Derick Giwner

As handicappers in the racing world we have plenty of variables to decipher: weather, trips, intent, and much more. Along the way we are left with no choice but to place our faith in certain constants, though. One of those is charted past performance lines. We take for granted that the information contained in each past performance line is accurate. What happens when it is imprecise?

Each December my ballot arrives for the U.S. Harness Writers Association Dan Patch Awards. While voting in the horses’ categories are open to all competitors, the human nominees are narrowed down and selected by individual Chapters of the organization.

Let’s skip around a bit this week and touch on a few topics. As much as I hate to harp on an issue, what were trainers Mark Kesmodel and Richard Banca thinking when they made comments to Harnessracingupdate.com on the suspensions they were handed by the New York Racing and Wagering Board?

On the heels of Lou Pena returning to Yonkers Raceway, I couldn’t help but notice all the recent trainer changes. Multiple regular trainers have been replaced by substitutes, many of whom I have never even heard of. The most logical assumption is that each of the old trainers were suspended and all of their horses went into the care of their second trainer or another available conditioner. Here is a list of the barn switches:

Any organization or business goes through trials and tribulations during its existence. Staying on top for an extended period in any walk of life is a tough task. Trainer Lou Pena maintained one of the top stables in the country for nearly two years before he was banned from Yonkers Raceway in August of this year. The eviction caused a 75 percent reduction in the nunber of horses he trained, and with the exodus his success story hit the skids in a hurry.