http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/how-super-trainers-have-come-to-dominate-the-sport/
Good read. And what you, er, young people should not overlook is that, as Bill
Finley said, all NYRA trainers were limited to 40 stalls. No extended training
season at Oklahoma.
The 40 stall limit (I do not know when NYRA did away with this) makes Woody
Stephens\' five consecutive wins in the Belmont Stakes even more astounding.
I agree on a good read. I disagree on Bullit Bob being classified as a Super Trainer as the story is told. His $ per start is generally higher than anyone’s because he has so few starters, also usually on the same circuit. I consider him the best and so do his who’s who list of clients. While he sends a few to NY or CD rarely and never a string, he is exclusive to SoCal and can see the horses daily if needed where the other “ Super Trainers†are more scattered. Looking at money one ore money per start he has so few runners compared to any other leaders. I’m sure it’s by design and spending the bulk of your year in Arcadia with a few months in Delmar is no deterrent. As far as the 40 stalls, I don’t remember exactly, but someone might, didn’t the kind horseloving all around charming Buddy Jacobsen bring in a carpenter to split his stalls. Maybe Hollywood Park, not sure.
Good article. I mentioned this in a post about Randi Persaud of all people, back in April. I promise you the biggest complaint in NY right now is not Jason Servis and his ridiculous stats (although that isnt helping either) but rather the unlimited stalls that guys like Todd and Chad get. There simply arent enough stalls for everyone else and it is making the fields short and uncompetitive. Letting two or three guys control the majority of the stock literally allows them to manipulate the entry box. I heard Chad has almost 200 head at Saratoga right now, although who knows if that is true. Not only does this knock smaller guys out of the game, but it brings no new blood in as far as trainers go either. Back in the day, stalls were limited so owners had to give horses to SOMEONE once their main guy(s) were full. You saw a lot of assistants and new guys going out on their own with the support of those owners. Other than a Jonathan Thomas or Falcone, where are all the new up and coming trainers? The short answer is theyre still working for the mega barns because owners who want to expand or buy more stock have no need to look elsewhere. Chad and Todd can get as many stalls as they want. And the game survives because of gambling. Make the races unbettable five horse fields day after and day, and THAT is your biggest threat to the game right now. Give me a 12 horse field with 5 juice guys and people will still bet vigorously. A 5 horse field with two Chads, two Todds and a Randi Persaud slug....no thanks, I will find a better endeavor for my money.
Where are the new trainers? Off the top of my head in the past year or so...
Cherie DeVaux
Jorge Abreu
Jenn Patterson
Jack Sisterson
Rudy Brisset
Ian Kruljac
Norm Casse
Luis Luna
Elizabeth Dobles
Chris Davis
Less new and shiny, but perhaps still obscure to some..
Will Van Meter
Ben Colebrook
Lacey Gaudet
Ray Handal
Rohan Crichton
That\'s without beating the bushes..
You\'re not paying attention if you think there\'s no new outfits regularly hanging shingles.
It doesn\'t take much intelligence to take off your clothes and be a stripper. And it doesn\'t take much intelligence to give your horse to Chad Brown. Hey, everyone should do it! Yeah!
Will give you Abreu and Rudy, but the rest of the list? Cmon. Working for famous fathers, training 5k claimers at GP or guys who have been training for 5-10 years BEFORE the super barns became a real epidemic, was not the type of \"new blood\" I was referring to. The fact that the first name on the list was Cherie shows your attempt was to name drop and sound more informed and smarter than the rest. Dont need to do that with me, Im pretty plugged in too. But congrats, most people on this board know who all those people are too. Cherie wouldnt be the first to get burnt out working for Chad. Any of Chad\'s owners giving her horses??? I would take action she is back working as an assistant within two years.
Nice stake tomorrow in NY. Five horses, three of them from Chad\'s barn. But there is no problem....Luna, Crichton and Dobles are on the prowl.
You clearly missed the point of my post and/or article. But keep informing me, because like you said, I dont pay attention.
Name drop.. That\'s so great! The \'inside baseball\' plants were actually long-time Shug assistant Patterson and long-time O\'Neill assistant Sisterson, but thanks for playing. Cherie Devaux was listed first because she was top of mind sending out quite a few horses this week.. and maybe because I\'ve known her for 15 years from having horses with the great Chuck Simon.
I happen to agree with much of your original post and have been addressing it on the radio for years. I simply was responding to the suggestion that there\'s no young horsemen venturing out on their own from under the shadow of the mega barns because there are. Whether they can attract owners and the kind of stock necessary to establish and sustain themselves long term is obviously the question.
Brittany Trimble another by the way.. Former Jerkens/Cox assistant off to a great start with horses that Peter Blum has given her. There\'s a bunch more. I\'ll think of them after your next smug/snide response.
Apologies for over reacting, I definitely was more than a little snide....but let me ask you ask a question to continue an intelligent discourse; what is the incentive for some of these deep pocketed owners to give those \"new blood\" trainers any horses? In the past, they had no choice once there main guys hit stall limits. It made such a lower barrier to entry for those young assistants. Owners could easily give the assistant horses rather than deal with a complete stranger outside the circle. With no stall limits, heck just give \'em all to Chad and Todd. I know guys like Blum and a few these partnerships are spreading it around a little bit but not like the past, and it certainly isnt out of necessity. There is nothing stopping them from letting young talent develop in the minor barns then calling them up to the majors for a run in Chad\'s barn. That is the kind of stuff I worry about too. Thanks!