https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU3D0UU5zUA
Thanks will definitely watch
I\'m more than half way through, but there isn\'t much depth regarding the discussion on PEDs. I just learned more about Justify\'s greatness, which we all pretty much knew already.
No hardball? Shocking.
Was a little disappointed in that myself.
The \"interview\" sounded more like an invitation by Jill to bring Christian in and answer questions as a response to Christian\'s accusations pre-Belmont which the Baffert clan found \"hurtful.\"
But I was impressed with all the secrets of success: Hard work, Ice on their legs, and good horses.
Got it. I\'ll tell my friends that are owners to have their trainers ice their horses\' legs and tell them to get to work.
After Marley\'s Freedom worked in 1:10.80 today, I am giving richiebee\'s ideas serious credence.
richiebee wrote: \"To summarize, Baffert\'s ability to work horses (especially young horses)long and fast gives these runners a distinct advantage if and when they make it to the races. I would not be surprised if PEDs played a part in this \"long and fast\" regimen. Would it be interesting if some banned race day PEDs were absolutely banned, and all horses working 6 furlongs or more were tested after said works? Or if horses working at any distance were randomly tested? If anything, it would probably prove to be a revealing \"fact finding
enterprise\", to use the words of Rick Arthur.\"
https://www.thorograph.com/phorum/read.php?1,113369,113383#msg-113383
In a separate but related story.
A couple of months ago, I read a news article, the gist of which was, any horse which tested positive for PED\'s in Ireland was banned from competition for life.
The curious thing was it was a discussion of very young and unraced horses as I understood it.
It was as if one could change the physiology of a horse by treating it with drugs at a very early age. The steroids, which I think was the focus, apparently have a lasting effect.
I remember thinking there must be something there for the Irish authorities to get involved in such a serious way. Further it occurred to me that such techniques could be a part of the Baffert magic in so much as his trainees, as a group, hit the track superior athletes to the competition.
I\'m not accusing trainer Baffert of anything I\'m wondering which of his 1st out winners is going to take the BC Juvenile race(s)
Game Winner
Magic On Tap
Tale of The Union
Much Better
Metropol
Improbable
Mucho Gusto
Seriously disappointed, how bogus was this.
This interview is so awful that the best thing Christian can do is tell people not to watch it. That way there is at least a chance they will listen to him when he tells them to watch the next one.
Should have asked him how 7 of his horses died on the track from cardiac arrest in 2012-2013.
Anybody who believes that Baffert and the other \"super trainers\" aren\'t pushing the envelope to gain every advantage possible is very naive.
Couldn’t agree more. In Christian was this intent on having a public voice in the horse racing world, I don’t think having YouTube interviews that are the equivalent to “sponsored content†in the newspaper is the best way to accomplish that goal. Up next: Interview with Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong on doping in professional sports, followed by a 1 on 1 lesson with Bill Bilichick on using a video camera. Not to mention the other nonsense he posts on YouTube. I don’t think there is an appetite for a public beef between two professional horse players.
I respect his tournament play and also respect his grind to get out there with different content. But as a bit of unsolicited advice, I’d recommend maybe starting a podcast with more relevant discussion on horseplaying.
Hellmers looked like a nervous, intimidated kid interviewing his idol for his high school newspaper. He got hooked into a Baffert self promotion and looked like he was there to apologize (which he did a couple of times) for having raised the issue of PEDs, which was the reason Baffert invited him for the interview.
If he wants to pass for a journalist he needs to take control of the interview and not be afraid to ask some hardball questions and follow up on the answers rather than timidly accepting them.
Can’t imagine this was the response he was looking for. Truth hurts, don’t it?
Gentlemen,
I appreciate everyone\'s responses here as this is a touchy controversial subject. I think it\'s important to ask these types of questions as an industry, similar to every other sport- NFL, Olympic swimming/cycling, MLB, etc. Yes, I can see how people might interpret my respectful style as more gentle, but when you ask hard questions to someone at a high level, you gotta give them respect or the interview will be over and unpublished. I was not starstruck rather just stating the facts that he is unarguably one of the best to ever train hand down, regardless of how many horses he goes through to get there. I also wanted to know about his superstars out of my own curiosity.
I spoke to Baffert for 3 hours and he was quite forthcoming on-and-off-camera. By nature I\'m polite so take that for what you will. I asked him dozens of other questions off-camera regarding the heart attacks of his horses, to the rate poison, to EPO masking, to Clenbuterol, to nearly everything I\'ve ever heard a horseplayer question. He came across as a stand-up man who trains above board without any shadiness. That\'s my bottom line. He wasn\'t nervous and he showed a lot of confidence and class. Baffert also acknowledged his horses are tested out of performance quite often and none have ever tested positive for anything other than what is public from many years ago.
So let\'s pause for a minute and think out loud. There are many ways to get a horse to develop and perhaps his training techniques, treatments, or supplementation before they reach the track are hinged to his success. If so, that is all legal and if that\'s his edge, then so be it. Perhaps he is doing something legal that is proprietary based on science but without doping. Perhaps nutrition matters more than people think. I don\'t know how he does it as his win percentage in Triple Crown races appears unfathomable to me, but I\'m going to believe him given how easy it would be for someone to make a million off a book deal if others were involved. Furthermore, to make the claim that he is drugging his horses days or weeks pre-race appears difficult to back up at this time given my discussions with Dr. Arthur and others. I will soon air another video from Dr. Arthur to share the current state of the California industry on drug testing. It\'s first class.
Sorry to disappoint you all (lol) but at least I had the courage to ask him hard questions and at least he had the courage to ask back on-camera. No one has ever had that candid of a conversation with him (or any trainer) on such a tough topic before. Thanks for watching it and stay tuned for more interviews, questions, and opinions to come. I will also be broadcasting some live observations and commentary during Breeders\' Cup this year from my home aka \"The Passion Mansion\" while I compete for a chance to win a $1M bonus. I hope you all look forward to more rugged journalism to come rather than the brown nosing news...bless up.
You don\'t have to apologize to anyone on this board.
The specific examples listed in your \"dozens of other questions off-camera\" sentence are the questions I would like to see ON-camera.
You know what we all wanted was a good old 60 minutes type interview circa Mike Wallace, but you did the best you could without getting in his face
It almost leads one to think they might be teaching something at journalism schools.