Put it into the pick six pool instead.

And I always thought it went to payroll, feedman, workmans comp and my wife!!!!

A cottage industry could be set up financing trainers fines

LOL!!!!!
Imagine that!!! Tom Durkin saying "Good afternoon and welcome to Aqueduct!! Temperatures will be in the 50's, we have partly sunny skies, and the track is fast. There is a carryover today in the pik-6 of 140,000 dollars thanks to trainers "a,b,c,and d"!! Now for today's changes"

It would be better off in the hands of the players.

Hey Cannon....as a trainer what would you like to see happen? Are you at liberty to voice your opinion on this?

Also, I love the idea of the fine money going into the pick 6. That would be sweet.

Man would that be great or what?
Get those damn cheaters and pump up the pools too!!!!
This may be the greatest idea I ever heard.

Then the fined trainers would have a horse as part of the pick 6 and you just know to include that horse in your ticket.

Further boost the pool by auctioning off the opportunity for someone to beat the offending trainer with a stick in the winner's circle.

In fact, they should do this after each race.

Stud this idea could raise enough money to feed an entire third world nation.
Its a great idea. Highets bidder gets a wiffleball bat and a trainer of his choice.
"Come here you incompetent little bastard!! I'll teach you to run a short horse"!!!!

It wasn't the large fines that upset people. People were upset because they felt these trainers were pretty much getting off scott-free. If you fine Mullins $10,000, that's not going to really hurt him. He probably makes about $800,000 a year. A $10,000 fine is really just a slap on the wrist. These big trainers are thrilled if they can pay $10,000 and get off the hook. I'll bet you Asumussen would have been willing to pay 10x that amount if he could have avoided the 6 month suspension.

On the West coast, there are very few trainers that are big bettors. I would say that maybe 5% of the trainers are big bettors if even that. On the east coast I think the number is quite a bit higher, but I still don't think it's anywhere as high as you think. I would be very surprised if more than 15-20% of the trainers are big bettors. I'm classifying a big bet as anything over $1,000.

Maybe Cannon Shell could shed some light on this. Cannon can tell us what his estimation would be on the percentage of trainers at the tracks he trains at that will make $1,000 bets on their horses.

I dont know specifics Rupert but I would guess its higher than 20%.
Personally I have seen some big bets from well known trainers based in NY and some who are based in KY that ship up for the Saratoga meet.

I wont mention names, most people on here already have a good idea of the ones I am talking about. Not always on their horses too by the way. DOnt be fooled into thinking guys on the inside only bet their horses.

Trainers bet?

This was discussed at length before and a trainer who posts here said that he was given a suspension -- I forget what jurisdiction -- and that all the suspension notice said was that he was not allowed on the grounds of the track (and I would think all other tracks as well due to reciprocity). Anyway, it has been that a suspended trainer is not allowed to talk to the assistant or whoever is running the barn during the suspension. I do not know if that is true in ALL jurisdictions and for all suspensions.

In my opinion, someone like Scott Lake, Steve Assmusen, Rick Dutrow, or some other high profile trainer, I would think -- common sense -- that they would abide by the terms and not show up on the grounds of the track. They are easily recognizable and it would be far to easy for someone to snap a picture using their cell phone, and far too many people would see them and that would extend and lenghten the initial suspension. Just my thinking. No trainer would be stupid enough to try that. The "competition" could turn them in within a split second.

When Steve Assmusen was suspended, which he still is, I didn't see him on the grounds of Saratoga -- the main track backside, Oklahoma, etc. -- once. He was at the sale, but that is not the property of NYRA.

Eric

$800k? Seems like a big # to me. To date, Mullins is not in the top 25 in earnings, at least I don't think he is. Even though I am in the financial industry, I don't count other people's money -- at least not to an extent, LOL. Anyway, I don't think Mullins makes that kind of money but I certainly could be wrong. It is probably a futile discussion.

If you want to count any seasons, shares, breedings, etc. he might get from a superstar performer; and commissions, bonuses, etc. -- maybe he can get to that kind of number on a gross basis. But with everything he was to pay out, overhead, the growing economics, etc., I don't think the number would be that high, but again, as I said, I could be very wrong.

Eric

800K and still the worst haircut in the business. 800K and still feels the need to call us people who gamble on horse racing stupid losers. Whats that saying? Dont bite the hand that feeds you? Dont sh-it where you sleep?

Yes, that was certainly not a Mullins highlight. I don't know Jeff personally, but I do know some people who do and some know him well. I remember the story and remember the attention his comments got. I do think however he apologized and I think he elaborated on what he was trying to say. As far as the haircut -- heck, I wish I had that haircut, LOL.

Eric

His haircut seems more of one you'd see in Nascar. I wouldnt wish that cut on anyone and frankly I'd rather be losing my hair. I dont know the man either but he doesnt look like the brightest bulb on the tree. Those comments furthermore confirm it. Thats like somebody who does well in the financial business as an advisor saying people who put money in stocks are losers.

Very true.

Eric