Re: Trainers' pre-race comments (1205 Views)

Well, of course, you can't listen to the majority of what they say, especially when they are touting their horse. The owners who employ the trainers want to hear how great their horse is, so naturally the trainers are going to say it. But if a trainer says something negative about his horse beforehand, it might be worth listening to. Occasionally you can pick up a valuable signal amongst all the noise.

As far as post-race excuses go, I agree with you completely. Dave Feldman very honestly wrote in his book something like, "The number one rule of training is to never take the blame for a horse's loss. Blame it on the jockey, the assistant starter, whoever, and if that won't work, use the generic excuse, 'The horse just didn't like the track.'"