JC / Railbird

Trainers/Training Archive

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

Who’s the Idiot Here?

Trainer Jeff Mullins, perhaps feeling a little grumpy now that he’s been busted for cheating, tells writer T.J. Simers that the problem with racing is “all the addicts and idiots crying because they lost a $2 bet.” Ouch. Of course, if it weren’t for racing fans, there’d be no purse money for trainers. The cranky Mullins had sharp words for fellow trainers and racing officials as well:
“For a guy who has won as many Breeders’ Cup races as Mandella has, I’d like to see his tests…. I would think Bruce Headley’s horses are over [the testing limit] every time they run. How do we know? The testing results are never released. Headley’s sister-in-law, Ingrid Fermin, is on the [California Horse Racing Board], and ever since I claimed Choctaw Nation, one of Headley’s horses, Fermin has been after me.”
Mullins had been one of top trainers at Santa Anita, winning at a rate of 30%, until he was cited three weeks ago for running a horse with excess carbon dioxide levels (read: milkshaking). His win rate has since fallen to 9%. (LA Times)
More: Mullins brings up a legitimate conflict of interest question, writes Sherry Ross. It’s just a shame he lashed out at bettors when he articulated it. (New York Daily News)
Trainers and racing officials react to Mullins’ comments: “It sounded to me like he blew his top,” says trainer Bobby Frankel. “What he said about the bettors was inappropriate and not true. There wouldn’t be a track if there weren’t the gamblers. There are a lot of straight shooters in this game. [Mullins] made it sound like we’re all a bunch of crooks.” (LA Times)

Posted in Trainers/Training on March 6, 2005

Volume, Volume, Volume

Trainer Steve Asmussen’s stable has 180 horses and stretches from coast to coast, notes Ralph Siraco, and it’s no surprise that he blew by Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg’s record of 496 winners in one year on Saturday. “Asmussen is the Wal-Mart of horse race trainers. He is a volume dealer. On Saturday, he started a career-high 30 horses. In one day!” (Las Vegas Sun)

Posted in Trainers/Training on November 22, 2004