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Originally Posted by azeri98
Lukas only had 3 winners in TC races from 1980 to 1988 then had 11 from 1994 on. What happened did he change his training methods? You also have to have good horses and good owners who shell out a lot of money for stock. In the last few years owners who paid a lot for their horses have been giving their horses to him. During those lean years he lost Overbrook and The Thoroughbred Corp as owners. He just didn't have the horses. He was very successful from 1996-2002. Was he doping then and then stopped? If he did stop doping, do you think he would wait 15 years to start again. A guy with his ego wouldn't wait that long. As far as assistants go Barnes has been with Baffert for 22 years. How could he develop any when his top guy doesn't leave? He did have Eoin Hardy. Other than Chad Brown who did Frankel have? He like Baffert had two main assistants for 20 plus years. Baffert also has a smaller stable than most of the other "super" trainers allowing him and his staff to concentrate more on the smaller stable than other trainers who are spread out everywhere With bigger stables relying on assistants more. He ships when he needs to and keeps the rest in California where he likes it.
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With all due respect, your posting is full or errors.
Lukas did change his training methods dramatically during this time. I won't go into that here as it will bore everyone, but he did make a lot of changes. He also let his assistants play a larger role in the development of his horses. His son Jeff managed many of these and sometimes not in California.
You can't say that Baffert did not have the horses. He simply was not cheating. This is not about Baffert's record in the late 1990's. This is about his recent time (since 2015). It is obvious when he figured out whatever medical/cheating advantage he did as he began doing things that violate science.
The entire Justify thing (no races as 2 year old, lack of a foundation, etc.) including not even being eligible for the Triple Crown is a joke.
Name another sport where someone with as many violations would be able to remain a participant. Baffert makes Steve Howe look like a choir boy.
He always could develop top assistants even though your top guy is there. Not everyone of Lukas's proteges was an assistant trainer that ran his own shed row, yet he produced them. Eoin Hardy is hardly a Todd Pletcher or even a Mike Maker. If Baffert was such a good horseman then he would have produced many assistants given the races he won.
The small stable arguement does not work either. You mean to tell me that if a rich owner was willing to drop a series of expensive horses in his shed row, you mean to tell me that Baffert would say no, I really do not want any horses.
