DONT BABY THEIR TRAINING

[louis finochio]

I have been noticing a familiar pattern with trainers that dont win many races.

Their TB are working up to a race, then suddenly they back off in their training, in fear that their TB will breakdown.

Some of these trainers have been in the business many years.

These Tb are athletes and when they are in training they have to be kept in training not stopped, I am talking about TB that are sound and not stopped because of an injury or minor aliment.

Has anyone else observed any of these stop and go training patterns, with trainers not winning many races?

[yukidragon]

Smarty Jones trainer last year at Belmont I think it was.
he was shy an slick about it.
An Smarty Jones smoked the field

[Bogataj]

"Backing up" in interval training represents so called tappering-off.

You shorten the distance and gain in speed and to the naked eye it could look like backing off, but instead it's geting "the edge" from your horse. So it depends on what kind of backing-off are you writing.

Regards,

Borut

[Laurierace]

Smarty Jones trainer last year at Belmont I think it was.
he was shy an slick about it.
An Smarty Jones smoked the field

Huh? You must have watched a different Belmont than I did. In the one I saw (live and very up close) Smarty did not smoke them, he unfortunatley finished second.

[louis finochio]

I didnt present my post topic in the correct way. Lets look at this angle in a different way.

I not talking about TB that are already fit and have run a few races, as those TB are kept in that condition by backing off in their training.

I am talking about trainers that have a fear that their TB will breakdown and back off their TB because of that fear.

These trainers baby their TB, as they will work up to five-eights and then drop back to three-eights, then go back to galloping. They are not getting their TB fit enough to run when they run in the races.

Has anyone noticed this unusual training pattern in trainers that dont win many races?

[BJ]

I didnt present my post topic in the correct way. Lets look at this angle in a different way.

I not talking about TB that are already fit and have run a few races, as those TB are kept in that condition by backing off in their training.

I am talking about trainers that have a fear that their TB will breakdown and back off their TB because of that fear.

These trainers baby their TB, as they will work up to five-eights and then drop back to three-eights, then go back to galloping. They are not getting their TB fit enough to run when they run in the races.

Has anyone noticed this unusual training pattern in trainers that dont win many races?

You would have to point to a specific trainer and a specific horse (or plural of same), because there can be many reasons why a trainer "backs off" on training a horse (particularly babies). Maybe the horse isn't ready and needs more foundation. Maybe it is going through a growth spurt and it would be dangerous to train the horse hard. Maybe the race they were pointing for is coming up too soon and rather than over train the horse they are choosing to just keep him at a certain level of fitness for the next race, etc., etc.

Without specifics it is next to impossible to determine if a trainer is "afraid" to go on with a "sound" and "fit to race" horse. Even so, I'd rather see a trainer back off a horse than to push him premtaturely into the end of its racing career (or worse). Ultimately, whatever is going on with the horse, should be between the owner and the trainer.

That said, some trainers are better with seasoned, proven horses and others are good at getting babies ready to race. I find the latter seem to have more breakdowns on the track though, than those whose forte is training proven race horses.

[Tucumcari]

GROAN...
Louis, if you are such a genius and clearly exel in horsemanship, training ablility, exercise physiology, nutrition, maybe you should try training one. From many of the things you've said in your posts, you wouldn't get the least Turn To bred horse to the races.

How's that glass hose fairing with all the stone throwing?

[louis finochio]

The knowledge that I have picked up along the way has come form the people from the old school like Angel Penna, Charlie Whitingham, Willard Proctor, Lazlo Barrera, and other Hall of Fame trainers.

The knowledge I have acquired over the years in breeding TB has come from my 2 good friends Aaron U. Jones and Leon Rassmussen. Both of these intelligent individuals were stakes class individuals.

I thank them for sharing their ideas and their friendship over the years.

I believe that If you want to learn the TB game you must learn from the best in the Industry.

[Tucumcari]

Well, get at it big fella, the world will wait with baited breath for your training debut

[BJ]

The knowledge that I have picked up along the way has come form the people from the old school like Angel Penna, Charlie Whitingham, Willard Proctor, Lazlo Barrera, and other Hall of Fame trainers.

The knowledge I have acquired over the years in breeding TB has come from my 2 good friends Aaron U. Jones and Leon Rassmussen. Both of these intelligent individuals were stakes class individuals.

I thank them for sharing their ideas and their friendship over the years.

I believe that If you want to learn the TB game you must learn from the best in the Industry.

Louis,

That's a commendable group to hang with. Charlie was known for taking it real slow with the babies because he didn't believe in pushing on them too early. Willard was sometimes good at getting the babies ready first time out. Lazlo Barrera...I don't agree with many of his training methods. I'll leave it at that. So really, even the "old school" was full of a wide variety of methods and madness. But they sure were a colorful group!

[louis finochio]

Another of my favorite trainers was Hirsch Jacobs, Hirsch worked his way up from a racing pigeon fancier to become a Hall of Fame trainer of TB.

I met him in the fifties at Santa Anita when he would come out for the winter meet. Hirsch was a master at claming horses, as after he claimed them he would move them up in class and win at the next level.

I have many fond memories of Hirsch as he was one hell of a trainer, another from the old school.