Eventually Todd Pletcher Will Train All the Horses

[SuperPickle]

So I know CJ talks about how a couple trainers getting all the good horses hurts the game. On a related not I noticed in yesterday's last race Pletcher had a two-year-old firster for Claiborne Farm. It's the first Claiborne horse I've seen him with. They fired Al Stall a month or two ago. I know they're also using Tom Durey and Mandella out west but this is a new owner for Pletcher.

In addition this meet he's also picked up two new or newish owners.

I saw he has a couple horses for Robert and Lawana Low. They had been Dan Pietz's primary owner for decades. They owned Capote Belle who won a couple Grade One's and also Stephenewolfer who was third in Barboro's derby. They won with a $500K Pletcher firster a couple weeks ago.

In addition Syndergaard is partially owned by Eric Fein. I'm not 100% sure this was his first horse with TP however up until a couple years ago he was Derek Ryan's primary client and he also had some horses with Dutrow before he was suspended.

So the rich are getting richer. But don't worry one day Todd Pletcher will train all the horses.

[Redboard]

There was an article in the Saratogian a few weeks ago about how the big barns are squeezing everyone else out.

[outofthebox]

His numbers keep going up and up. Don't know how many he is training now. I did read that Chad Brown has over 200 in training. Crazy

[Fager Fan]

Originally Posted by outofthebox

His numbers keep going up and up. Don't know how many he is training now. I did read that Chad Brown has over 200 in training. Crazy

They're in their name, but neither is training all of those. This is why I think tracks should require the person actually doing the training to be the trainer of record.

[NTamm1215]

It's funny that this came up now. In reality, this is the weakest Todd Pletcher's barn, specifically his 3YOs and up, has been in a decade.

[Si2see]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

It's funny that this came up now. In reality, this is the weakest Todd Pletcher's barn, specifically his 3YOs and up, has been in a decade.

My thinking would be that the horses didn't make it to 3YO and up for one reason or another, not because he didn't have the chance with high caliber horses.

Jason

[Track Phantom]

Originally Posted by Redboard

There was an article in the Saratogian a few weeks ago about how the big barns are squeezing everyone else out.

This has many wide-sweeping, negative ramifications to the game. In my opinion, it is one of the most detrimental things that has happened to racing.

I don't begrudge these trainers for taking on the horses. You would do the same thing, as I would, too. But it really hurts the game. I think I saw a race the other day that had 7 horses in it. 3 were trained by one supertrainer, 3 were trained by another supertrainer and the last horse was a million to one trained by a 0% guy. Neat.

[SuperPickle]

I don't get what drives it. I mean Al Stall won a Breeders Cup with Claiborne. What more could you ask.

I just put myself in the shoes of some of these guys getting fired and I really don't see what more they could do or what the owners see.

It just seems that the game is more ruthless than ever.

Btw... in a related noted David Carroll used to train the Cortland Farms horse that beat Lady Eli on Saturday. He's now working for Mark Casse.

Maybe that's the end game. Everyone goes to work for Chad and Todd.

[horses4courses]

Originally Posted by SuperPickle

But don't worry one day Todd Pletcher will train all the horses.

So, in that case, I guess the KY Derby gate will be down to less than a handful?
TAP has had a few issues getting his better 2yos to stay sound at 3.

One way to cut down on crowded Derby fields, and the auxiliary gate.

[Fager Fan]

Originally Posted by Track Phantom

This has many wide-sweeping, negative ramifications to the game. In my opinion, it is one of the most detrimental things that has happened to racing.

I don't begrudge these trainers for taking on the horses. You would do the same thing, as I would, too. But it really hurts the game. I think I saw a race the other day that had 7 horses in it. 3 were trained by one supertrainer, 3 were trained by another supertrainer and the last horse was a million to one trained by a 0% guy. Neat.

There are some who won't accept that many horses. They're horsemen instead of managers of horsemen.

What needs to happen is for a journalist or two to track all the horses in their barns. Instead, the public (and owners) only see the ones racing, and given that these guys care about their stats as much as their firstborn, the stats are really a bit skewed. They get the races they need to run in when they need to run in them. The normal trainer has to at times run horses where they don't prefer just to get a race in them.

[SuperPickle]

Originally Posted by Fager Fan

There are some who won't accept that many horses. They're horsemen instead of managers of horsemen.

What needs to happen is for a journalist or two to track all the horses in their barns. Instead, the public (and owners) only see the ones racing, and given that these guys care about their stats as much as their firstborn, the stats are really a bit skewed. They get the races they need to run in when they need to run in them. The normal trainer has to at times run horses where they don't prefer just to get a race in them.

I know for a fact when Graham Motion was at his height a couple years ago he turned down horses from new owners once he hit a 100.

He probably has around half that many now.

[lamboguy]

horses are the tools to get to the money for these guys. when 1 goes bad you have no problem replacing him with something just as good. it certainly has killed the biggest edge that horseracing had over every other sport, the fan participation.

if you are a big owner, you never want to see your star trainer take on a small owner that might get in his horses way. he wants that small owner to either go to a small trainer that can't win or leave the sport. many of those guys have left the sport. but this is why many tracks that used to run 6 days a week with full fields are down to 3 oe 4 days with shorter fields.

many might think the answer to this problem is to allow the game to consolidate with less trainers, less owners, less fan base and less tracks. none of these solutions seem to help other problems like what to do with the horses that can't make it into the high power barns and bigger financially stable tracks.

its not that easy to find homes for the very slow horses that can't make it with super trainers. if you send them off to slaughter you will get a lot of out raged people screaming cruelty to animals and rightfully so.

i don't know if the decline of this sport can be stopped in its tracks without shutting it down completely. what i do know what works well in other sports is limited rosters, and that is what this game needs for starters.

[BCOURTNEY]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

horses are the tools to get to the money for these guys. when 1 goes bad you have no problem replacing him with something just as good. it certainly has killed the biggest edge that horseracing had over every other sport, the fan participation.

if you are a big owner, you never want to see your star trainer take on a small owner that might get in his horses way. he wants that small owner to either go to a small trainer that can't win or leave the sport. many of those guys have left the sport. but this is why many tracks that used to run 6 days a week with full fields are down to 3 oe 4 days with shorter fields.

many might think the answer to this problem is to allow the game to consolidate with less trainers, less owners, less fan base and less tracks. none of these solutions seem to help other problems like what to do with the horses that can't make it into the high power barns and bigger financially stable tracks.

its not that easy to find homes for the very slow horses that can't make it with super trainers. if you send them off to slaughter you will get a lot of out raged people screaming cruelty to animals and rightfully so.

i don't know if the decline of this sport can be stopped in its tracks without shutting it down completely. what i do know what works well in other sports is limited rosters, and that is what this game needs for starters.

Limited barn space - yes.
Limited entries per race - yes.

[chadk66]

I chuckled at Baffert when they interviewed him. He basically said he went through a pile of horses for this owner until he finally got a good one. And spent a pile while doing it. I wonder how many horses they shelled in the process.