This week's edition of Straight Talk with Bren O'Brien and Tim Rowe delves into the rising costs of horse racing and its implications for owners and trainers, plus extensive interviews with international steward Fin Powrie and Inglis' Angus Robertson.

In an election most “mainlanders” perceive as about the building of a stadium and the future of an AFL team, the health of the Tasmanian racing industry is also on the agenda in Saturday’s election in Australia’s southernmost state.

In the space of one season, Bjorn Baker had gone from a bit-part player in Australia’s juvenile ranks to the leading two-year-old trainer in the country. The changing state of the two-year-old training ranks is front and centre in this week’s Run The Numbers.

In today's Rowe On Monday, Tim Rowe reveals how a conservative approach is paying rich dividends for a leading syndicator, examines what underpins the European bloodstock market, catches up with an Australian attending the JHRA Select Sale and reports on a Pierata winner in South Korea.