Ake

[polish jola]

Won close to 3/4 Million in purse money on Hambo Day!! The man is always there when the big $$$$ is down!!

[Cleanupindustry]

Yes he is and owner Jeff gural has many horses with that drug trainer.  Hey Jeff are you going test all those horses ake won with for EPO. Or just push it under carpet

[rainman2]

Yes he is and owner Jeff gural has many horses with that drug trainer.  Hey Jeff are you going test all those horses ake won with for EPO. Or just push it under carpet

Should have been done before all the big races!

[Adamo]

Should have been done before all the big races!

Ake is one of the cleanest trainer in the industry. He knows how to train horses without having to relied on medical performance. You sound like an imbecile, if this is wrong, gets some facts, not your jealous and envious thoughts.

[pocketrocketwinner]

Yes he is and owner Jeff gural has many horses with that drug trainer.  Hey Jeff are you going test all those horses ake won with for EPO. Or just push it under carpet

Drivers seem to play it safe around Ake on the racetrack. Everyone knows Gural holds all the power when it comes to who is allowed to race and who isn't

[pocketrocketwinner]

Ake is one of the cleanest trainer in the industry. He knows how to train horses without having to relied on medical performance. You sound like an imbecile, if this is wrong, gets some facts, not your jealous and envious thoughts.

It is wrong. He used Dexamethasone to win the cashman a few years back and had to return all the purse money.

[Grandstand Handicapper]

Resolve tested positive after winning the Cashman, and AS had a second horse test positive for the same thing from an overnight race (the night before, IIRC). AS dropped his appeal and served his days. In addition, several years later, AS had another horse----owned by Jeff Gural----came up positive for Dexamethasone. Four other trainers had positives the same day for the same thing. What happened after the positive is quite alarming in that AS and Gural, along with four other trainers who also came up positive----all asked for split samples. The lab had admitted there could potentially be an issue because the lab was doing a necropsy on a horse that had Dexamethasone in their system. Even the lab assumed all five parties would request a split sample. For reasons beyond my understanding, the split sample was not done and the OH Racing Commision took the position that they did not have to do a (urine) sample for the purposes of a split sample and the positive tests stood.

I know Gural retained a lawyer, and I believe the other four trainers joined with him. The lawyer made a motion before the Judge to required the lab to do whatever was needed to perform the split sample. Two years later, the lab and the OH Racing Commission decided----with no urine or split sample----to dismiss all five positives.

All that said, IMO, AS is an excellent horsemen. Period. With trotters, I think he's the best in the game right now. The one distinct advantage I think he has over his competition, horsepower aside, is that he knows how to bring a horse along, manage him/her, and get them to peak for a specific race. Sure, every trainer does. Obvious. However, I think he does it better.

As far as AS's positive(s) for dexamethasone, no defense. You come up positive you pay the price. IMO, this is not some designer, exotic drug which has no place on the racetrack. After Gural's horse came up positive for this, and I knew it had been used on one of my horses in the past, I asked a vet (a friend, not my vet) about the drug over lunch. He said it absolutely can help horses in a variety of ways and situations. He said the common uses are for allergies (allergic reactions), respiratory allergies, heaves, and inflammatory conditions like arthritis. He also said it can be used in emergency situations where a horse is having a reaction to something, and that overall the drug is nothing exotic or designer in nature and is approved for use in horses and other animals. All that said, IMO, a positive test for this drug doesn't make a guy a career chemist or a career cheater. If he has three positive tests for this drug, and there's no and's, if's, or but's about it----then that's a different story. If I had a trotter, I'd have no problem giving him to AS. He wouldn't be my first choice, and if I did go elsewhere, I wouldn't be surprised if I got beat by him, LOL.

Approved drugs will forever be part of this sport and industry. People are going to look for a competitive edge wherever they can----equipment, driver, feed, technology, and yes, medication. It is impossible to ban all drugs. Just not feasible. Let them do and debate lasix now, and yes, that's coming. The RFP is coming out. When the Big M was in it's early years, people talked about how Joe DeFrank brought a lot of Canadians to the Big M and how they always seemed to have an edge when it came to pre-racing, drugs, etc. The infamous "milkshake" had made it's way (allegedly) from Western Canada, east and then to the US. I think the Robinson/Pelling/Lapoff/et al was the beginning of the so called "drug" trainers who dropped seconds off lifetime marks in one week (exception, not the norm). If you want to tell me those names today, I'll listen. But I want more than aspersions, allegations, and rumor-mud-slinging. Today, I'll give a horse to Brett Pelling, Nifty Norman, or Steve Elliott, and although they wouldn't be my first choice, I don't have a problem with AS or Linda Toscano. There's other too. Do I think Burke is as legit as these others? No. Do I think Takter is. No. But, hey, that's JMO. If something thinks Burke is more legit than those names, hey, I have no problem with that. To each their own. I don't hate anyone for their opinion, who they like, think it legit, etc.

So, I don't root for Burke or Takter, but I don't root against them. It would have been nice for David Miller to win a Hambo for his final year of racing here at the Big M, but so be it. YG finally got one, and he drove a very good race, on a horse who has done nothing but be on the front end. That and $5 gets you a fancy drink at Starbucks! LOL.

[jupiter]

He liked the electric back home. Arrogant Asshole, Sarah's tits looked nice on TV. How many loads did his kid drop before he hit it. She's got a couple of young kids. He's gonna pay some day.

[Bitter Truth]

Just because Purple Jesus is apparently moving back to Ohio doesn't and won't
preclude him from racing in Hambo or other Grand Circuit races.

[pocketrocketwinner]

He does seem to be the best in the game. But, it sure seems like a distinct advantage to have Gural in his corner

[The Thorn]

So many rumors about him for years.  The question I have is why are all of his horses so lightly raced? Go back years... So many examples.  The first year he showed up he won first out in the Hambletonian Maturity with a horse that raced only a couple times more after that.  That superfast Italian horse a few years ago that hardly raced and got hurt.  Bond can't get a start this year although I'm sure he passed up many for her.  Jiggy Jog, Southwind Tyrion, Special Way, Asteroid, Warrawee Michelle, Darling Mearas, Captain Corey, Ecurie D, Perfect Spirit, Felicity Shagwell, the list goes on and on.  Every one super lightly raced for their entire career.
 
You guys can probably name another dozen or two he had that race less than most other trainers but were very successful.  Bottom line is there is no other trainer like him but why are there so many champion type horses that hardly get raced?

[Meadow Ford]

And then take a wild guess at how many of his horses never get off the training track.
I guess it is a very high number.

[clearmind]

Three quarters of $1,000,000. might sound like a lot of money.. But, when you consider his overhead and the amount of yearlings  that he buys or breeds. I don't think that he  breaks even at the end of the year.. 

$3.2 M  in earnings ytd.
Stake payments for one horse would be over a $100K each. so 10 horses would eat a Million $.
just a guesstimate but his overhead would be in the 10 Million $ a year.
Owners like his don't need the money they just want the accolades and trophy's

[Sunmoon 1219]

We all wanted it to rain while Sarah had her huge implants out for all to see . She buries all of them if Nancy  , Jen B , Jessica , Michelle C . They have no shot .

[The Thorn]

Stake payments for one horse would be over a $100K each. so 10 horses would eat a Million $.
just a guesstimate but his overhead would be in the 10 Million $ a year.
Owners like his don't need the money they just want the accolades and trophy's

You are right about the owners but your guesstimate concerning stake payments is most likely way off.  To pay that much you would have to be entered in every stake for every gait for every horse and pay up every single time a payment is due.  Not just their own gait and sex but all of them.  I'm sure there are a few owners here that can give a more accurate figure, but I'd be willing to guess that he could stake a hundred horses to a lot of stakes for their own gait and still not make up anywhere near Ten million for stakes payments.  The owners pay the rest of the overhead, so Ake just pays his share for the ones he co owns.