An Evaluation Standard?

Ways to judge training? I've tried to identify some training programs, but, how do you evaluate them?

I can tell you that for myself, I enjoy training athletes; always have, be they humans or equines. Richard Mandella begins his DVD by stating he's in the business because he enjoys "watching the horses develop." Here are some other reasons people get into the horse business.
1. Money. (W. Lukas leading money earner how many years in a row?)
2. Prestige (Lukas again, The Phipps, Lexington, KY)
3. Excitement (see Sacketoga Stable, Funnycide. horses provided more fun after work than bloody marys.. Empire Maker and a trainer who knows how(Frankel) ended it at Belmont. Also, Eugene Klein.)
4. Laziness (Walk on the backstretch. Anybody back there not on SSI?).
5. Making stallions (S. Mohammed).
6. Providing something for the rich kid (Coolmore).
7. Horses as investments--as in digging for oil, mostly you strike dirt.
9. Winning races and the numbers game (Lake, Asmussen. Query--if you look like a sleezeball, dress like one, and act like one, are you one? I don't know.)
9. You like horses.
10. Tax Deductions.
11. Fill in the blanks. There are lots of others.

Different goals pertaining to horses lead to disconnects between the various participants. I have a good example of this right here in KC concerning my elderly friend RM. RM was smart enough to marry into money, and he breeds, sells, and races. He uses Pope Mclean in Lexington/another intelligent move, and a well known but highly incompetent trainer in Des Moines and has for ten years. This trainer has ruined every single horse and lost money nine out of the ten years. And yet, when RM comes to my farm, sees highly conditioned athletes compared to his own, sees horses just as well bred as his for a tenth of the money, and is aware that I almost never finish out of the money when i race seriously (as opposed to conditioning), RM is yet unable to quit poo pooing us as amateurish. I train athletes. RM likes to brag about horses and thinks he's shrewd enough to get lucky. Talking to RM about horses is like talking to a wall. We speak the same language but we're into different stuff.

Is there any way to reconcile the various goals in racing horses with training? Some horse racing goals facilitate training while other's obscure it. I'll try to hash all this out in the next post. Evaluating training, to be continued. Today's training of Art:

Tues. 1/2/07: rest
Wed. 1/3/07: 10 min pasture romp with some fast twitch work. counts as a breeze day.
Thurs. 1/4/07: NOB REPORT: Session 8 under tack. Nob, after watching the horse kick up his back legs repeatedly during his Astride gallop was understandably nervous. But, all went well, apparently. Nob bellied and walked about 50 feet. Repeated. Then he got on and walked 50 feet. By then it was pitch black. The horse started to buck and he called it. Nob said by the end the horse was responding a little to heel and whip. Nob believes he'll have the horse walking around the edge of the paddock three or four more sessions. Can the first breeze at Eureka Downs be far off? I told Nob to check his health insurance. Excercise today before the tack work was: 20 lbs Astride (first weighted gallop in 2 wks due to weather). Horse galloped back and forth over 1.5f pasture course at brisk open gallop. maybe a couple of 2m lick bursts, but, nothing fast. A little rest between heats. Timer said 9m 27 sec when i though he had enough. We'll go easy tomorrow and breeze him Sat.