"Spaced" Races And "Fresh" Horses Are Killing The Sport

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

In essense. Basically I'm suspicious in general, and the fact that we often see dramatic improvements in horses who subsequently hold that form for one, or maybe two races, and then often disappear for what may be quite a while, if not forever, makes me think that medications that improve performance also take a heavy toll on the horses. Thus I figure the spacing between races is somewhat related.

I'm probably just overly paranoid.

It is quite possible that unusually huge, out of character races will put a horse on the shelf for a bit longer than usual. It is possible that some of these efforts may be chemically induced. But I also think that trainers and owners are more aware of these efforts and are apt to give a bit more time as not to be criticized by the press and sheet guys.

There is nothing worse than talking an owner into doing something a little unconventional and having the DRF guy who writes the write up on the edge of the form flame you. Or run in a race because the owner wants to and the guy calls you an idiot for running in that spot.

People in this business especially owners are monkeysee/monkey do.