Quote:
|
Originally Posted by SentToStud
I disagree. Just because someone finds another person to pay them for giving an opinion does not make them an expert on a damn thing. The horse business is rife with old monied people who find their way into the business on the shoestrings of their family wealth. The younger ones show up on message boards and in-house racetrack tv programs and just babble on and on about their "paid expertise" in a manner reflecting their attitude of righteous self-entitilement. Their actual earnings from their sponsored nepotism "employment" pale in comparison to the interest income on their trust funds. If this weren't true, they'd dress a hell of a lot better. The older children of the blue-blood at least have the good sense to blend seemlessly into the background at the clubhouse bar.
If given the choice and need for an "Expert" opinion on most anything, especially related to horse racing, I'd go with the more experience person who earned their stripes and got their scars going through the ranks. The last person I'd listen to is a younger child of privilege who never has and likely never will experience the consequences of being wrong.
|
Some of what you're saying is true. There are some paid experts out there that aren't very sharp. This is true in all fields. There are doctors out there that are terrible doctors. There are lawyers out there that are totally incompetent. There are people out there with no degees in law that could go into a courtroom tomorrow and do a better job than some licensed attorneys.
I'm well aware that there are incompetent people in all fields. There are plenty of licensed trainers out there that don't have a clue. I am well aware of that.
However, I was referring to people that truly are experts in their fields, people with proven track records that really know their business. There are such people out there in all fields including horseracing. I could give you a ton of examples. Let's take Nial Brennan for example. He is one of the most successful pinhookers in the country. He and Mike Ryan are incredibly good at picking out yearlings. I don't think there is anyone that would dispute that these guys are experts at picking out yearlings. These guys make millions of dollars pinhooking. It is truly amazing when you go to 2 year old sales how Brennan's horses stand out. I don't even look to see who the consignor is on any of the horses until I have watched all the workouts and made my list. At the Fasig Tipton Calder sale, there were a little over 300 horses in the sale. I had a list of about 20 horses that I really liked. Out of those 20 horses, I believe that 10 were Nial Brennan horses. I can say the same thing at the Keeneland 2 year old sale. Of all the horses on my list, I think that about 45% of them were Brennan horses. He has the best horses at the 2 year old sales because he and Mike Ryan pick the best yearlings. They are experts at it. Practically every yearling they pick can run. When it comes to assessing the ability of yearlings is the opinion of Mike Ryan and Nial Brennan more valuable than the opinion of your average guy? Of course, absolutely.