I honestly don’t know how horseman at Beulah Park survive. You almost have to gallop them yourself and use just Bute and alcohol. Most races pay under $1,000 when you run 2nd ! Yikes. Are they ever going to get slots in Ohio?
[QUOTE=luvmytbs;3332115]
sleepy fox,
you guys have some nice purses then. Around here (KY, OH etc) that is not the case. No slots, LOL.
So if you looked at tracks like River Downs, Beulah Park and the likes, your findings would be much different.[/QUOTE]
Suffolk has good purses, too, which is why I wanted to look at it. I pretty much knew what I would find at EVD, but was curious if SUF was the same.
At least at EVD, the trade-off for the good purses and what makes it tough with a cheap horse, is that there are so many horses you’re stuck waiting 4 to 5 weeks between races. Horses at River and Beulah may be running for less money, but I think they can run much more frequently.
To prove that I am, in fact, a huge dork I pulled up the entries for River for today. Purses for 4k and 5k claimers vary between $4,400 and $5,200. Lumping the 4k and 5k horses together, I found 44 horses. Of those 44, 17 were owned by the trainer and several more owned by most likely the trainer’s spouse.
I honestly don’t know how horseman at Beulah Park survive
What about some of the cheaper tracks? A horse I’m following showed up at Les Bois in a MSW. The purse was $2,800. Yeah, the comma is in the correct place. :eek: She is owned by her trainer, though. 
yeah…
so some of you may think yay suffolk downs is doing a great thing. But let me fill you in on a little detail.
There is an owner who has over 50 horses, most claims. He has made statements he wants to take leading trainers out of buisness. All he wants is to be leading owner.
He has a signature that he does to every horse he claims. He has them have their neck operated on to have the flap removed. Well he is such a jerk that most vets, or anybody, wont work for him so he had some low new not a good vet do two horses. Well that vet killed both horses b/c he cut their jugular.
ALSO he had two horses that broke down in races yesterday. He is the one who people should be going after. He runs them mercilessly doesnt care about any horse that he owns. He just wants to be leading owner and will do whatever possible to be that.
Because nobody wants to work for him he has about one groom to ten horses so the horses dont get the care they need or deserve. The grooms don’t know much at all just hurry up and get it over with. He sends horses to the track that are lame to train in the morning. He is the one few people who give racing a bad name.
Yet suffolk caters to him. They write races for him but nobody else. He has about 8 horses racing every day. But doesnt care about them just if one breaks down he claims another. And word of mouth he just put an awful lot of money in his account to claim more horses. OH and yea he is banned from a few other tracks because of this behavior.
People should be writing to suffolk to ban him as well. He is someone who should not own horses.
[QUOTE=horselover101;3333511]
so some of you may think yay suffolk downs is doing a great thing. But let me fill you in on a little detail.
There is an owner who has over 50 horses, most claims. He has made statements he wants to take leading trainers out of buisness. All he wants is to be leading owner.
He has a signature that he does to every horse he claims. He has them have their neck operated on to have the flap removed. Well he is such a jerk that most vets, or anybody, wont work for him so he had some low new not a good vet do two horses. Well that vet killed both horses b/c he cut their jugular.
ALSO he had two horses that broke down in races yesterday. He is the one who people should be going after. He runs them mercilessly doesnt care about any horse that he owns. He just wants to be leading owner and will do whatever possible to be that.
Because nobody wants to work for him he has about one groom to ten horses so the horses dont get the care they need or deserve. The grooms don’t know much at all just hurry up and get it over with. He sends horses to the track that are lame to train in the morning. He is the one few people who give racing a bad name.
Yet suffolk caters to him. They write races for him but nobody else. He has about 8 horses racing every day. But doesnt care about them just if one breaks down he claims another. And word of mouth he just put an awful lot of money in his account to claim more horses. OH and yea he is banned from a few other tracks because of this behavior.
People should be writing to suffolk to ban him as well. He is someone who should not own horses.[/QUOTE]
I can only assume you’re referring to Mike Gill, which is always strikes a nerve with me.
Mike Gill is not a saint, but he puts a lot of money into racing. He HAS been leading owner for quite some time (Eclipse award winning), until he “left the game” for the umpteenth time a couple years ago. Then this spring, he decided to resume full force again by wiping out MD and shipping them all up to his home track.
As far as the condition of his horses-- I don’t know what his string of horses at Suffolk currently looks like, but in the past, he would have never tolerated that type of care of his horses. Yes, the horses work hard for a living. But I will say in years past, they ALWAYS received top notch care. None of them ever went without.
To my knowledge, he is not “banned” from any track at this time. Correct me if I’m wrong on that. He was denied stalls at many due to having such a large string, aggressive claiming tactics, and being overwhelmingly unpopular with his competitors. But he can still ship in to those tracks.
I’m not sure if I’m trying to defend him here… I’m more just trying to set the record straight since there was certainly a “biased” tone about your post.
he has killed 4 horses in a matter of a week. of course im upset.
He claims horses from trainers that maybe have 2 or 3 horses just to be leading trainer.
He has told people he wants to take a trainer out of buisness.
He cuts the flap off of every horse he owns NO MATTER WHAT. Now that operation is only supposed to be done if the horse gets winded easily but he still does it on two y/os that have NOT ran. It’s his “signature”.
He does nothing for racing except give it a bad name. Absolutely nothing. He claims horses runs them in a week or two. Nobody wants to work for him. The vets won’t take care of his horses so he has to get bad vets. He has grooms taking care of 10 horses. Its not an all day job either. They are there in the morning for 4 or 5 hours. Thats not a lot if you have horses that need help. [edit]
I mean C’MON he claims horses in 4000 claiming races. He’s just trying to win races now. If he wanted decent horses he would take the time to pick and choose carefully and pick horses that auctually CAN win. And he’s not stupid he doesnt care who he claims horses from. If he wants to claim a horse from a trainer/owner who has 2 or 3 horses he should have the decency to let them know so they can scratch the horse if they want. Thats whats done around the racetrack. [edit]
Maybe I did work for him at one time. Which is maybe why I know a lot of what you’re saying is extremist.
Horselover101, tell us how you really feel about Gill.
I know he is a ruthless claimer. He is in the claiming business and he doesn’t make friends. So, yeah, he’s going to take horses off whomever he feels like. You don’t run a big claiming outfit like he does and make courtesy calls prior to dropping a slip. If you want to make and keep friends, the rule of thumb is to let your friends know your intentions prior to claiming off of them (or just don’t do it) and don’t take a guy’s last horse. And, that’s only if you want to make friends, which a lot of people don’t care about.
And, running a horse back in a week or two isn’t bad. If the horse came out of the race okay, why not?
How is claiming a $4k horse bad? You can make good money at Suffolk running at the $4k level with a good horse. There are a lot of horses that belong at that level and do very well there. I’m watching a few right now for a possible claim at that level (no, not at Suffolk and yes, I like to keep friends ;)).
Ten horses per groom is high, but most barns have more horses per groom that you would expect. And, it’s not an all day job. I think you get better care with a lower ratio, but most barns have a lot of horses per groom.
If Suffolk caters to Gill, it’s because he fills races. I’m sure he also returns the favor by providing horses when they need one to make a race go. Big stables to get favors.
I can’t comment on the specifics you mention because I just don’t know. I do know Gill is running his stable like a business and is probably harder on his horses than some. But, at the same time, I’m sure he knows that he needs to give them appropriate care or they won’t be able to do their job.
how about that yesterday he claimed a horse from a guy who that was his only horse and he is currently in the hospital very ill. He is not a true racetracker. People like him are what make the industry look bad.
you people defending mike gill are as ignorant as peta and all those people knocking racing during the triple crown. when someone has close to 80 horses he has to have multiple horses at different conditions. the racetrack should be looking out for all the horsemen not just one jerk who makes the industry look bad. he has enough cash to go to big tracks such as monmouth and delaware to take horses that are worth taking. he’s a joke and is making a mockery out of racing.
[QUOTE=horselover101;3333822]
you people defending mike gill are as ignorant as peta and all those people knocking racing during the triple crown. [/QUOTE]
Now dontcha think it’s kind of silly to imply a person is ignorant of the situation when said person admitted to being on the inside? :lol:
You are entitled to your opinions and your feelings are not uncommon. I am just offering the opposing viewpoint as someone who has probably seen more of it than you. Many of your “facts” are way off base.
so what have you seen that i probably haven’t. he had 2 horses break legs yesterday. not only is he breaking down horses regularly he is putting riders and other people in danger as well. and in my opinion people like you defending someone like him is ignorant
[QUOTE=horselover101;3333822]
you people defending mike gill are as ignorant as peta and all those people knocking racing during the triple crown. [/QUOTE]
I’m not saying Gill is a great guy or anything. But, many of your reasons for his being a bad guy are really par for the course in a claiming barn.
oi vey
Horselover,
the reasons for these boards is to post opinions, now fox and tex are both recognizing your opinion and giving other options and beliefs ( hence discussion)… implying ignorance for someone else’s opinion is basically… well… ignorant…
the leading trainer at suffolk downs is a claiming barn he doesn’t come to suffolk and start claiming horses that aren’t worth claiming. he makes claims in MD during the winter and has a string of horses in monmouth where he is also claiming horses. he claims horses to bring to boston to make money. thats what a smart claiming barn does. they don’t claim just to claim. i’ve been on the track all my life and i’ve never heard about another person that people complain more than gill.
irkrame ur just as ignorant to come into a bulletin and talk about me sayin i’m ignorant. talk about the topic before u start callin ppl ignorant. [edit]
[QUOTE=horselover101;3333906]
and in my opinion people like you defending someone like him is ignorant[/QUOTE]
People like me? Now you’re qualified to speak of my character? Do tell, I’m all ears. :winkgrin:
You are completely entitled to your opinions. I’ve already said that. I am obviously not at Suffolk right now, so I can’t speak first hand of the condition of his current stable. But based on the combination of my past experiences and the inflatedness of many of your statements, I feel what you spout as truth is probably a bit, well, skewed. 
in that quote tex i’m not callin u ignorant. defending him is ignorant the action of defending him is ignorant. so u thinkin i’m attacking ur character is sort of skewed. so get ur facts straight first before u tell me what i’m saying is skewed.
Horselover is correct in that Gill had a horrendous day yesterday with two catastrophic breakdowns on the track. Catlike Move “broke down then lost rider” in a $4k claimer in his second start for Gill after being claimed at Pimlico for $4k in April. Stormin J. P. “broke down and fell in upper stretch” in a $10k claimer - his second start for Gill after winning last out. He was also claimed at Pimlico.
That’s a very bad day for a barn to have.
Still, I’m not totally ignorant and much of what Gill does is typical of a claiming barn. However, if I was he, I’d be taking a hard look at some things this morning.
well with something around 80 horses its gonna be an awfully long day if he’s takin a hard look at things this morning. he should stick with the mortgage co and get out of racing
ur defense of mike gill is ignorant sleepy not u like i told tex.
