It's pretty obvious that some trainers are "stretching the rules" as far as they possibly can.
I can buy the fact that one trainer might have a great streak, or even has a knack for claiming horses, like Frankel used to back in the day, and be 30% or so first off the claim. I cannot buy the fact that there are 2-3 of these 30-50% first off claiming trainers at almost every racetrack today. To me, that statistic by itself is the most obvious in finding who the most likely "rule stretchers" are.
Now some people will say they are just better trainers, read the condition books better, and train for more aggressive owners who aren't afraid to lose their horses via a lower claiming price. That is believable to me and I can buy it to a point. Where my suspicion starts to arise again is when I see many of the old school trainers struggle today. These are the trainers who for a VERY long time were successful and seemed to have an idea of how to train consistent winners. Now they can barely hit the board, even though they still get quality stock.
Why is this happening?? Are these trainers getting old, maybe. Did they forget how to train, I doubt it. Are they less likely to "stretch the rules" and/or put their owners and the owners property in compromising positions, IMO, absolutely.
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