There is death, taxes and the fact that trainer Karl Broberg wins races wherever he goes.
The conditioner has been doing what he does best in the last few months with a heavy heart.
His wife was declared lost at sea in mid-May after she fell from the 10th deck of a Carnival cruise ship that was headed for Cozumel, Mexico.
Broberg has battled on.
The equine teacher has led the nation in wins for the past two years and has been in the top 10 among trainers by wins since shortly after obtaining his trainer’s license in 2009.
He is leading the nation in races won in 2016 too.
Because Broberg wins races, he has been a controversial fixture but he is a hard-working example of a guy that knows the sport of horseracing inside and out.
With success comes jealousy and because Broberg wins races at such a hefty percentage, the suspicions are there.
Broberg wins races throughout the Southwest. Last year he won training titles at Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs, Louisiana Downs, Lone Star Park and Remington Park.
If a trainer or stable does not have the cream of the crop in his barn, there is really only one way to succeed consistently.
That way is to put horses where they belong.
The fact of the matter is that he is not the first trainer in history to use this same strategy. Back in the day, Buddy Jacobson, did the same thing in New York.
Buddy’s son David uses the same tactics right now winning races on the New York circuit.
The great Bobby Frankel did the same thing. When he first came to Southern California he won races in bunches. He did it by not only being smarter and a better trainer than most, but he did it by placing his stock accurately.
Broberg learned the game from a gambler’s point of view and that gives him an edge over some other trainers on the backstretch.
He doesn’t just look at a horse and study the runner’s style or idiosyncrasies, but he is looking to what the runner brings from a gambling aspect.
With nearly every horse that he claims, he has a race in the future in mind for that horse.
Early in his career Broberg had a number of infractions on his record. Some were for overages of legal drugs but as he has matured, he has learned about the big picture in racing.
To prove that Broberg wins races, one need not go further than the current standings at Prairie Meadows.
Broberg has won 26 more races than his nearest competitor and the meet will end Saturday.
At the Delta Downs meet that ended in March, Broberg saddled 93 wins. The second most successful trainer had 36 wins.
At the current Evangeline meeting that ends on August 27 Broberg has a 17-win cushion on his nearest training competitor.
The Lone Star meeting ended last month and Broberg not only won that stand with 61 winners, he hit at 33%.
So what is the key to how Broberg wins races?
There are a few ploys that he uses to succeed.
When he runs a horse that has the top last race Beyer Speed Figure, he wins at 30% the last 5 years.
All of these statistics will be about the last 5 years.
When a Broberg runner goes from a turf race to a dirt race that horse wins 25% of the time.
Broberg is not great with 2-year-old debuters as those runners win at just 15% but when he brings a horse back within a week, those horses win at 26%.
And Broberg wins races by being patient. He is 25% when he brings a horse back after that runner has been away for 180 days or more.
Broberg can keep a horse going good once he is thriving. He is 29% with last-out winners.
The trainer also has a good eye for a purchase. He wins with 31% of his first off the claim runners and 31% with his second off the claim runners.
So, when he dips in and purchases a horse, get on the bandwagon.
Those that claim horses from Broberg win at an ordinary 15% clip.
We can go on and on about how Broberg wins races, but the bottom line is that if you are betting on a track where he is stationed, he is the first stop on the winning bus ride.
