Pletcher to have no horses in the Travers

[ELA]

Originally Posted by Riot

I've read somewhere (don't know if it's true) that you can give the name of any horse spread anywhere across the country in Pletcher's barns, and he can tell you all about that horses' current status, where it is in it's training, etc.

I've been told the same thing, and I believe it. I currently have a horse -- at best he's a 16 claimer -- with a trainer who has 200 horses. I bumped into him while the horse was in his barn and he told when when he worked, what equiptment he wore (changes that were made), the problems he had when he got there, what he did to address them, when the horse was going to race, where, the race and more!

I also bumped into him when the horse was turned out on a farm. He also gave me a detailed status report up through about 5 days earlier.

Eric

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by ELA

I've been told the same thing, and I believe it. I currently have a horse -- at best he's a 16 claimer -- with a trainer who has 200 horses. I bumped into him while the horse was in his barn and he told when when he worked, what equiptment he wore (changes that were made), the problems he had when he got there, what he did to address them, when the horse was going to race, where, the race and more!

We heard all throughout the Triple Crown season that the reason that Pletcher and Asmussen are successful is their tremendous attention to detail and how they know everything going on with every horse in their respective barns. Whether we believe this or not, the thing that bugs me is that when these guys get nailed for medication violations, they say, "I've got 200 horses spread all over the place, how am I supposed to know?" They can't have it both ways. Either take responsibility for what happens or downsize the stable to a more manageable size.

[parsixfarms]

I think that's ironic that before and after the Belmont, all we heard from the Pletcher/Coolmore camp that the reason they ran Rags to Riches was because it was the sporting thing to do. I viewed their entry of an extremely talented filly in a classic race as them taking advantage of the opportunity presented by a small field in which the two main contenders were likely to be spent by their more demanding 2007 campaigns. It seems that Pletcher has forgot about the "sporting" aspect of the game when it doesn't suit his needs/spin.

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by parsixfarms

I think that's ironic that before and after the Belmont, all we heard from the Pletcher/Coolmore camp that the reason they ran Rags to Riches was because it was the sporting thing to do. I viewed their entry of an extremely talented filly in a classic race as them taking advantage of the opportunity presented by a small field in which the two main contenders were likely to be spent by their more demanding 2007 campaigns. It seems that Pletcher has forgot about the "sporting" aspect of the game when it doesn't suit his needs/spin.

I couldn't agree more. There have been comments made about Rags, how Tabor was quoted as saying he's always felt she was just that much better than anything out there, etc but then they were reluctant to let her prover her greatness. The kicker for me was how they hedged on the Belmont entry depending on who else entered. If u thought she was better than Curlin, why not enter if Street Sense was there too? Curlin and Street Sense were on pretty even levels. It wasn't a sporting move at all. It was a calculating move. It was only done when he was pretty sure that he could finish in the top three. And to be sure, there is nothing wrong with spoting your horses where u think u have the best chance of winning. As a trainer, that's what u are supposed to do so I have no problem with that at all. But don't try to spin it publicly as anything other than that. There was nothing sporting, there was nothing done for the good of the sport or the fans. Of course, they don't owe anything to the fans. So they need to quit trying to make it seem like the fans or the sport plays a part in their decisions. If they did, this filly would have been pointed to the Travers and the BC Classic the moment she crossed the line in the Belmont.

[ELA]

Originally Posted by parsixfarms

We heard all throughout the Triple Crown season that the reason that Pletcher and Asmussen are successful is their tremendous attention to detail and how they know everything going on with every horse in their respective barns. Whether we believe this or not, the thing that bugs me is that when these guys get nailed for medication violations, they say, "I've got 200 horses spread all over the place, how am I supposed to know?" They can't have it both ways. Either take responsibility for what happens or downsize the stable to a more manageable size.

I agree 100%. The trainer responsibility rule is absolute and there aren't any leniencies or contingencies for trainers with big barns and multiple locations. There are no and should be no excuses here.

Eric