Quote:
Originally Posted by classhandicapper
I'm always very honest here (even if I'm mistaken)  .
Back when I was a kid in the days of Barrera, Ferriola and others I didn't mind that some trainers might be cheating because I was young, trying to cash bets, it was mostly limited to claiming races (Shifty Sheik excepted) and there was less info in the DRF and other sources. So there was a chance I could get an edge from it too.
Now that I'm older or let's call it more mature, I realize how much the cheating is impacting other trainers, owners, breeder's, riders, and most importantly potentially the health of the horses. But what's even worse, the cheating (or rule bending if you want to call it that instead) imo is now more prevalent in Graded Stakes races. To me, it's bad enough when some old claiming horse with back class jumps back up after a few weeks in a new barn, imo Graded Stakes is a line that should not be crossed or tolerated at all. |
Absolutely. What Baffert has done is much worse then doping claimers. He has altered the course of sports history, robbing racehorses of their rightly place in the history of the sport, robbing owners, jockeys, trainers, of major wins in prestigious races. And, think of how it affects the breeding industry.
Since the industry, and especially the CHRB, has protected him, what I'd like to see is tracks start to make him put all of his stakes shippers into detention barns under 24-hour surveillance. Based on his horrible record of horse deaths and drug infractions, I think this is warranted.
