Need help understanding something. June 10th, Belmont Stakes Day, I look over the card at Belmont in my DRF, and see Pletcher\'s barn had won 11 of 33 races to that point. Fine. Business as usual. Or maybe not...
I open my DRF today for tomorrow\'s card, and see that he\'s now 12 winners from 59 starters. Can this be? The Mighty Pletcher Juggernaut has had 1 winner from 26 starters in 3 weeks at this current Belmont meet? What, did I miss a crackdown on him, or him & others? No wonder he sent a huge string to run at Churchill Downs this spring. They obviously are still looking the other way at that joint.
If someone can, please explain. Thanks.
This was touched upon a few weeks ago. See the \"Todd\'s tubes...\" thread where this point was raised, but it was argued that though Pletcher didn\'t finish first, his horses still ran decently enough, just not well enough to win.
Theories for consideration:
1) You can\'t win \'em all. Even Pletcher and White Mercedes can\'t win \'em all. Nothing\'s changed. It\'s your imagination that they\'re having any kind of a tough run.
2) White Mercedes takes a vacation with his wife in the dog days of Belmont lull time before Saratoga starts up. The \"oomph\" will return at the Spa.
By the way, in a related note - of course, hidden in the IN BRIEF section of Saturday\'s DRF - was the following:
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\"PANEL TO ISSUE STEROID PAPER
A national group seeking to reform medication rules in the United States will produce a position paper by the end of the year that will seek tighter regulation of the use of anabolic steroids, according to the group\'s executive director.
The United States is the only country in the world in which nearly all major racing jurisdictions allow the unlimited and unregulated use of anabolic steroids, which are used to build muscle mass and restore horses\' appetites after strenuous exercise.
\"Everyone agrees that we need tighter regulation,\" said Scott Waterman, executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, which met Tuesday in Dallas. \"That\'s where we will be starting from.\"
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When the Todd Pletchers and Doug O\'Neill\'s of the horse racing world are unable to use anabolic steroids, the game changes dramatically, and we find out that they\'re no so smart after all. Fat chance though. Right?
JohnTChance
One possibility is that he brings stock to a new meet fitting the conditions well and ready to run; as the meet goes on they run through their conditions (obviously at 11 for 33!) and/or can\'t run at previous level(the @#$% wears off?... or more precisely, wears down?).
My suggestion is to tread lightly at Saratoga the first few weeks in Pletcher-infested races. Those 6-5 underlays are illusions until mid-August.
He\'s only got one at Belmont tomorrow, ready to please?
>> The United States is the only country in the world in which nearly all major >> racing jurisdictions allow the unlimited and unregulated use of anabolic >steroids, which are used to build muscle mass and restore horses\' appetites >after strenuous exercise.
And would that some breeders who send yearlings and 2-year-olds to the sales stop using them to build muscle mass, too.
Anybody ever buy a young horse, only to watch it change before your eyes as it returns to the outline nature intended it to have for it\'s age?
The steroid issue also brings to mind older, retired animals like the recently-departed PASEANA and CIGAR. Both had serious fertility problems.
JohnTChance Wrote:
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> The steroid issue also brings to mind older,
> retired animals like the recently-departed PASEANA
> and CIGAR. Both had serious fertility problems.
Cigar is still alive right? Your post was misleading. Unless I missed the news of his passing...Is he still alive? I would like to know
Cigar is at the KY Horse Park and is stabled right next to John Henry. I wish the grooms would take a bit better care - cigar looked ragged when I saw him last. I visit him every year while going to KNLD. At the initial Citation Stakes @ Arlington, it was quite a seen with him - reminded me of the Beatles the way people crammed to the winodws/balconies to see him. He seemed quite amused.
Thanks Shanahan. I knew he WAS there but sighthound\'s post read like he had died.
I visited the great Cigar in 1999 at the KY Park. He was quite happy. No grooms were around. It was just me and him. He seemed like he enjoyed the stories I was telling him and he let me stroke his nose through the gate. It was a cherished memory for sure.
I remember in the 1996 Donn Handicap, I bet a $60 straight trifecta, Cigar to Wekeiva Springs to Heavenly Prize and cashed it.
I used to be such a bold player and would often times win a lot at the races. Then I quit drinking and I suck most times now:-(
But I\'d much rather be safe and sane then drunk and lost!
Good luck!
-Yer Uncle Buck
Monmouth Park program says: Breen....Anyone wagering $ 2.00 to win on all his starters would have lost $73.00. Believe it or not, for the same reasons, you might want to avoid horses trained by Todd Pletcher...........Anyone wagering $2.00 to win on every one of his starters over the last 2 years would have lost $88.00.
As of 6-25-2006 Todd is winning with 36% of his starters at Monmouth Park. His ave win payoff only $3.70 winning with 9 of 14 favorites. Bettors not getting rich, but he wins a lot there now.