CtC,

I think a lot of it is stock.

There are some trainers that have had outstanding success at the racetrack, but I'd like to see some of the financial details of how their owners made out after shelling out fortunes for a lot of horses that never did a thing. You can win a lot of major races and still slowly break some of your big owners.

Some of it is probably random. It's also clear that success or failure often gets the attention of owners who then might be tempted to go with whomever is winning lately. Success breeds more success even if it started out partly as a favorable lucky run (and vice versa).

Shug is probably more tied to stock than anyone. Plus I believe he has had some personal problems that might have impacted his results from time to time.