Serena's Song raced a lot, shipped a lot, tried a lot and won a lot. If only a few more horsemen were willing to do the things Lukas did.

This is the leader in the clubhouse for "Thread of the Year". A lot of great points being made all over. :tro::tro::tro::tro:

I believe the drugs, the thoro-patterns, and the egotistical owners all have a prominent part in turning a racing season into a carefully orchestrated attempt at picking soft spots for what should be the best horses in training. This isn't the 40's we're comparing here, we are talking about 15 years ago.

It was a lot of fun when he had a great horse who could stand up to his training.

I thought it was because you're trying to bang him.

Ouch!

Poor RHT.

What he doesn't know about DrugS is that he once told me he isn't attracted to other Italians (by other I mean Italians other than himself).

I don't think PG has found the Mine That Bird thread yet....

Not that I'm saying Lukas was the greatest trainer ever, but exactly how many horses did he break down? How many did he "break down" on a national stage, in the spotlight? Is it more than say, other big name trainers in the game today?

When I was a kid, I remember being a huge fan of the Lukas trained Criminal Type. I wish he wouldn't have gotten injured in the middle of the year. Heck if SS, Easy Goer, and Criminal Type never got injured, it would have been a great BC Classic.

The 90's weren't that long ago Nick and many of those players are still in the game. In my opinion, it has more to do with economics than anything else.

I think it's more of an epidemic propagated by the 21st Century "super trainers" specifically guys like Todd Pletcher, whose "optimum days between start" index is somewhere between 60 and 3000.

NT

Lukas did not Tabasco Cat into the ground.

You're hopeless.

Tabasco Cat is the one of the great examples of Lukas running one into the ground? Tears, Jerry, tears.



Before sending Tabasco Cat off to stud .. he ran a dirt horse once on the turf because it was a weak Grade 1 turf field. Who cares? That's what dirt horses are supposed to do when they try turf for the first time.

If Tabasco Cat is the best you can do ... give up and ask others to take up your noble cause.

To be fair, Tabasco Cat was in training beyond the Hollywood Derby all the way through June of 1995. He was pointed for the Strub, Big Cap, and Met Mile all through the press.

Obviously, he made none of those races, eventually suffering a bowed tendon breezing at Churchill.

he breezed him into the ground?

Well, I think there was probably more to the story than just the tidbits we were fed by the racing press.

The Hollywood Derby halfway across the country, 15 days after the big BC effort is surely a curious spot if you plan on running the colt the following year. Whether he was injured in that race is unknown as far as we're concerned.

Also, a lot of it depends on your definition of "being run into the ground". Do you need a couple of horrific efforts (eg Munnings) to prove the point, or do you just need to run in every available spot and come out of the last one injured?

Would you say Thunder Gulch was run into the ground? You could argue that the Kentucky Cup race following the Travers was a bit extraneous and the colt came out of the Jockey Club Gold Cup with a fractured leg.

Yes It's True might fit that bill.. he finished last in his final four races before they finally retired him..

Editor's Note was pretty awful when he came back in 1997, but they kept on running him.. his final race he was beaten almost 60 lths..