Top 10 Best/Worst Trainers?

[TomFool]

Here is mine in order

Best
1 Kiaran McLaughlin- IMO just the best right now
2 Barclay Tagg- real deal horseman
3 Marty Wolfson- he knows what he is doing
4 Bobby Frankel- one of the best if not the best of all time
5 Allen Jerkins- he is a legend
6 Bill Mott- loaded to have a monster year
7 Graham Motion- solid across the board
8 Michael Trombetta- this guy is sharp
9 Tom Amoss- runs a very good operation
10 Bryan Lynch- he is on his way & life is easy with a barnful of Adena's best

Notice I left out Dutrow, Mitchell etc these guys are great at moving horses up however they do it but I just wanted to list more real horseman

Worst
1 Jamie Sanders- how can anyone be more horriable than her
2 Jason Orman- should go back to hockey or whatever he did before
3 D Wayne Lukas- king of mismanaging racing careers
4 Eric Guillot- nobody ig going to as little with as much
5 Gary Mandella- he is not Papa Mandella for sure
6 Ralph Nicks- why cant he figure it out? he has worked with the best
7 Tim Ritchey- read too many Tom Ivers books he probley should be higher on this list
8 Mark Glatt- I always throw his horses out
9 Sean McCarthy- should be thankful for HRTV
10 Todd Pletcher- alot of people may have him on the best list but he is not a very good trainer IMO

[DDT]

TomFool


I believe that when we discuss top trainers we must consider that racing has many levels of competition, and it is only fair to judge good horsemen/horsewomen according to the level that they participate, unless of course you are only talking about the top level. If a trainer is only dealing with blueblooded horses we expect him or her to do well. Along those same lines, how do you determine success in terms of best/worst, money earned, stakes races won, winning percentage, in the money percentage, or whathaveyou. If you consider all of the factors, I think your top 10 would require some editing.

DDT

[imnumberjuan]

I concur DDT, there are excellent trainers, who remain at the local circuits for whatever reason, be it lifestyle, ambition what have you.

I think "worst" trainers could be split into a couple of categories. First you could have the overhyped trainer, followed by the career year in and year out 2% trainer that works such locales as Walla Walla, Grand Forks, Evergreen Park, Marquis Downs etc. (as one acquantance refers to them as the people couldn't train a dog to #@$&, nevermind a horse to run.).

[going4stamina]

Art Sherman has 75% of the CHRB vet report--he's on my )*&% list. Breakdowns of former stakes winners, his specialty.

[Rokeby Forever]

Allen Jerkens is the best trainer that ever lived. For 50 years, he's won stakes with horses that weren't worth a ham sandwich.

I worked for one of the best (IMO), and he used to say, "Allen Jerkens is in a class by himself." That's good enough for me.

Nobody has the creativity and understanding of a horse as an individual as does Allen Jerkens. I used to hear stories out of that barn that made me laugh like crazy, but everything that man ever did had a purpose and it worked.

There are a lot of good trainers out there today, but NOBODY takes a top spot over Allen Jerkens.

Tom Fool - how did Jimmy Jerkens not make your list? He trains EXACTLY like his old man...doesn't the job of converting Corinthian from headcase to G1 and BC Mile winner convince you of that?

One of the most unheralded trainers around is Lynn Whiting. That man can flat out train a racehorse. I think John Servis is a heck of a trainer, too.

Tom Amoss is NO horseman - he's sharp and he wins races and he places his horses properly, but a horse is cooked by the time he gets done with it.

[casallc]

You need to put Jack Van Berg on that top list, no horses lately but if nothing else his past and this:
http://www.fallight.com/entry/ROID-TO-TROUBLE

[Des]

Frank "The Grey Fox" Whiteley has my vote. The Best... Always cared about his horses...

[Ill-bred]

A few favorites from my home circuit of Chicago...

Chris Block
Richard Hazelton
Harvey Vanier
Wayne Catalano

[Intrinsic Worth]

Michael Matz is one of my favorites.

[Barn 31 T-breds]

Any list of alltime top trainers should include Woody Stephens. I also believe Dutrow should be included in that list, too. - not Ricky, but his Dad Dickie.

[westover]

I love Micheal Matz as well and i love Brian Lynch.. Another nice win he had on the weekend at Gulfstream.


As far Canadians Eh.. Mike Keogh, David Bell, Eric Coatrieux, Catherine Day Philips

[dray33]

If i can add my 2 cents... Christophe Clement is a consummate horseman and is one of the greatest. Jerkens has to be one of the greatest ever. Mott, Frankel. Shug. I'm partial to Zito and Kimmel... few other current trainers thrown in. Few good ones coming up too.

[AscotStud]

To me Matz is the most over rated 10% trainer out there.
Westover, Bell had a pretty rough year in '07, not sure how he will bounce back.

Lynch is a great guy and it's good to see him doing well, I also agree whoever mentioned Clement, he may be tabbed strictly as a turf trainer but he is damn solid, and pretty funny to boot, like Lynch.

Maybe we should start a thread about trainers who win and are fun to be around and those who are miserable bastards and are mediocre.

[geowarrior]

John Sherrifs - I love how patient he is.

[timex]

Michael Matz is one of my favorites.

Mine too. a true horseman. which, in MY book, is what REALLY matters.