Which horse trainers have the most breakdowns, which have the least?

Question

I don't hear too much about Bobby Frankel or Neil Drysdale having horses break down for instance. Does anybody know who are the worst out there? I know D. Wayne Lukas is about as bad as it gets.

Answer 1

There is very little research about breakdowns. Do you mean fatal breakdowns during a race? Career ending injuries? D.Wayne has a bad rap but, during the time that he earned it he was training upwards of 200 horses in his name with stables across the country. Before Lukas came along a trainer with 50 horses was considered successful. Drysdale may not be known for having too many fatal breakdowns in major races but he has never had the numbers that Lukas had in his heyday. And while Frankel's horses haven't broken down publicly in the afternoons he has lost quite a few in the mornings.

Answer 2

There's no way to really know that. A breakdown that ends a career can happen in morning works as well as during a race. It doesn't have to happen on a track either - if a trainer has horses at a training center chances are unless it's a horse with notoriety (something like The Green Monkey) we'd never know about it. Sooner or later all trainers have horses breakdown.
http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=3257 was a Drysdale horse.
Ghostzapper was one of Frankel's - breakdowns don't have to be fatal and there's a *lot* of horses retired due to physical issues the last several years.

Answer 3

In my own personal experience as a groom on the Southern California Circuit, I'd have to say that I totally agree with you on the Lukas Barn! I worked for them ONE day & that was all I could take! If owners could see what I have seen, they wouldn't go near the big barns at all! It is hard to pick out who has more breakdowns because when a horse goes lame, they disappear faster than a rabbit in a magicians top-hat! Most of the time they stay on the same track, but go into another trainers barn. I have seen them get shipped back & forth from track to track in order to keep that daily stall fee comin' in from the owner to the trainer. I have also seen them having veterinary procedures done that cost thousands of dollars & the trainer & vets both know that it will have no effect on the health of the horse, but it will have a big effect on their financial bottom line! Profit is #1 in this industry. Deceit is #2. There are basically only 3 types of barns on the backside. The tweekers, the coke heads, & the stoners! The stoner barns include pot & alcohol. You can see it in the faces of the employees & how they treat their animals & their fellow workers. There is a 4th type of barn & this is the honest, straight & narrow who is usually the owner/trainer or represents foreign owners & they employ only the people who are most like themselves...honest! Unfortunately, they are few & far between! Some of the strangest barns I ever worked for was Paul Aguirre, Dominguez, & Nick Cannani! I can't say they were bad trainers, just extremely bad liars!