A voice for all ages – how John Tapp became a podcast pioneer in Australian racing

It’s been more than two decades since the term “podcast” was coined. To use racing parlance, the thoroughbred industry walked out of the barriers to embrace the medium.

To be fair, in its infancy, the new kid on the media landscape block was mostly populated by technical geeks and hobbyists.

Racing wasn’t alone despite a podcast platform creating an opportunity for a creative playground with a low barrier to entry.

A decade ago, there was a seismic shift in podcasting’s growth, and major platforms like Spotify, Apple and Google began investing heavily as advertising technology improved.

Suddenly, creators were able to earn substantial revenue and major media companies and celebrities entered the space.

Ironically, in racing, there is an octogenarian, albeit a household name in the sport, who is showing the way.

As podcasting became central to how we consume news and entertainment, a platform dedicated to the Australian racing industry launched.

It is delivered by a personality most of us grew up watching and listening to during an era when radio and television ruled the airwaves.

As an operator of an independent media outlet, John Tapp is one of Australian racing’s original podcasters, and he is still going strong at the age of 83.

After a lifetime on radio and television, Tapp’s storytelling has flowed seamlessly into another era.

And others have followed in the Australian market to the point that, by our reckoning, there are at least 56 podcasts dedicated to Australian racing, including our own Straight Talk.

Many are affiliated with legacy media companies and wagering platforms, but a growing number of independent voices have captured audiences.

But Tapp brings all the gravitas that anyone needs to the latest iteration of a media career that has earned Hall of Fame recognition and an OAM.

The former racecaller’s venture into podcasting was born out of a plea for domestic harmony after his retirement as the host of Sky Racing’s harness racing show In The Gig in 2015 and a later decision to stop training pacers.

It is best to let one of the most recognisable voices tell the story in his own inimitable style that made him a household name in the Australian media.

“I felt it was time for me to pension myself off and start doing other things in life … I was almost 74 years old at that time, and I’d been hammering away for 50 years,” Tapp tells The Straight.

“And I thought, I will just slip quietly into retirement mode, and I’ll do all the things that retired people do.”

“Mate, I reckon it was about three weeks later, and I was walking the box – as they say in racing.”

“This was 18 months after I’d finished in media … all of a sudden, I just didn’t have enough to do. I got very unsettled. 

“And one day at home, my daughter, Rebecca, followed me into my office. I’ll never forget this. She said, ‘sit down, I want to talk to you’. She said, ‘now listen, you are driving my mother (Ann) crazy’. They were her exact words. 

“And she said, ‘Dad, you’ve got to do something’. She said, ‘you’ve been going a million miles an hour for 50 years. You can’t just come to a dead stop. That is ridiculous’.” 

Ignoring her father’s reluctance to embrace a digital publishing age, Rebecca designed a website – “she’s very good at that” – and, with more than a prod, pointed the broadcasting legend into the world of social media.

“Rebecca said if I didn’t do that, the website is doomed. So she talked me into it. And lo and behold, that’s what happened.”

Seven-and-a-half years later, the eponymously named johntapp.racing website is home to more than 560 podcast episodes, making Tapp Australia’s longest-running and prolific broadcaster in the racing space available on outlets such as Spotify.

Each week, Tapp finds an interview subject – from a trip down memory lane to a chat with a current leading industry figure.

“People love to reminisce. I find in the world of sport, the two genres that love to preserve their history are racing and cricket,” Tapp says.

It is a professional production compiled and edited by his son-in-law Ash Maklad, an audio engineer who is the founder of Supernova Tribe.

“Ash has his own studio at home and he lives not all that far from me. Works in perfectly,” Tapp says.

“So I go to his place, use his little studio, which is top quality, and he tidies them up and gets them ready to be posted.

“A website has got to look alive, it’s got to look lived in, and it’s got to look cared for. And for that reason, you’ve got to have something fresh every week, hopefully, for people to look forward to, particularly the podcast.

“And it’s a funny thing. There must be a demographic of people out there who don’t care who it is as long as it’s new.”

While Tapp can trade on racing history and nostalgia better than most, most Australian racing-centric podcasts on Spotify and Apple are wagering-focused.

Previews, analysis and betting strategies populate the racing category. A tip for the races is only a download away, and you are set for the weekend.

There is also a selection devoted to the breeding and bloodstock sectors of the industry, such as the Federation of Bloodstock Agents Australia’s The Shortlist, but episodes can be infrequent and dependent on the time of the racing season.

But if wagering is your thing, outlets such as Little Birdie/Bet Doctor, Wolfden, and Racing Rant have built loyal followings by providing a hub for like-minded punters to connect in an online community. Some are funded by advertising, others via subscription.

As for popularity, determining how many listeners or downloads niche Australian racing podcasts attract is almost impossible.

The only official metric system in Australia is the Australian Podcast Ranker, but its coverage is restricted to the top 300 podcasts overall and racing finds it hard to figure.

Small independent productions usually don’t opt into measurement, making it hard to quantify audience numbers and the resulting value to potential advertisers.

On a global scale, American Jason Beem has parlayed a career as a racecaller into one of the most listened-to podcasts dedicated to the thoroughbred industry on the planet.

The Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast is produced four days a week, Monday to Thursday, and attracts between 15,000 and 50,000 listeners and downloads.

Launched in 2018, Beem has recorded almost 1500 episodes, combining a passion for horse racing with information, special guests and an often humorous take on the industry.

The Final Furlong Podcast is a UK-based horse racing show created and hosted by Emmet Kennedy, with regular contributions from jockey Denis O’Regan and various industry guests.

The podcast focuses on English and Irish horse racing analysis, betting previews, interviews with trainers and jockeys, and topical industry discussion.

It jostles for market share in the UK with The Nick Luck Daily Podcast.

British racing broadcaster and pundit Nick Luck takes a broader, global approach to racing, offering daily episodes that typically run 40 to 50 minutes.

As for Tapp, he is happy to drive his offerings towards his strength – the Australian industry and the characters who shape it, and he admits he doesn’t know what the future holds.

“I wish I could put a time frame on for you. But, mate, I’m terrified of doing nothing again,” he says.

The racing legend has no plans to slow down as long as his health allows.

“So I guess the answer to the question is as long as my health holds out.”

And as long as he keeps going, Tapp’s voice will remain a bridge between racing’s past and its ever-evolving present.

For Australian racing, John Tapp’s voice in the digital world is more than a nostalgic nod. It’s become a blueprint for the future.