Pletcher's decline started at Saratoga in 2007, just three weeks after the KHRA announced that they had found the cobra venom in Biancone's barn. I don't know whether that's a coincidence or not, or whether the impending steroid bans may be having an impact on his barn's current performance.
As for Pletcher's numbers this year, it is clear that in New York he has started no where near the number of horses that he once did. It seems like his percentages are skewed based on a high percentage of winners that he had at tracks like Arlington this past summer; in New York, he's almost become a throwout. (Not yet plugged in to Formulator, I'd be interested to know what his stats in NY are with non-claiming starters, as my recollection is that, at Belmont Spring and Saratoga, a fairly high perecentage of his winners were with claimers.)
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