Mark Johnston - Is he the most miserable trainer ever?

atmosphere = load of drunks

rather than two men in berets pontificating . Id prefer the drunks

MJ is a dour Scotsman, end off.

Middleham Moor is very wet and cold.

wee eck, HappyHibby is a dour Scotsman, Johnston is a miserable ****.

saddo, why is happy called happy iyo

The Scottish excel at irony, Delta.

I think you mean Irn Bru.

Certainly a contender imo.

Geoff Wragg had misery down to an art form

MJ, SMS and RM goin the pictures tonight. Who's buyin the choc ices?

you should have been around in the 70,2 and 80,s most trasiners would look at you and snarl then walk away with stick in hand your lucky today most are ok.

ryan moore is just so crap for racing says nothing intresting imagine been stuck in a lift with him

yestrday he just cut the intervew short on ruk leaving nick luck stunned

The thought of MJ getting wound up by some of the b0llox in his 'bletherings' section makes me smile though: 

http://website.markjohnstonracing.co.uk/?section=11068

Wouldnt you be miserable?Anything that shows that it might be a group horse,is whisked away by Godolphin Quicker than you can say Jock Robinson.

OP obviously never met him,more brains and common sense than most and very approachable.Says it as it is and not an r slicker,not in the game to smile at court jesters like OP.hth[;)][;)]

I never back a johnston horse.  One paced slow boats.  Thats what you get training them up a hill day in day out.  He get a lot of well bred horses and runs the bollix out of them.  Tailed off one day, wins the next.  nyone notice how his horses always seem to have longer necks than other horses.  Must strecth them with a rope or something LOL

At least he cares about improving the quality of british racing

The race MJ wants to win most - the Derby, Arc, King George? No - he most wants to win the Dubai World Cup because of the prize money on offer! Tells me everything I need to know about him.

He doesn't mind winning Heritage handicaps with horses bouncing back from odds-on defeats at Hamilton either - always trying my arse!!

how did he get away with Yourgunnabelucky FFS?

' anyone notice how his horses always seem to have longer necks than other horses.  Must strecth them with a rope or something LOL '




MJ is very big on self-interest....i see today he thinks the unemployed steel workers in the NE should be charged more to get in to Redcar so they can up their prizemoney for him. He cant be taken seriously while he pedals this line that we should try to separate racing and betting....utter craziness

He cant be taken seriously while he pedals this line that we should try to separate racing and betting....utter craziness

presumably that's why he's just been appointed to the bha.

you knows it, josh [;)]

It is still the case that the HG's tariffs are now a fact, and he has been banging on about this for ages now.  The grief he got over the kerfuffle with Yarmouth a few years back - now standard practice amongst leading owners and trainers.

He has a miserable countenance and often seems to go out of his way to hack people off, but anyone who thinks that the better-quality racing should not be getting the major share of prizemoney wants their bumps felt.

Intelligent, informative and does the best for his owners.
One of his aims is to improve a horse's handicap mark for its owner, so the owner can turn a profit and reinvest.
Sir Mark Prescott has a similar aim, and thanks to the likes of Graham Wylie he too can sell horses on to go hurdling.
Have a lot of time for MJ, who runs his horses anywhere where there is good prizemoney.
As Bart Cummings said: "I would not be bothered to turn the TV on for English Racing. Not even for So You Think."

Not sure what you mean by better quality racing Crawford?, don't the likes of Group and listed races already have financial benefits before you even pocket the prize on offer?, its called Black type and black type means potential stud value enhancement.
Bread buttered both sides with lashings of Jam eh Mark?.

Mark Johnson was and always will be about "Me,Myself & I".

He is an intelligent guy,yet falls into the trap that many fall into.Racing in England IS DIFFERENT,as we have bookmakers on and off course and that is the way it is.No point at all in comparing with other countries as our set up is very individual.It may not suit them,but that is the way it is,and has been since 1961,which is a long time.
  New trainers can't wait to take out a license,and there are still a huge amount of horses in training compared with yesteryear.A good friend has just invested in 4 horses knowing full well how poor the prize money is,yet loves the game,and any prize money,especially a win,is a good plus.

Moaner? Since when????

MJ,the BHA,Levy Board,HG,ROA,and any other group with initials should spend a couple of days in busy betting shops and see where the betting money is going.Perhaps then there eyes would be opened to the realities of what the state of play is.

Training Fees at MJR - 2010 Rates
Basic Training Fee: £63.50 per day
Transport U.K: £1.00 per horse per mile
Transport Abroad: £1.00 per horse per mile – flights, ferries, tolls etc at cost
Trainer's Expense (U.K.): None (Foreign Travel at cost) (No charge for sales)
Lad's Expenses (U.K.) As per Joint National Council Agreement.Expenses are charged for one attendant per horse. You are not charged for the additional staff e.g. Driver, travelling manger, trainer etc.. A surcharge of £50 per horse is charged for Sunday runners to contribute towards statutory payments to all staff and days off in lieu.
Blacksmith: No charge for exercise shoes. Racing plates £50.00.
Veterinary: No charge for treatment or drugs routine or otherwise.Includes all veterinary charges including referrals, consultations and surgery
Jockey's Retainers: No charge
Commission on Sales: A commission of 5% will be charged on all horses sold out of the yard or within 30 days of leaving the yard. (Includes sales through selling or claiming races and Stallions syndicated to stand at stud)
Commission On Purchases: No charge. There is no charge for expenses for visits to sales by Mark, his asistants, consultants, or veterinary surgeons including visits to sales abroad.
Foreign Prize Money: Trainer's percentage deducted in line with U.K. percentages and allocated by Weatherby's
Payment: Payment is required within 30 days of invoice. All accounts should be cleared before removal of horses.
Sponsorship We will pay the sum of £75 plus VAT per horse per calendar month for the right to carry the Mark Johnston Racing logo on the paddock sheet, sweat sheet and lads clothing but not on owners colours. Owners wishing to take up this sponsorship should inform us.

My god - that sounds like a lot of money to me . Over £2k per month plus travel and extras. Bloomin heck.

that one defo had a long neck

charging £450 a week in training fees is astronomical. he must be making a fortune as his overheads will come
no where near that. Charging £1 a mile for transport means if an owner runs one at Goodwood he'll charge them
approx £500 return - as if it costs £500 . 5% commision on horses sold out of his yard!!!.
He must be a very wealthy man.

just shows you, money can't buy happiness.

Some of you lot must live in a different world if you think he charges a lot.Try have having one with a Newmarket trainer where the vets fees etc are not included,£1 a mile is also cheap.

MJ charging less than a crap hotel for B&B and half what it would cost to keep your granny in a care home.

OP,envy obviously not making you happy.[;)]

Always trying can make one tired and cranky.

I feckin dispise the yard, impossible to work out.
If I bet one it's under the pump after a furlong and runs like a Yak
If I don't they are under the pump after a furlong but keep fukkin finding and beat mine

I will have a massive party the day this miserable monotone sweaty retires, can't stand the man

More seething 2 bob punter envy.[;)]

rscaughtboy
How much are the newmarket trainers charging in training fees and how much for travel?

Hi tinkler,I confess to being a bit mischevious on the thread.But on a serious note I had a share in a colt with a middle of the road trainer in Newmarket.

This was about 4 years ago and he charged 15k per year basic,we had to pay vets fees etc on top.Plus the cheeky b would invoice us for his drinks and a meal if he attended.Transport was £400 for example Newmarket to Lingfield.

All in all the extras added up to a sizeable amount,vets fees were astronomical for relatively minor treatments.This is one area for sure where MJ seems to be good value.We lost the horse from racing due to torn ligaments,had 4 months of vets fees before we retired him which topped 2 and a bit K.

No such thing as a cheap trainer but some train on the cheap i.e skimping,cutting corners but still billing the owners as if doing it with the best of feed etc.Certainly would expect MJs charges to compare very favourably with the top chaps at HQ.

I couldnt care less if they were the most miserable buggers as long as they did the job right.The OP should spend half an hour with Mick Easterby senior,he would then think MJ was a top comedian,guaranteed.

£63.50 a day is £23,177.50 a year. How many horses does he have?

I think he's got about 200 . If he makes £100 per horse per week clear profit his yearly net profit
is  2 million.
He has worked his way up from the bottom and deserves his success ,though he may be taking advantage of this a bit too much given the prices. As for vets their probably the biggest leech on the horse industry and
massively over charge for the skill they operate from.
Dierdre and Mark are like chalk and cheese and really compliment each other, shes bright and bubbly and
he's a dour businessman. He's always interesting to listen to but being a punter I rarely agree with him as
he is always looking at things from a Owner trainer point of view and talks about punters with an attitude of distain(his attitude to 48 hour decs being a prime example). I respect that he always runs his horses straight
and doesn't put up a false front ,  he says what he thinks.

Despite this MJ still wants better prize money...for the owners of course! If he really had the intersts of his owners at heart then surely he and his high charging trainer pals would drop their fees?

Tinkler says he respects the fact that he always runs his horses straight?, I'd say they're many on here who will wholeheartedly disagree with that statement?.

tinkler,
Is that a blip?
200 x £100 x 52 = £1,040,000

£23,177.50 x 200 = £4,635,500 gross just on basic fees.

ya they are all in training 52 weeks a year

I don't know if he's the most miserable but he's the biggest ****

No hes not,your the fan of that one.nap[;)]

Definately yes.By claiming his horses are always trying does this imply some horses with other trainers are not trying.If so does this constitute bringing the game into disrepute?

Chatto - that would imply that 'the game' is ever in repute imo (which clearly it isn't)

Rollo
Your right it is 1 million, he's only half as rich as I thought he was.

Ironic everyone on here moaning about MJ moaning no what I mean,Saddo and the Enerlands excel at well let me see mmm!

all scotish are misery and bitter