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At Ukrainian Racetrack, Just Trying to Survive

Olga Bondar makes the trip each day from her home in central Kyiv to the racecourse outside the city to care for and feed her horses. She knows the dangers involved, but she can't abandon her horses. She has no plans to leave a country under siege.

“When I come here, I don't know if I will make it home because anything can happen in war,” she said. “You don't know if you will be alive tomorrow.”

Bondar is a trainer, a driver and the vice director of the Kyiv Hippodrome, one of two racetracks in Ukraine. The Kyiv Hippodrome holds races for various breeds of trotters. The Odessa Hippodrome holds races for trotters and Thoroughbreds. Both tracks have been closed since the Russian invasion began.

According to a report from Radio Free Europe, the Odessa track was built in 1890 by Russian tsars. “There, the wealthy and glamorous gathered to see, be seen, drink champagne, eat caviar, and bet on the best horseflesh in the empire,” the story reads. The track fell on hard times after the fall of the Soviet Union.

A story in the Odessa Journal on the opening day of the track's 2021 season reported on the current state of Ukranian racing and efforts to get people to attend.

“Horse breeding has been going through hard times in Ukraine for many years,” Konstantin Savchits, director of the Odessa Hippodrome, told the paper. “For this we hold such events to popularize equestrian sports. We are trying to involve the inhabitants of Odessa. After all, many do not even know that we have a hippodrome with a very colorful history.”

According to a 2005 report by Reuters, the winning purse at the Kyiv track was about $10 or $15 a race.

But both tracks managed to survive. The Kyiv track raced on Sundays, staying open up until two weeks ago.

“Horse racing has stopped. Our main aim now is to be alive,” Bondar said. “The only thing we can do is support each other and take care of the horses.”

Bondar said that some of those who care for the horses are staying around the clock at the racecourse, believing that it's safer there than elsewhere. But Bondar has the added responsibility of having to look after her elderly mother, who lives in Kyiv. So she makes the commute every day, even if it is not safe.

“The war is taking place about 20 kilometers from the Hippodrome,” she said. “We can hear them shooting.”

Training has also been halted. The best they can do for now is to walk the horses. There are 150 racehorses on the grounds, she said, plus another 200 pleasure horses. Everyone is doing what they can to pitch in.

“Some of our people are off fighting,” she said. “Some people have evacuated. But we have people who are coming in to feed the horses, to help them. It is difficult. We are fighting and we are struggling and people are afraid. Nothing is normal because there is a war. We are scared. Before the invasion, I could not believe this was possible. The things you are seeing on TV, it is really happening. It is awful.”

Bondar's biggest concern is that she will run out of hay to feed the horses. She said they have enough for now, but that could change.

“Every day we are trying to buy some hay but it is difficult because you can't go to all the villages where you can buy hay,” she said. “We do not know what will happen tomorrow. We try to get through every day and then decide the next step. We have enough feed for about one month. If the war continues, we will have difficulty feeding the horses.”

Against Russia's military might, the Ukrainians are facing long odds, but Bondar has not lost hope.

“Yes, I am sure we will win,” she said. “It is just a question of time. We are staying strong.”

That's all she can do for now, stay strong. She has to. Her horses need her.

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Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Mt. Brilliant Farm

With the 2022 breeding season underway, we continue to feature a series of breeders' mating plans. Today we have Cooper Sawyer, farm manager of Mt. Brilliant Farm.

MORENA (PER) (m, 18, Privately Held–Charytin {Per}, by Summing) to be bred to Liam's Map

This mare had a really nice Justify filly that we sold at the [Keeneland] September Sale last year ($375,000 to Japanese trainer Hideyuki Mori). This year she has a Constitution filly.

We are going back to Liam's Map with her this year. Morena herself was a champion in Peru and she's also the dam of Creator (Tapit), who won the 2016 GI Belmont S. We were thinking that Liam's Map, with the Unbridled's Song, would give her a little bit more turn of foot, which she needs.

We're big supporters of Liam's Map. We like the quality horse that he gets you and he's doing some really good things. She's also a really big mare, so he will hopefully tidy her up a bit. I think the biggest thing with this mating is that you'll get the natural speed from his pedigree.

SECRET SOMEONE (m, 11, A. P. Indy–Private Gift, by Unbridled) to be bred to Uncle Mo

Secret Someone was bred and raced by [farm owner] Mr. Greg Goodman, so she's a farm favorite. We kept her first filly by Candy Ride (Arg) and then last year we sold her Into Mischief colt to Mike Ryan for $1 million [at KEESEP].

Her dam Private Gift is one of our foundation mares. We have kept a lot of her fillies and raced them ourselves. We've tried to give this mare the absolute best chance we could. When she raced for us, she was third in the GIII Modesty H. and she won the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf S.

This mare really hits home on a lot of levels for us, so we've tried to give her a big shot. She gives us beautiful foals. We were over the moon with her Into Mischief colt. I've been keeping up with him and he looks very fast. They're very excited about him.

Secret Someone had a Quality Road colt this year and she will be going to Uncle Mo. The Private Gift family works with so many different sire lines. We gave her Quality Road last year to hit on the line of GISW Dunbar Road (Quality Road) [out of a half-sister to Secret Someone] and the Into Mischief is the same line as MGSW Private Mission (Into Mischief) [half-sister to Secret Someone]. So we decided to go a little different route this year with Uncle Mo. He's a wonderful sire and we've done very well with him. He gives her a little bit of that brilliance you can always expect from him.

PRIVATE GIFT (m, 20, Unbridled–Private Status, by Alydar) to be bred to Into Mischief

Private Gift had a foal later in the season last year so we were not able to get her bred back. This year she is going back to Into Mischief. We were so excited with MGSW Private Mission (Into Mischief), who she foaled in 2018. She was such a beautiful filly. We sent her up to Saratoga and Donato Lanni fell in love with her.

URSULA (m, 5, Tapit–Debonnaire {GB}, by Anabaa) to be bred to Munnings

Ursula is a half-sister to G1P Hartnell (Authorized). We actually sent her dam Debonnaire back to Australia a few years ago. We had gotten several foals out of her here and we decided to keep Ursula. We did put her through a sale but we put a high reserve on her because we liked her so much, so we ended up racing her. She was very talented and ran against some top-class fillies. She ran second in two stakes at Fair Grounds.

She has a Medaglia d'Oro yearling filly and this year she had a stunning Into Mischief filly. We are sending her to Munnings this year. Ursula was talented and has some very nice foals, but we wanted to give her a bit more speed. With her international pedigree, we wanted to give her pure dirt without losing sight of her international flare as a half-sister to Hartnell. She was strictly dirt, but we wanted to give the opportunity for turf to still come through with the Speightstown line.

FAMOUS (Ire) (m, 15, Danehil Dancer {Ire}–Starlight Dreams, by Black Tie Affair {Ire}) to be bred to Tapit

Famous is a full-sister to champion Mastercraftsman (Ire). She was bred to Galileo a lot early and we bred her colt II Paradiso (Galileo) who was third in the G1 Melbourne Cup. We went away from Galileo and bred her to Bernardini, which produced stakes-placed Love Beach who is also in our broodmare band.

Famous was Group 1-placed and she has produced Classic-distance horses everywhere. This is a family we're trying to stay in. We were the underbidders on her daughter Sherbet Lemon (Lemon Drop Kid) at Tattersalls last year. There are all kinds of fillies coming up in this family so we're trying to give it a very good shot.

Famous has a Tapit yearling filly and this year she had a Quality Road filly. We have her going back to Tapit. Her yearling by Tapit is really nice so we wanted to repeat that. Tapit is a universal sire and we've done really well with him. We always say that if you're going to breed to Tapit, just get out of Tapit's way. She's a mare that has been somewhat unlucky in that she's been knocking on the door of being a superb broodmare, so we're giving her every chance we can by sending her to Tapit. We have a lot of confidence in her.

Into Mischief colt out of Superioritycomplex (Ire) sells for $1.35 million at the 2021 Keeneland September Sale | Keeneland

SUPERIORITYCOMPLEX (Ire) (m, 8, Hard Spun – Justlookdonttouch (Ire), by Galileo) to be bred to Tapit

This mare and her sister SW Abingdon (Street Cry {Ire}), who we purchased at Newmarket, are exactly what we're looking for in our program. They're mares that have older American families that have gone on to be successful in Europe and we try to bring them back here. We want to be able to take these types of mares and throw some good, old-fashioned dirt back into them and make them great American families again. This is a family that we think is knocking on the door to being a great American family.

We actually raced this mare here in America. She was fourth in a stakes at Arlington.

We first bred her to Into Mischief and got a $1.35-million colt purchased by Winchell Thoroughbreds last year. Unfortunately, she lost her Justify last year. She is now in foal to Tapit and then she will be going back to Tapit. We've been lucky with Tapit and figured it was a great opportunity to use him again. We want to breed to Tapit every chance we can get. We couldn't have been happier with the result from the Into Mischief and we have very high hopes for this mare as a producer.

LOOK ME OVER (m, 5, Hard Spun–Wasted Tears, by Najran) to be bred to Quality Road

As the half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Corniche (Quality Road), we figured we would take a flyer and send her to Quality Road. It's a pretty obvious mating. We bought her last year at the Keeneland November Sale. We love Corniche and think he has a very bright future. We've been using Quality Road a lot and really like him. The trend is your friend, so we're not going to go against it.

Look Me Over is in foal to Kitten's Joy this year and we're really excited to see that foal and then send her to Quality Road.

SKY GIRL (m, 12, Sky Mesa–Vargas Girl, by Deputy Minister) to be bred to Maclean's Music

This is the half-sister to champion Abel Tasman (Quality Road). We have done very well with her in the auction ring. We sold a Quality Road yearling for $775,000 to David Ingordo last year. She has an Uncle Mo yearling filly who is a big, Indian Charlie-looking filly and then this year, she is in foal to Nyquist.

This year she is going to Maclean's Music. We have been using him for a while. We wanted to give this mare as much speed as possible. Maclean's Music is no secret anymore and his one start was, as everyone says, jaw-dropping. We figured that the A. P. Indy coming from Pulpit with her is a really good cross with him. We've used Maclean's Music a lot recently. We like what we are seeing out of his foals, so we believe in him enough to throw this kind of mare at him.

ITHINKISAWAPUDYCAT (m, 13, Bluegrass Cat – Unbridled Run, by Unbridled) to be bred to Curlin

This is an awesome mare; she's been very good to us. She's the dam of GISW Sweet Loretta (Tapit). We have had very nice-looking foals out of her and have raced almost everything out of her. We have her Tapit colt Predicted who is doing well and is in training now. We sold her Uncle Mo filly last year and this year we have a Quality Road yearling filly who is exceptional. She has a lot of leg and she's very classy and forward-looking. We can't wait to show her to the team at Fasig-Tipton for Saratoga.

I think if we were going to be critical of this mare, she doesn't put as much substance into her foals. They're all very athletic but they're medium-sized. This year we are sending her to Curlin, who I think will give her more substance to get that top-class, superior racehorse.

We put a lot of thought into our matings with Greg, Hutton and Bo Goodman, Marette Farrell and myself. We go through so many different things. It takes a lot for us to breed to an unproven stallion. We almost always go proven. We don't care who everyone else is breeding to. We try to breed the best athlete we can to get the best racehorse. Putting that in mind, Curlin jumped out at us this year. We've used him in the past and I think he's what we're looking for to get a bit more substance out of this mare.

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Ask the Expert: 2021 Taxes

Editor's note: Back by popular demand: our column where readers ask The Green Group's Len Green for advice on saving taxes on their equine-related activities.

What changes in the tax law can I take advantage of this year to maximize my tax savings?

–Kerry L., Lexington, KY

2021 has been another exciting year when it comes to providing new laws that can save you taxes.

1. First-year expensing for qualified property placed in use is allowed up to $1,050,000. This would include the purchase of horses and more fixed assets used in your trade or business.

2. Qualified Business Income Deduction

If you are a sole business owner, or have an interest in a Partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC) or a Sub S Corporation, you may be eligible for a tax deduction of up to 20% of your Qualified Business Income.

It is important to note that, if you are eligible, this is considered a personal deduction and can be used even if you take the standard business deduction.

3. There are also positive changes in:

A. Child tax credit
B. Dependent care credit and exclusion
C. Earned income tax credit
D. Charitable contributions

I own stallion shares. One of the stallions I own was sold abroad this year. Can I replace that with a new season to avoid paying taxes on it anytime during the year?

–John S., New York, NY

Great question.
Prior to this year, there was a section of the tax code (Section 1031) which allowed for the tax-free exchange of like kind assets.
If you meet the rules, it was possible to defer the gain, if there was one.
Under the new rules, Section 1031 only pertains to real estate property.
But can you accomplish your objective in another way.
If you sell the stallion shares, and the sale is for an amount greater than what you paid for the shares, you will have a gain.
If you buy a new share or any personal property (a horse or farm equipment) and it is eligible for a one year write off (Section 179) or for a first-year expense write off, you could possibly offset the above gain with the tax deduction from using either of these methods.

I bought a yearling in September and plan on selling him at the March 2YO Sales. Is that the same season? Or two different years?
–Gregory L., Montclair, NJ

I am assuming like most taxpayers, you are on a calendar year for filing taxes.
So, the buying of the yearling will be recorded in one year and the sale in another year.
If this is your normal business, we can call you a “pinhooker.”
You would record the purchase as inventory in the year bought and the cost of the yearling would offset the selling price the following year when the animal is sold.
If you were not a “pinhooker” but had bought the yearling to race but decided to sell in the next year, there may be different alternatives to the way you handle the transaction.

What is bonus depreciation and how does it affect my boarding business this year?
–Vicky F., Paris, KY

Bonus depreciation is defined as the additional first year depreciation (Section 168(k)) of the Internal Revenue Code.
It can be claimed in addition to any first-year expensing described earlier in the article.
Bonus depreciation can be claimed for eligible property whether it is new or used.
Something new: It also includes “qualified improvement property.”
Items which are included in this special section are:
Any improvements to the internal part of a building of an existing building that was made after the building was placed into service.
Example of qualified assets: fences, watersheds, additional stalls, and barns

I am planning on starting a small thoroughbred business. Can you explain the difference between S Corp and LLCs as they regard to taxes?
Tom C., Louisville, KY

There are many advantages of operating your trade or business as a Limited Liability Company or a Sub S Corporation.
The protection against possible lawsuits in itself is a great reason for doing it. There are also certain tax advantages.
To maximize the tax advantages, you should form an LLC with a least two partners.
By taking the step to form either of these entities, you will be demonstrating you are taking steps to run your operation in a businesslike manner.
You will not be comingling your personal expenses with your business expenses.
LLCs offer more flexibility and many other advantages compared to S Corps. The one advantage of an S Corp vis-a-vis an LLC would be the avoidance of self-employment tax.
Is it too late now to make any changes that will help me to save money on my 2021 taxes?
–Susan M., Chicago, IL

The answer is generally no if you are reporting your income and deductions on the cash method.
But here are a few:

Check to see if you are eligible to take a deduction for a pension plan for 2021.

The rules are complicated and you must check to make sure you are not covered under another company plan.
But assume you are eligible, certain pension plans (SEP IRAs, IRAs) allow a tax deductions to be claimed for 2021 as long as the pension payment is made before Apr. 15, 2022 (or extended due date for a SEP).

If you bought certain business equipment and placed it in service, even if you did not pay for all of it before 12/31/21, you may be able to deduct the cost of the equipment in 2021.

If you paid state estimated tax payments on 1/15/22 and your total tax expense did not exceed $10,000 some portion of the 1/15/22 payment may be tax deductible.

It's not too late to send in your own question before tax season and get an answer from Len Green. Email suefinley@thetdn.com

The post Ask the Expert: 2021 Taxes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The Week in Review: Shift to New York a Curious Move on Prat’s Part

Flavien Prat is in the right place at the right time in Southern California. Young and gifted, he dominates the circuit in a way no jockey has in years. He picked up his 60th win of the meet Saturday, 25 more than runner-up Juan Hernandez. He won three stakes on the card, giving him 15 for the meet. And he rides for just about all the top barns on the circuit, most notably Bob Baffert.

It's far, far from broke, but Prat is intent on fixing it. On Saturday, he told Jay Privman of the Daily Racing Form that he plans to ride the Keeneland meeting in April and then will move to Belmont Park. Belmont opens Apr. 28.

Prat told Privman that he thought riding in New York would give him as better shot of a winning an Eclipse Award. He was an Eclipse finalist in 2021, but lost out to Joel Rosario.

“It feels like if you want to give yourself a chance to get an Eclipse Award that you need to go to New York,” he said. “That's just the way it is. I never thought I'd leave here, to be honest.”

It's not that Prat isn't good enough to ride in New York. Far from it. The problem for him will be that he will have to find a way to stand out in what is the most crowded jockey colony in the country. There's Jose Ortiz, Irad Ortiz Jr., Luis Saez and Rosario. John Velazquez, who has been riding in California, will be back. Umberto Rispoli has also announced that he, too, will be making the shift from California to New York.

The competition Prat will face in New York will be fierce, hardly the case in California, where the jockey colony has never been weaker. That's a big part of the reason Prat has been so successful in California…he's just a lot better than everyone else. The question is, how much has that played into his dominance there?

Prat will no doubt enjoy some success in New York. The key will be breaking into the top barns. He's won 13 races and 10 stakes for Chad Brown. He's had four winners over the years for Todd Pletcher. He won the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby via disqualification on Country House (Lookin at Lucky) for Bill Mott. That suggests that those trainers may give him a chance, but there's no way he can move into any of the top stables, push aside the regular New York riders and take over.

He will be in the top five in the standings in New York and maybe better. But there is no chance that he will dominate that circuit like he does in California. So is it better to be the fourth leading rider in New York or the No. 1 rider in California? One would think that the answer is the latter. Prat obviously disagrees.

Richard Mandella is Derby Bound

Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella has not started a horse in the Kentucky Derby since 2004. He's had five runners in the Derby over all and none have finished better than fifth. Neither of which is that surprising. Mandella is one of only a few top trainers that does not put a big emphasis on winning the Derby or other 3-year-old stakes. He likes to bring horses along slowly and many of his best runners have been four or older.

But that may be about to change.

Having never raced beyond seven furlongs, Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) had some questions to answer in Saturday's 1 1/16-miles GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita. He answered them all and did so with authority, winning by 5 3/4 lengths. He may not be as talented as Life Is Good (Into Mischief), but he wins his races the same way. Forbidden Kingdom rockets out of the gate, runs away from the competition and has more than enough stamina to complete the job.

That may not be so easy to do at 1 1/4 miles, but Mandella is the perfect trainer to get the horse to relax and stretch his speed out another furlong and a half.

A win in the GI Santa Anita Derby and/or the Kentucky Derby would be huge for the sire, American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile). While he's gotten off to a good start as a sire, he still hasn't had that Grade I star dirt horse to put on his resume. With Forbidden Kingdom, that may about to change.

It's Ladies Day at the Hall of Fame

The nominations for the next class of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame came out last week and five of the six horses nominated were fillies. The sixth was a gelding.

That's something we might all have to get used to. Unless they are a gelding, you can't expect to get more than eight or nine career starts anymore out of a male horse who has the talent to be a Hall of Famer. They'll likely end their careers after their 3-year-old year and go stand at stud, not enough time to put together a career that includes enough starts and wins to be considered Hall of Fame worthy.

But most top fillies race, at least, until they are four. The two no-brainers on the Hall of Fame ballot are Beholder (Henny Hughes) and Tepin (Bernstein). Beholder ran 26 times and raced at six. Tepin raced 23 times and raced at five.

Since Curlin was inducted in 2014, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah is the only modern era, non-gelding male to get into the Hall of Fame. Whether or not a horse with a short campaign can make it into the Hall of Fame will be put to the test when Justify (Scat Daddy) becomes eligible. He raced only six times, but is, of course, a Triple Crown winner. All other Triple Crown winners are in the Hall of Fame. Justify will be eligible in 2024.

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