JC / Railbird

Trainers/Training Archive

Pletcher Fined, Suspended

Trainer Todd Pletcher has been fined $3,000 and suspended for 45 days by the New York stewards for a drug positive from last summer (ESPN). Tales of Glory won an allowance race at Saratoga last August and tested positive for mepivacaine, an anesthetic that has “a high potential to affect performance.” Pletcher has appealed the ruling. Whispers about the use of performance enhancing substances have long dogged the trainer, and this positive, which is Pletcher’s first, will give gossips plenty to talk about. It’s unlikely there’ll be much other fallout. As Alan notes over on Left at the Gate, trainer Richard Dutrow was sanctioned for a similar offense and,

If the appeal fails, Pletcher’s 2004 Saratoga record will be changed to 34 wins. He won 35 at the meet in 2003.

Posted in Trainers/Training on July 3, 2005

Mullins Apologizes

“I said things I didn’t mean and shouldn’t have said,” trainer Jeff Mullins said in a TVG interview on Sunday night. “Believe me, I’d take them back if I could. I didn’t mean to offend anybody.” Thank you, Mr. Mullins. Let’s put the affair behind us now. (LA Times)
Comment: I’ve been surprised by the vociferous reaction to Mullins’ remarks about bettors being “idiots” and “addicts.” Had D.G. Van Clief or Frank Stronach said such things, I’d understand the outcry. Had Mullins said these things in a horsemen’s meeting and all the other trainers around him nodded in agreement, I’d probably be offended. But all the outrage of the past week over the angry words of one trainer who’s seen his win percentage fall from 30% to 9% in the wake of a positive milkshake test seems out of proportion. This was something to laugh at and dismiss — not to get into an uproar over.

Posted in Trainers/Training on March 14, 2005

L’Affaire Mullins, Cont.

Trainer Jeff Mullins “expressed regret” today that his comments to LA Times columnist T.J. Simers last weekend offended anyone. “The conditioner said he lost his temper at Simers when they had a heated discussion outside the Mullins barn early Saturday.” Simers quoted Mullins as saying, “If you bet on horses, I would call you an idiot,” and, “I train to win and that’s all I care about. It’s not my problem [if the general public is deceived]. They ought to bring in slot machines, then we could run our horses and make a living without worrying about some crybaby calling the stewards and raising a fit.” Mullins says that Simers took these statements out of context and that they weren’t intended for publication, although he did admit that Simers asked if he could print his remarks. (Blood-Horse)
Mullins’ apology might not be enough to soothe some bettors: “I don’t want a single dollar of my mutuel handle ever going into the pocket of someone so unappreciative of my investment and blatantly denying responsibility for his actions,” writes Jeremy Plonk. “That leaves me — as a consumer — with some difficult decisions to make. Why should I bet on the tracks where Mullins’ horses compete?” (ESPN)
Related: NTRA Commissioner D.G. Van Clief called Mullins’ comments “inexcusable” this afternoon. “Anybody realizes that horse racing depends on the bettor for its livelihood … As an industry, we do not overlook and we won’t forget our No. 1 asset, which is our customer. They are valued and appreciated and we probably can’t say that enough.” (SportsLine)
Bill Handleman wishes that Van Clief’s sentiments were the message he heard from the racing industry. Instead, “What Mullins said about people who bet on horses, you hear this whispered on the racetrack every day. By certain deep thinkers on the backside … by lowly officials who could be replaced by monkeys, no one would know the difference … even by some executives, who see the horseplayer as some lower form of life that is hopelessly addicted to the game … Maybe that’s why players have been treated so shabbily over the years, because these executives feel they will come back no matter how you treat them. In unguarded moments, I have actually heard high-level decision-makers say this, without batting an eye.” (Asbury Park Press) [Many thanks to Chris Tatti for the link.]

Posted in Trainers/Training on March 9, 2005