GOLDEN GLIMPSES #147

December 29, 1998

By ED GOLDEN

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

California Horse Racing Board commissioner Christo Bardis doesn’t seem to adhere to that axiom. Bardis is the proponent of a regulation which will take effect in 1999 in Southern California, one that will have trainers send reports regularly to the racing secretary’s office, disclosing which of their horses are ready to race.

But some leading trainers say they’re already bogged down with tedious paper work; that there’s more than enough bureaucracy to go around; and that the age-old verbal liaison between horsemen and the racing office works just fine, thank you.

Barry Abrams, Jack Carava, Mike Mitchell and Mel Stute are a racing secretary’s fantasy-come-true. Between them, they ran more than 1,400 horses in 1998. It’s apparent that they have plenty to do just tending their horses, their help and their owners, let alone handling another menial clerical chore.

"It’s just another job for a trainer to do," said Abrams, not one to mince words. "He’s responsible for everything else and if he’s responsible for turning in another list, he might as well not train horses anymore. They want you to do all the paper work and run a business as a trainer, and now they want you to do more paper work. It’s ridiculous.

"The workouts are there (for the racing office). When you see a horse working six furlongs, seven furlongs, he’s probably pretty close to a race. That’s when a racing secretary can call a trainer and ask him how far the horse is from a race. That’s the way it should be.

"If they’re going to have trainers put lists out, they’re going to get false information. Most trainers are either going to ignore it or give the wrong information. I don’t know myself when a horse is ready to go. I wait until the horse tells me if it’s ready and then I look for a race. It can take me a month from now, it could take me five months. With their better horses, most trainers go to the racing secretary to make sure there’s going to be a race for the horse. And the racing secretary knows what horses he’s got available, most of the time."

Mitchell says communications between horsemen and the racing office could be improved.

"If I were a racing secretary, my door would be open to any trainer and I’d ask them to give me a list of any horses they had ready to run," Mitchell said. "They don’t do that now. They never have. You have to go in and ask them if they’re going to run a certain race. I’d go in before the (condition) books are written--not to get any edge--but if I were a secretary, I would want every trainer’s input. Trainers should be able to submit their requests, and if the racing secretary wants to honor them, fine. I don’t see anything wrong with such a proposal, although I’m surprised the Board is behind it."

Trainer Steve Young took offense.

"The insinuation is that trainers have horses that are ready to run and we’re not going to tell the racing office," Young said. "And that’s wrong."

Said Carava: "I haven’t looked into it that much but from what I’ve heard, the idea doesn’t sound too good to me. The racing office usually has a pretty good handle of what’s on the grounds, anyway. And there are so many variables. Horses get sick and things can change every two minutes--and they do. I have a tough enough time telling my owners how their horses are doing and not have it change."

Stute, 71, has been training for more than 50 years. When he gets stall space, he knows the horses in those stalls are there to run.

"If it was like the old days, when you got stalls, those horses were expected to perform at the meeting," said mellow Mel, who saddled his first winner in 1947. "You’re not supposed to bring them in and just train them. It’s been that way for all the years I’ve been around. When you ship in, your horses should be race-ready, or close to it. A few come in from the farm that may take you 20 days or so to wind them up. It wouldn’t bother me because most all of mine are ready."

As far as adding another piece to the trainers’ mountainous paper chase, Stute preferred to roll with the punch.

"It will be just another kind of pain-in-the-butt," he said. "But it won’t bother me none."

GOLDEN PICKS

CHIKALIS--Hard-hitting gelding was pegged too high in closing-day Hollywood stakes. Can handle high-priced claiming sprinters on dirt or turf.

DEVON COURT--Irish-bred 2-year-old showed plenty of moxey finishing fourth at 19-1 in turf route in U.S. debut. Should land in winners’ circle promptly.

DEVINE WIND--Broke in the air at start in debut, losing all chance, but made up gobs of ground to finish a fast-closing third. Should leave maiden ranks pronto.

SO SURE--First-timer ran around the track well after tossing rider at start, should claiming maidens next time.

THE HOMESTRETCH: New Santa Anita owner Frank Stronach hit the ground running, and while his purchase of the storied Arcadia track on Dec. 11 has been virtually unanimously acclaimed by horsemen, the 66-year-old native of Austria has been known to change his mind. And that may be a good sign for traditionalists who got their noses out of joint when Stronach announced plans to eliminate the uniquely popular downhill turf course and the lush and stately east paddock gardens, which are adorned by busts of Charlie Whittingham, Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay Jr., and a life-size statue of the legendary Seabiscuit. "He’s very fickle," said one insider of Stronach. "He has entourage of 15 people, and gets their advice on important matters. But he’s the one who makes the final decision." Bill Baker, Santa Anita’s chairman of the board and CEO, and track president and COO Cliff Goodrich, both reportedly have contracts under the Stronach regime, but whether they stay on or not at "Stronach Anita" is open to speculation. One thing’s for sure: if it gets too hot in Stronach’s kitchen, he can always find another spot. He has a 200-room castle in Vienna. Meanwhile, Stronach is enamored with his new toy. "Santa Anita is the most beautiful track in the world," Stronach says. "I think I have a good understanding of what it means to the community and I think I can improve it. I only have one interest, to make it the best racetrack in the world. I had a concern that if Santa Anita would be sold for just real estate, it would be a major blow to American racing." . . . Most late scratches are due to sudden ailments, but one horse was scratched on closing day at Hollywood because the toe grabs on its shoes were a tad too long for the turf course, or what was left of it. That’s the way it should be. Officials did their job and enforced regulations . . . The Daily Racing Form, bible of the bettors, is counting its pennies. Legitimate expense account items are scrutinized and even operating necessities such as cell phones are difficult, if not impossible, to have approved.

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