When you ‘train’ hundreds of horses at different tracks around the country, and going to sales, and keeping up with the people bringing your young horses up, and talking to your clients, and holding court every morning for hours on the rail during training at the racetrack for adoring reporters, as Baffert so famously does, you really aren’t training the horses. But that goes both ways: the assistants running the barn should be getting the glory for the wins, they’re the ones doing the training.
One day I witnessed a BNT with a deservedly great reputation watching his horses on the rail one busy morning. He had no idea who they were—his assistants were radioing him who was working, how far they were going, who was riding who. He started to go back to the barn at one point and somebody ran over to wave him back because he had another set to go. I mean, he had no idea what was going on. He could only half watch anyway, as he was fielding phone calls the whole time from others. I kind of felt sorry for him, at that point I think you’re a victim of your own success.
I’m not excusing anything, just to be clear. You court publicity, you get the glory, you take the heat.
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