Thoroughbred Owner Conference | Horse Racing Free Tips

2021 Thoroughbred Owner Conference Series Concludes With Aftercare Panel

The 2021 Thoroughbred Owner Conference series held its final session Tuesday, Dec. 7, with a panel focused on the importance of Thoroughbred aftercare. Held virtually this year in lieu of an in-person conference, the series was hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Dean Dorton Equine, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and Stonestreet Farm.

The free conference series, which consisted of 10 virtual panels on a range of topics, attracted nearly 1,200 registrants from seven countries. All sessions were recorded and are available to registered guests.

“The 2021 virtual Thoroughbred Owner Conference series has been a remarkable success by just about every measure,” said Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView. “There have been over 5,500 views of the live and recorded panels, and the feedback from attendees has been incredibly positive.”

Following the success of the 2021 online series, OwnerView plans to continue with another series of ownership panels in 2022. More information on the dates and topics will be released in January.

Tuesday's session was sponsored by Canterbury Park and Gainesway Farm and moderated by Kristin Werner, senior counsel for The Jockey Club and administrator of the Thoroughbred Incentive Program. Panelists were Michael Blowen, founder of Old Friends; Stacie Clark, operations consultant for the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA); and Erin Crady, executive director of the Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA).

Clark spoke on the work of the TAA, which accredits aftercare organizations and provides funding to support those organizations. She said that she has been heartened by the publicity from positive stories of horses being retrained and rehomed in recent years, giving owners confidence that their horses can thrive off the racetrack.

“What has really been amazing is an owner can come into the sport and know that there is an option for their horses and there is a safety net,” she said.

Blowen agreed, noting that “there's a new awareness not just when these horses are racing and breeding but also when their racing and breeding days are over.”

Old Friends is a sanctuary facility that is home to more than 200 stallions, mares, and geldings that experienced varying levels of success on the racetrack and in the breeding shed. These horses serve as equine ambassadors during public tours of the property, which raise money for the farm's operations.

The TCA provides grants to approved non-profit organizations that work toward improving the lives of Thoroughbred racehorses and the people who care for them. Crady emphasized that racehorse owners should be including aftercare in their business plans from the onset and that it is critical for horses to be retired while they are still sound to maximize their career potential beyond the racetrack.

“Start thinking about your exit strategy before you even have a horse,” she said. “Aftercare should not be an afterthought.

“A sound Thoroughbred is so incredibly versatile. Don't push for that one last race.”

The session started with the presentation of the 2021 New Owner of the Year, sponsored by The Stronach Group and 1/ST RACING, to Boat Racing. Boat Racing owns a handful of horses via yearling sales, 2-year-old in training sales, and pinhooking, but their primary claim to fame came from their significant minority share of Hot Rod Charlie, who won the grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby and grade 2 Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby in 2021. He also placed in this year's Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (both grade 1).

“We've fallen in love with this sport and fallen in love with these majestic animals,” said Patrick O'Neill of Boat Racing. “We're hopeful that we'll be a part of this industry for many years to come.”

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.

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Ninth Thoroughbred Owner Conference Panel Focused On Breeding To Win

The ninth panel in the online Thoroughbred Owner Conference series held Tuesday, Nov. 2, featured a panel devoted to breeding Thoroughbreds who discussed the research and factors they consider when making breeding decisions. The conference series is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Dean Dorton Equine, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and Stonestreet Farm.

Moderated by Carolyn Conley, “Breeding to Win” featured owners/breeders Madeline Auerbach, chairperson of CARMA (California Retirement Management Account) and a member of The Jockey Club, and David O'Farrell, manager of Ocala Stud and vice chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Also on the panel was Dr. Barbara Murphy, head of Equine Science at University College Dublin, who specializes in equine reproduction and developed the Equilume Light Mask, which has become a useful breeding tool within the Thoroughbred industry. The session was sponsored by Centennial Farms and Equilume.

To start the discussion, Murphy explained the thought and science behind the Equilume Light Mask and how light, specifically blue wavelengths, affects reproductive and growth hormones.

“If you provide lighting to the pregnant mare early in the year, you also have an improvement on her breeding efficiency in that she will cycle back sooner after she foals and she will foal closer to her due date,” Murphy said. “By giving the mare light, she turns on growth hormones, which stimulates the foal to develop at the normal pace.”

Auerbach and O'Farrell spoke about the differences in breeding to race and breeding to sell, the importance of selecting your breeding stock, and ensuring your horses are in the right hands.

“It's the most wonderful thing in the world to see a horse you bred win a race,” Auerbach. “But be careful, make sure you know what you are doing, and, once again, get as much advice as you can, but remember it's your decision and the buck stops with you and starts with you.”

“It's easier to breed to race than it is to breed to sell because racing you can breed to horses and get runners, but they might get ugly horses,” O'Farrell said. “You can't sell ugly horses.”

When discussing conformation, O'Farrell stated that it is very important but is not everything.

“For the most part, I think we just have to understand what physical qualities your mare has and what they are lacking and what the stallions may have and what they are lacking and try to be sensible about it,” he said. “You can't be too nitpicky. You have to consider all things including conformation, but I don't think it's everything.”

Talking about the importance of choosing a stallion, Auerbach noted: “It is just as important to study your mares, study her origins, and then start thinking about stallions. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket.”

“I would agree with that,” O'Farrell said. “Put a lot of effort into understanding your mare and what she's capable of.”

Before the Q&A session, the panel touched on the importance of aftercare.

“Everybody in the supply line, the people that buy them, the people that race them, everyone as a hand in making sure that they contribute to aftercare,” Auerbach said. “Everyone has a hand in pitching in and being responsible so that these horses, when they get out of racing, that there is a place for them, that there is somewhere that they can go and live out their lives.”

The next and final session of the series will focus on aftercare and is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. ET. It is sponsored by Canterbury Park and Gainesway Farm.

All sessions will be recorded and made available to registered guests. There is no registration fee for the live or recorded virtual conference series, but registration is required. Registration information and schedules are available at ownerview.com/event/conference or by contacting Gary Falter at gfalter@jockeyclub.com.

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Thoroughbred Owner Conference Session Focuses On Benefits Of Racing Clubs

Representatives from three successful racing clubs joined the seventh session of the Thoroughbred Owner Conference series on Tuesday, Sept. 7, to talk about the perks of participating in Thoroughbred ownership through racing clubs and through microshares. The panelists were Michael Behrens, MyRacehorse; Mary Cage, WinStar Stablemates; and Gary Palmisano, Churchill Downs Racing Club.

Tuesday's session was sponsored by MyRacehorse, the Daily Racing Form, and Mersant International Ltd. and moderated by TVG's Simon Bray. The conference series is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Dean Dorton Equine, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and Stonestreet Farm.

The panelists talked about the origins and structures of their groups, which range from enabling individuals to buy microshares in one horse at a time (MyRacehorse) to being able to pay for leasing rights to the club's entire roster of horses (Stablemates). They also all shared success stories of shareholders who entered Thoroughbred ownership through their respective racing clubs and then went on to expand their involvement in racing and breeding.

“Our goal from the get-go is to create new owners, even when Stablemates first started and was just a fan initiative, to educate these people on the industry and everything behind the scenes, that has been the goal, to prepare them for things like this,” Cage said. “Stablemates has given them that opportunity to explore racehorse ownership, and we have had several go out on their own.”

Palmisano pointed out that more than 100 Churchill Downs Racing Club members have progressed into other forms of ownership. Last year, MyRacehorse launched Edge Racing, which is a more traditional syndicate model and is designed for those who want to take ownership a step beyond MyRacehorse's microshare structure.

“I have no doubt that [racing clubs] are becoming the breeding ground for the next generation of ownership,” said Behrens.

The racing clubs represented in the session all have plans in place for when their horses retire from the racetrack. While the WinStar fillies go on to breeding careers, MyRacehorse and the Churchill Downs Racing Club have relationships with aftercare organizations to place horses and raise money in support of those organizations.

“At the end of the day, these horses need to have a great home. Whenever you buy a horse, you need to have a plan,” Palmisano said. “The ending has to be written too, well in advance.”

All three panelists agreed that anyone joining a racing club or microshare membership should do so for enjoyment, entertainment, and to gain experience before moving into other forms of ownership.

The next session of the series, “Biomechanics in Racehorses,” will be held on Tuesday, October 5, at 2 p.m. ET. It is sponsored by Sackatoga Stable, Silver Springs Stud, and WinStar.

All sessions will be recorded and made available to registered guests. There is no registration fee for the live or recorded virtual conference series, but registration is required.

In addition to the virtual series, OwnerView will be hosting an in-person Thoroughbred Owner Conference in Del Mar, California, on November 3, to coincide with the Breeders' Cup World Championships. Registration information is available on the OwnerView website. Registration information and schedules for both the in-person and virtual conference are available at ownerview.com/event/conference or by contacting Gary Falter at gfalter@jockeyclub.com.

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Retired Jockeys Share Insights In Latest Thoroughbred Owner Conference Session

Former track announcer Tom Durkin moderated a spirited panel of retired jockeys as part of the Thoroughbred Owner Conference series' sixth session, which was held Tuesday, Aug. 3. The conference series is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Dean Dorton Equine, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and Stonestreet Farm.

Tuesday's session was sponsored by Airdrie Stud, Starlight Racing, and The Green Group. The panelists were Donna Barton Brothers, Chris McCarron, and Gary Stevens.

All three panelists acknowledged the physical and mental toll of being a professional jockey. Besides the inherent risk of injury, there are also the struggles associated with maintaining the proper weight as well as being able to accept frequent rejection.

“We put more pressure on ourselves than any one person we have ever dealt with [has],” Stevens said.

Despite the challenges, the three panelists mentioned the reward of the human and equine relationships they were able to develop and the traveling opportunities they were afforded as a result of their careers. The group also delved into riders' relationships with owners and trainers and the process of securing mounts. They all stated that the key to riding good horses was developing positive relationships with trainers.

“For the most part, owners trust the trainer's judgment,” Brothers said.

The final topic of the panel was the whip rule debate in different jurisdictions. McCarron was adamant on the importance of having the riding crop available for safety, a sentiment shared by Brothers and Stevens. McCarron also promoted the work of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, which provides financial assistance to jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries

The next session of the series, “Racing Clubs,” will be held on Tuesday, September 7, at 2 p.m. ET. It is sponsored by MyRacehorse, the Daily Racing Form, and Mersant International Ltd. Panelists are Michael Behrens, MyRacehorse; Mary Cage, WinStar Stablemates; and Gary Palmisano, Churchill Downs Racing Club.

All sessions will be recorded and made available to registered guests. There is no registration fee for the live or recorded virtual conference series, but registration is required.

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In addition to the virtual series, OwnerView will be hosting an in-person Thoroughbred Owner Conference in Del Mar, Calif., on November 3, to coincide with the Breeders' Cup World Championships. Registration information is available on the OwnerView website. Registration information and schedules for both the in-person and virtual conference are available at ownerview.com/event/conference or by contacting Gary Falter at gfalter@jockeyclub.com.

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