The degeneration of the sport over the last 15 years

[miraja2]

One of the (many) things that stands out after looking at Serena's Song's PPs is that at age 2 and 4 she actually ran in races after the Breeder's Cup. The connections treated the BC as I think it should be treated. The BC is a big set of races that a good horse's connections should make an effort to attend if practical, but it should NOT be treated as horse racing's equivalent of the World Series where the completion of the event means the sport goes away for the next 4 or 5 months.

I sure wish more horses of her caliber were running in graded stakes races in November and December (and January & February for that matter) these days.

[Revidere]

I get it. The trainer everyone was crucifying in the 90's for running his horses into the ground is now the example to emulate.

Hmmmm.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by Revidere

I get it. The trainer everyone was crucifying in the 90's for running his horses into the ground is now the example to emulate.

Hmmmm.

The thing is, though, and I know you're aware of it, is that DrugS could have just as easily posted the PPs of Cigar, Skip Away, or a slew of others and had the same effect. DWL may be a bit more "controversial" trainer to include but the point is the same, the horsemen nowadays are not the same.

NT

[Revidere]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

The thing is, though, and I know you're aware of it, is that DrugS could have just as easily posted the PPs of Cigar, Skip Away, or a slew of others and had the same effect. DWL may be a bit more "controversial" trainer to include but the point is the same, the horsemen nowadays are not the same.

NT

Absolutely.

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

The thing is, though, and I know you're aware of it, is that DrugS could have just as easily posted the PPs of Cigar, Skip Away, or a slew of others and had the same effect. DWL may be a bit more "controversial" trainer to include but the point is the same, the horsemen nowadays are not the same.

NT

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.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

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

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Lukas did not Tabasco Cat into the ground.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by HomerS

Are you saying he didnt?

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.

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by Revidere

I get it. The trainer everyone was crucifying in the 90's for running his horses into the ground is now the example to emulate.

Hmmmm.

That's a fair point. 38 starts in 29 months is a bit extreme, and Lukas is not exactly the ideal trainer in my book.

However, I thinking looking at Serena's Song's performances demonstrate that at least some G1-caliber horses can handle an aggressive campaign, and perhaps not every quality runner needs to run less than 5-8 times a year.

[Travis Stone]

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.

[Thunder Gulch]

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

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.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Travis Stone

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.

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

[Travis Stone]

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?

[letswastemoney]

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.