Quote:
Originally Posted by MargieRose
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Prevalent thought has long held it's the stress-free nature of farm-life, rather than any fitness regimen, that gives thoroughbreds not quartered on the backside a more eager mindset that can be a competitive advantage.
That being said, I've heard of some rather "unorthodox" (and less than relaxing) training methods employed on some lower class farms. The wildest has got to be how one "horseman" (reportedly) tied steeds to the back of his pickup truck and then gradually picked up the speed. Oh yeah, btw, that dude DID sideline a few with road rash, and reportedly drove back from the pasture one day muttering to himself "I should have KNOWN that cheap *&%#@ couldn't do 30(mph)."
The guy's name escapes me. We are talking 40 years ago...
On a more serious note..back when I bet Mountaineer (then Waterford Park) every day, I tried to discern as best I could which horses shipped in to run, as opposed to which (potentially more stale and less happy) runners lived and toiled in backstretch drudgery. Nowadays, for several reasons, those distinctions would be blurred.
