How meaningless are trainer suspensions?

[horses4courses]

With Richard's Kid going from Baffert to O'Neill's barn just before the Pacific Classic, it emphasizes how useless suspensions are. Do you agree?

Also, what impact will a suspension such as this have on Doug O'Neill?
I ask that question because he is the most recent case - we all know of similar sentences in the past on others.

[mannyberrios]

With Richard's Kid going from Baffert to O'Neill's barn just before the Pacific Classic, it emphasizes how useless suspensions are. Do you agree?

Also, what impact will a suspension such as this have on Doug O'Neill?
I ask that question because he is the most recent case - we all know of similar sentences in the past on others.
I know that Mr Mora knows what he is doing, and in this case, it won't have any impact at all.

[horses4courses]

I know that Mr Mora knows what he is doing, and in this case, it won't have any impact at all.

Of course he does.....and so does every other assistant who has filled in for a suspended trainer.
They are used to the day-to-day operations of the stable.
The boss is only ever a phone call away, too. Or, maybe closer than that.

So, there is little or no impact there. Would there be any impact on the suspended trainer's income? Not likely.
It's business as usual...........

[Tom]

You want to make them mean something - suspend the owner as well. That means the entire owner's stable. No transfer of horses allowed - nothing runs.

Maybe they will wake up to a lot of the crap that goes on if it costs them.
As the owner, the trainer is their responsibility, same goes with the jockeys.

[Stillriledup]

Something more needs to be done to hurt the trainer and owner financially.

Like Tom in the post above this says, you really need to punish the owner or else what incentive does that owner have to fire his trainer? Does the owner lose one penny because his trainer is sitting out a suspension? No. Nothing changes.

I'd like to know if the owners of all horses from a suspended trainer get to pay much less on their day rate. If they pay the same day rate, its pretty much equivalent to a paid vacation for the trainer, the trainer is getting to relax for a few weeks while not losing one penny or losing one client.

Unless the trainer in question loses a client (which seems to rarely happen) or some money off his day rate, is there really any punishment at all?

I remember getting into a pushing and shoving match in gym class when i was in grade school and i got 'punished' by the principal. Do you know what the punishment was? He sent me home. As i was walking home i was thinking "wow, that was easy, i think i'm going to do this more often!" Seems like when a trainer gets suspended, its equivalent to getting 'sent home' by the principal.

Some Punishment!

[horses4courses]

Doug O'Neill's case was a little different in that he had the unusual circumstance of attracting the attention of the national media at the time his suspension was announced. This was, of course, due to the fact that he was in the midst of a Triple Crown campaign with IHA.
So, he was embarrassed to some extent due to the media focus on him. A minor setback, I'm sure.

I compare the punishment situation to a DUI.
Except this time the offender has a chauffeur driven vehicle at his beck and call 24/7.
Sure, it's on his record, but his lifestyle and career will stay the same.

I see Tom's point of punishing the owner, but that goes into a grey area.
Certainly, some owners should share the blame with the trainer.
However, I don't think you can say that is the case 100% of the time.
No one has contact with an animal as much as the trainer, or his staff.
There have to be situations of performance enhancement where the owner has no clue, although it's probably rare.

The penalties on the trainer need to be harsher.
Bans of 6 months, 1 year, 2 years and more, need to be imposed.
During this penalty phase, all horses need to leave that trainer's barn.
They should be transferred to stables approved by the state's Racing Board, or leave the state completely.

At that point, I think trainer's might feel the pinch when found guilty.
The offense they are committing is serious, and needs to be treated as such.

[LLHorses]

This sport is an absolute joke.

Here's an article about another trainer caught with Dermorphin (frog juice).

ARTICLE (http://www.paulickreport.com/news/ray-s-paddock/nebraska-six-weeks-for-frog-juice-positive/)


This trainer has 10 medication violations in the state of Nebraska since 2005. And will be back training in early September.


Hate to say it but, we're all suckers to keep wagering on this game.

[rastajenk]

I don't think you hate to say it. In fact, I think you enjoy saying it.

[horses4courses]

Recent tweet:

Jay Privman ‏@DRFPrivman
Fun fact of day: did you know agreement O'Neill struck July 10 with CHRB over current suspension contains no language re: contact with barn?
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Figures........ :rolleyes:

[therussmeister]

Suspending a trainer is like tossing the manager out of a baseball game. He just calls the shots from the locker room.

[proximity]

Suspending a trainer is like tossing the manager out of a baseball game. He just calls the shots from the locker room.


literally!! ;)

[cj]

I guess they are about as meaningless as the $2,000 fine Castellano was given for failing to ride out a race where he was beaten a neck.

[JustRalph]

Suspending a trainer is like tossing the manager out of a baseball game. He just calls the shots from the locker room.

The "Tom" Heinsohn strategy huh? Loved that guy...........

:lol:

[takeout]

They're worse than meaningless because they screw up the trainer stats.