Trainers unhappy over the SRWB’s decision over stakes barn
Top trainers like Dale Romans, Michael Matz, Doug O’Neill and Bob Baffert have expressed their dissatisfaction over the SRWB’S decision to relocate Belmont Stakes contenders to a designated barn for the dozen horses participating in the final leg of the Triple Crown on 9 June, 2012, at Belmont Park.
The decision was made one and a half week before the Belmont Stakes, and the directive stated that it should be done to ensure the safety of the contenders, and mainly let people know how clean the sport is and what goes on in the barns when horses are off the track.
Trainer Dale Romans wanted to take his Kentucky Derby third place finisher, Dullahan, an hour early to the track for his routine work ahead of the Belmont Stakes to beat the congestion.
He wanted to do so, because all horses were supposed to leave the barn at the same time to work within the 15 minute window exclusive for Belmont Stakes starters.
The decision also affected trainer Michael Matz’s plans, who wanted to bring Union Rags to the Belmont Park, but as per the directive he had to ship his colt a day earlier, and openly criticised the decision.
“I think this causes poor perception and it makes people think even worse of the game; when really, this is a very clean sport,” Romans responded. “They could have quietly put guards on every horse and never been talked about in the paper. It’s run properly. There are enough regular checks and balances put into place to make sure it’s an even playing field, and this whole thing isn’t really necessary.”
Doug O’Neill spoke out as well saying the state is trying to show how clean the sport is, and because there are some news about some people who want to affect the sport negatively, the decision imposed has left all the trainers participating grinding their teeth.
O’Neill agreed with Romans, who believes that the decision isn’t going to affect the outcome of the race, but it still is a distraction to people who want to be completely focused at their work at the moment.
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