risen Star Feb. 19 at Fair Grounds. 

McPeek's Derby arsenal also includes Rattle N Roll , who in his last start captured the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland; Tiz the Bomb , second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) after winning turf stakes at Kentucky Downs and Keeneland; and Oaklawn's Smarty Jones Stakes winner Dash Attack .

Talamo, who won Ellis Park's 2020 riding title his first full year in Kentucky, is currently tied for second with Rafael Bejarano in the Turfway Park riding standings behind Gerardo Corrales. It is Talamo's first winter riding at Turfway, whose enhanced purses made it a viable option for the jockey to stay home in Kentucky with his young family. Talamo has won 2,210 races and more than $120 million in purses in a career that started in 2006. He was voted the Eclipse Award as North America's 2007 outstanding apprentice jockey during a season that saw Talamo relocate from his native Louisiana to Southern California. With California racing struggling, Talamo moved his family to Louisville in early 2020 to ride in Kentucky full-time while spending the prior two winters riding in Arkansas.

Davenport, an avid racing fan who grew up near Churchill Downs, is one of the most revered sports personalities in Louisville and an unabashed cheerleader for his native city. Known simply as "Scotty," Davenport coached Ballard High School to the 1988 boys' basketball state championship, served as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville to Hall of Famers Denny Crum and Rick Pitino, and guided Bellarmine to the 2011 NCAA Division II national title and three other final fours. Under Davenport's leadership, Bellarmine made a highly successful transition to NCAA Division I for the 2020-21 season.

Kentucky Racing Spotlight co-hosts Jennie Rees and Joe Clabes will ask Davenport how horse racing can create crossover fandom and what lessons can be drawn from how he took a Division 2 basketball program in a Division 1-focused city to grow Bellarmine's brand.

Kentucky Racing Spotlight airs on ESPN 680-AM/105.7 FM, the region's sports leader. The program also will be streamed live at espnlouisville.com, on the ESPN 680 app, and the TuneIn and iHeart apps. The replay will be available on espnlouisville.com under the podcasts tab. All shows also are archived at davisinnovation.com/kyracing.