Getting the Inside Scoop

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Just ask my journalism colleagues—dealing with “new media”issues in the classroom, not to mention in real life, is a bitch. With today’sstudents so technologically savvy, it’s actually become harder than ever to getthem to understand that not all the information they encounter online is truth.Critical thinking is nearly a lost art form, as we’ve become lazy when it comesto consuming, processing and reacting to information. Still, for all its fault,the internet is truly a wondrous thing, isn’t it?
A fascinating recent development has been the online engagementof trainers with racing fans, via Twitter and personal blogs. Want to know thecondition of Coolmore runners or upcoming racing plans? Trainer Aidan O’Brienrelays information to his wife Annemarie who tweets @aobballydoyle. Also amongtrainers worldwide who regularly tweet substantive information are Peter Moody(@MoodyRacing) in Australia andCarolyn Costigan (@arravaleracing)in Canada. American trainers tweeting are rarer. While not particularlyprolific, Bob Baffert occasionally tweets as @Midnightlute, but most of thebig name trainers are silent, leading to sometimes sarcastic, nearly alwaysamusing, faux-accounts for Steve Asmussen (@SteveyAsmussen) and ToddPletcher (@NotTheToddster).
For more in-depth writing, personal blogs serve a valuablepurpose, and without a doubt the queen in this regard is Australia’s renowned ladytrainer GaiWaterhouse who’s been blogging on her website since 2007. A wonderful mixof updates, impressions and even controversial comments, Gai is an engaging(and dedicated) writer, posting lengthy entries nearly every day. Really, ifyou want to learn something about Australian racing and training practices, herblog is a must-read.
Another I highly-recommend (with obvious bias) is Gina Rarick, anAmerican trainer based in Maisons-Laffitte, France, she’s been blogging at Gallop France since 2008 and is amember of our TURFcollaborative.
While American horse racing fan bloggers are plentiful,that’s not the case among American trainers. The most revealing site is Graham Motion’s Herringswell Stables,which regularly posts stable news, although not written by the manhimself. However, in his homeland of Great Britain, a plethora of trainers pentheir thoughts regularly on their websites, including top trainers like MarkJohnston, who has been recording his “Bletherings” since 2009 (archivesavailable here). Also prominent and free with stable news are Luca Cumani, although it’s notclear that the trainer himself is writing the material. Others who clearly areputting down their own very personal thoughts include:

• John Berry, aNewmarket-based trainer since 1995, he took over Beverley House Stablesin 1997 and has been blogging at Stable Life since 2006.
• Julia Feilden,a former racing secretary and English amateur jockey, she began training in 2005at Exning outside Newmarket and blogging in 2010.
• JohnBest, a Kent-based trainer who posts an interesting weekly video blogupdate on his runners, although it’s not archived.
• Amy Weaver, a formerassistant trainer for Michael Bell, she’s been out on her own since 2008, and is basedat Newmarket. She also regularly tweets @amyweaverracing.

I don’t have any particular insight into why Britishtrainers feel more comfortable than American trainers in penning theirthoughts, but it’s honestly quite refreshing—chiefly for fans and horseplayersalways hungry for inside information.