Tag: racehorse ownership

Finding The Right Syndicate For You-Part 2, Presented By Taylor Made Partnerships

The Midwestern sage, Mark Twain espoused, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” Nothing could be more apropos when considering joining a Thoroughbred racehorse partnership.

Getting started is the hardest part for most prospective owners. The world of Thoroughbred racing can seem as inaccessible as the Churchill Down's Turf Club on Derby Day. The good news is joining a partnership makes getting started easier.

In the first part of this series, we provided basic information such as investment levels, tax considerations and the entertainment value partnerships offer.

In Part 2, we will provide insights into the experiential considerations that can make your personal journey into ownership more valuable.

Owning More That 5%

You should always begin by considering what is going to be financially comfortable for you. If your investment level is below $1,000, your focus should be directed toward micro-share opportunities like MyRacehorse, Wasabi Venture Stables, or a racing club at your local racetrack. These vehicles offer participation for as little as a couple hundred dollars and generally offer less than 1% interest in a horse. Micro-share partnerships rarely present any financial windfalls, but do give you the excitement of participation and a friendly conversation starter at your next social event. They also make great gifts for a horse lover in your life.

If you are comfortable in investing $1,000 or more, look for an opportunity where you can buy in for at least 5%. Truth be told, percentages have their privilege in Thoroughbred ownership. We all know that 5% of a $10,000 claimer is quite a bit less than 5% of a $1 million yearling.

What you may not know, there are significant benefits of being at least a 5% partner. Owning 5% means that most racing jurisdictions will require you to become a licensed owner. Once you are licensed, you now have access, and access is where the real fun begins.

Trainer observing morning workouts | Coady Photography

With a state-issued owner's license, you typically will have access to the stable area and your horse. Watching morning workouts, spending time in and around a functioning training operation, and gaining insight into how the stable area operates are a handful of the most fascinating activities an owner can experience. Feeding carrots and treats to your horse can be worth the price of your investment alone.

On race day, you will have access to the paddock area to see your horse prepare to head out to the racetrack. The paddock is where you can interact with your jockey, trainer and other partners. Most racetracks also offer owner privileges like free admission, free programs, reserved seating areas and invitations to special events. These perks are part of your return on investment and an enticing incentive to own at least 5% of a racehorse and becoming a licensed owner.

The Partnership Personality

You are now at the point where you are hungry to get started. Do not make the mistake of buying the proverbial sizzle of a partnership… you want the steak. What a partnership portrays in advertising or by the general partner may not be what is served. You need to learn about the partnership's personality, in other words, where the meat is. How does the partnership communicate with its owners? How often does the partnership send out updates on horses? Do they use social media, e-mail, or other platforms? What level of input will you have?

Some general partners are great at taking input, others prefer to remain focused and rely on their own experience and skills. If you are a person that likes to socialize, do not hesitate to ask what events, or get togethers, are typically planned. Talk to current partners and get their feedback while simultaneously gaining a sense of whom you will be sharing the experience. Part of your return on investment are the relationships you develop. Simply make sure you get the steak and not just a bunch of sizzling mushrooms.*

Geography

Most partnerships run their horses at specific racetracks or on a circuit. You need to determine if you are ok with watching your horse race on the computer or if you want to go to the racetrack and enjoy watching your horse race live. There are racetracks that are great for bringing friends and family with you and others that do not make the greatest first impressions.

California racing | Benoit

Where you live or where you are willing to travel is important in how immersed you can get into ownership. Living in Missouri does not mean you should not own a racehorse, it just means you may have to travel more vs. someone that lives in Southern California. Conversely, if you are solely interested in a financial return on your investment or are allergic to hay and hate the smell of manure, seeing your horse in person may not matter. The bottom line is: know where your horses are most apt to race and determine it if falls in line with what you are seeking.

The Mission

There are partnerships for breeding, buying yearlings, pinhooking, buying two-year-olds, claiming, and everything in-between. What is best for you is a choice. Start by asking yourself if you like action or if you are willing to be patient and potentially end up with a Kentucky Derby horse. Most new owners benefit from getting involved in a claiming partnership first.

With these partnerships, you can make your investment one day and be at the races to watch your horse run within weeks. Typically, new owners start in a claiming partnership, move to buying into unraced younger horses, then yearlings and down the road becoming part of a breeding opportunity. All are available to you with partnerships and you will be learning and becoming more adept along the way.

The Cherry On Top

An area that has become especially important to new owners coming into the sport, and rightfully so, is aftercare. Prospective new partners should ask, “What will happen once our horse is done racing? Can we still follow our horse after it retires?” Do not hesitate to ask these questions about any partnership you are looking to get involved in.

Some partnerships have aftercare programs in place, some have aftercare organizations they work with, and others unfortunately have no answer to this question. When you buy a Thoroughbred racehorse, you will discover an intrinsic connection to the horse, it is inevitable. Making sure you participate in a partnership that cares for their horses after their racing career is over is to be applauded and supported.

Wonder Wheel | Sara Gordon

The path to becoming a Thoroughbred racehorse owner has never been easier. Partnerships have led the way in making ownership more accessible to everyone that loves horse racing or horses.

Finding the right partnership for you is a process, a process that hopefully has been made simpler by knowing what to ask, what to look for, and what really matters to you personally.

Note: a mushroom is a term in racing is often referred to an owner who is kept in the dark and fed manure.

The post Finding The Right Syndicate For You-Part 2, Presented By Taylor Made Partnerships appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The Racing Manager Garnering Interest in U.S.

Since it was first launched in 2017, The Racing Manager (TRM) has become a valuable tool in many yards across Europe. Today, almost 15% of horses in training in Ireland and the U.K., as well as a growing number in France, are registered on the online platform that is designed to enhance the racehorse ownership experience.

Last fall, TRM expanded to the United States and is already well on its way to having a nationwide influence.

“Without a doubt, our client base is growing and it's growing pretty fast,” said Andy Ash, the founder of TRM. “We've put a lot of effort and a lot of investment into it. We're not coming into the U.S. without some knowledge, but we're also very determined to do what the U.S. needs rather than saying the U.S. needs to be more like Australia or Europe because that will never work. The U.S. is its own unique place, but there are definitely things to be learned from each place.”

Ash was originally inspired to build a platform for improving owner-trainer communication when, as a first-time owner, he quickly became frustrated by the lack of sufficient updates about his horses in training. Upon launching TRM, he learned that he was not alone in this thinking. The company conducted surveys and found that 85% of owners were disappointed with the level or style of communication they received. At the same time, 85% of trainers replied to the survey saying that one of their greatest challenges was being time strapped. The core goal of TRM seeks to improve upon those two issues by helping trainers and racing managers increase the quality and quantity of communication to their owners in an straightforward, streamlined format.

Example of user's profile page | courtesy The Racing Manager

Now six years since its inception, the program has attracted seven of the top trainers in Ireland including Joseph O'Brien and Jessica Harrington.

Ash said that launching the tool has come with its challenges, citing that because many trainers do not have so much as a website to communicate with owners and potential owners, it has been difficult for them to realize the potential benefits of an online communication platform. But he explained that their team has found that the trainers who understand the necessity of good communication are the ones constantly seeking to improve and added that there is strong evidence to suggest that the best communicators are growing in horse and user numbers.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to competitive edge,” he explained. “Communication is not simply saying, 'We need to send a photo or a video.' It's a bit more complicated than that. Racing has to learn to invest in their ownership experience.”

On the Racing Manager platform, owners have an individualized profile feed that is unique to them and their horses. Trainers and racing managers have the ability to send photo and video updates, but they can also conduct polls, create photo galleries that others can add to, send messages to specific owners or syndicate groups and more.

Ash explained that many trainers will send out a weekly yard update and noted that trainers are able to sort their stable's profile to learn which horses have gone the longest without an update.

The Irish National Stud is another prominent TRM client. Ash said that the average Irish National Stud horse receives 175 updates per year.

While some of those updates require trainer engagement, most are produced automatically by TRM. Entries, workouts and race results appear on a user's feed, as do breeding updates (like if a horse's half-sibling is debuting) or a form alert (like if a horse that the user's horse ran second to in its last race won in its next start). All of these notifications are customizable for each user.

“We do all these things that are engaging the owner without the actual manager of the organization having to do anything,” Ash said. “Every user is different and every user can get a different assimilation. Everything the Racing Manager does, it has come from client advice.”

TRM is now working to cater toward an evolving racing landscape worldwide. The success of racing partnerships has grown to where a number of trainers in the U.K. focus exclusively on syndicates. Several of them rely on TRM to communicate with their members. In Australia especially, partnerships are changing the demographics of racing as they have made ownership more accessible to the younger generation.


“The need to encourage younger people into ownership can only be achieved by modern communication methods, especially the professional distribution and presentation of the communication,” said Ash. “If we can change the demographic, we're going to have a better future in ownership and in racing as a whole.”

Even still, Ash said they work to accommodate all demographics and technology skill levels, noting that their customer service department has gone so far as to help set up email accounts for some of their clients.

Just as the demographics of racing may be changing, the sport is becoming increasingly accessible on an international level for the average owner.  Ash said that TRM is becoming an important tool for owners and trainers communicating across oceans.

“We've started to see, out of our user base, that 20% of people are international compared to the country their horse is in,” he shared. “We have had Middle Eastern owners say to us that they would love to have more horses overseas, and specifically in the U.S., if they felt they would be communicated with.”

A growing number of trainers and racing partnerships in the U.S. are becoming interested in TRM. Taylor Made's Medallion Racing, Bradley Thoroughbreds and CJ Thoroughbreds are among the groups that have embraced the tool, while trainers who use the platform for their stable include Doug O'Neill and Norm Casse.

“We have quite a few pending,” Ash added. “We don't intend to rush it too much. We're confident that people will see others using it and realize they can communicate better too.”

The post The Racing Manager Garnering Interest in U.S. appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Return Of Irish Owners Delayed

With the announcement that phase four of Ireland’s Roadmap for Reopening of Society and Business has been delayed until Aug. 10, owners will no longer be permitted on Irish racecourses from July 20 as previously announced. Phase four will allow gatherings of up to 500 people.

Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland, said, “Since we resumed racing in Ireland on June 8 Horse Racing Ireland has kept tandem with the government’s movement on the Roadmap for Reopening of Society and Business, and will continue to do so. The decision taken by the Cabinet yesterday to defer Phase 4 of the Roadmap means we will also regrettably have to defer our ambition to welcome owners back to the racecourse from July 20. I understand how disappointing this will be for owners who remain our first priority to return to the racecourse once restrictions are eased.

“Plans were well advanced for this to happen from Monday next at Ballinrobe and Gowran Park, and a number of owners had already completed their online medical screening. However, until the number permitted at outdoor gatherings is increased by the Government to 500, only key personnel necessary to run a race meeting will be permitted on site.

“The level of compliance with the Covid-19 protocols since June 8 has been excellent and is appreciated by the Covid-19 teams in Horse Racing Ireland and the IHRB. It is these protocols that ensure that we are able to continue to race so it is very important that everybody continues to comply with the rules on the racecourse around social distancing and face masks, and the requirements around pre-health screening.”

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