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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.

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Woods Signs For Top Two At OBS October Finale

Under his Quarter Pole Enterprises banner, noted yearling-to-juvenile reseller Eddie Woods signed for the two top horses during Wednesday's second and final session of the OBS October Sale in Central Florida. The veteran horseman paid $250,000 for a colt by promising young sire Mitole about a third of the way through the session and hung around to the bitter end, when he gave $150,000 for a colt from the first crop of Global Campaign (Curlin). The topper was the most-expensive at the October Sale since 2018, when a colt by Cairo Prince was knocked down for $340,000.

Over the course of two days of trade, OBS reported sales on 386 yearlings for gross receipts of $7,692,100, good for an average price of $19,928. The number declined by 25.7% from last year's sale–which featured a 'select' session followed by an open session–when 394 horses sold for $10,560,900 or an average of $26,804. The median also took a hit, dropping 26.5% to $12,500. In 2022, some 15 horses sold in excess of $100,000, while seven crossed the six-figure threshold this year.

“The horses near the top of the market sold good, but at the lower levels of the market, there certainly was some weakness,” said OBS President Tom Ventura. “I think it's the nature of the market reacting. We have been spoiled somewhat post-pandemic where the market has been moving, even in the face of increased interest rates and the financial markets and the general financial situation. We just keep doing what we can, recruiting horses, recruiting people trying to put the best product we can in front of our clientele.”

Woods struck first for hip 507, a Sue Vacek-consigned Florida-bred son of Mitole and Midnight Magic (Midnight Lute) and was the recipient of a positive update when his half-sister, last year's GIII Delaware Oaks heroine and two-time OBS graduate Midnight Stroll (Not This Time), padded her resume with a close runner-up effort in the GII Presque Isle Downs Masters S. Sept. 18.

With time ticking away on the sale, Woods snapped up hip 745, another Florida-bred, who fetched $82,000 when offered as a short yearling at the OBS January Sale. The late February foal was consigned to the October Sale by Richard Kaizen's Kaizen Sales, agent.

“The two horses I bought, I loved. I didn't think I could get them bought, but I did,” Woods said. “I might have stretched on the [Mitole] a little bit, but gosh, he's gorgeous, by a sire that's on the come with a fashionable pedigree, he just did everything right and that mare throws a good-looking horse.

“The Global Campaign was a magnificent-looking horse, it's just a family of runners. He looked a bit like [the stakes-winning] A. J. Melini (Matty G) [who appears in the second dam], that's a horse I had for Marion Montanari once upon a time, just a bit of a stronger version of him. Two really good, strong, physical colts.”

Ice Cold, a 2-year-old daughter of Mitole and a graduate of the Woods program, won the Oct. 4 Miss Indiana S., and the consignor thinks Mitole is a stallion with a bright future.

“They're showing up and as they get older, they're starting to get a little bit better, which is a good sign,” he said. “I thought they may be a little quick and early, but they're getting a route of ground and that usually augurs for a decent kind of stallion.”

Both of Woods's purchases are naturally ticketed for next year's breeze-up sales, and Woods is equal parts pragmatic and optimistic.

“We've got a long ways to go,” he said. “If everything goes right, they're perfect for resale candidates. They need to be quick, they need to vet well and have good videos. But they both move really well, they're both quite handsome and there's no reason to think they wouldn't do well going forward.

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Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Catalogue Online

A total of 392 yearlings have been catalogued for the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale to be held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium Oct. 2 and 3. Hips 1-124 will be offered during the Monday session, which will begin at 3 p.m. and hips 125 through 392 will be offered during the Tuesday session, which will begin at 11 a.m.

“This year's catalogue features nearly 400 yearlings representing a wide variety of national and regional sires and state-bred programs,” said Midlantic Director of Sales Paget Bennett. “Each year, the Midlantic Fall Yearling sale attracts new buyers based on recent graduate successes, which includes GI Spinaway S. winner Leave No Trace among more than 200 stakes wins and placings in 2022 and 2023. This is a sale not to be missed.”

The catalogue can be viewed online here and will also be available via the equineline sales catalogue app. Print catalogues will be available by Sept. 5.

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Airdrie Stud’s Pride on Display at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale

For over a half century, Airdrie Stud has grown into one of the most recognizable names in the breeding industry. Well known for producing future stakes horses, developing stallions or selling livestock, the Midway, Kentucky operation has become part of the very fabric of racing. And while the nursery, founded in 1972 by Governor Brereton Jones and his wife Elizabeth, has been a fixture at the yearling sales for much of its history, its return to the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale offers a departure from its sale's program in recent times.

Hailing from one of its most prolific families, Airdrie is represented by a single yearling in next week's sale, a colt by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah out of Indian Pride (Proud Citizen). Offered as Hip 79 on Monday, the Feb. 6 foal is the first foal out of TDN Rising Star Indian Pride, a daughter of Airdrie's accomplished mare Ms. Cornstalk (Indian Charlie).

“If you bring a horse to Saratoga, they better be special and I think this horse fits the bill,” Airdrie Vice President Bret Jones affirmed.

Further explaining the colt's allure, he said, “He has a lot of Indian Charlie in him. Indian Pride was all Indian Charlie–a big, strapping, powerful type that Indian Charlie would so often throw. And a lot of his brilliance as well. This colt has such a great mind, like you would hope you'd get from American Pharoah, who was such an intelligent horse. It's that combination of brilliance and thankfully, the class as well.”

While American Pharoah's racetrack accomplishments have become the stuff of legend, the colt's dam Indian Pride was hardly a secret in her own career debut for trainer Chad Brown in the summer of 2019. Sent off the 3-5 favorite negotiating six furlongs at Saratoga, she blew the doors of her competition with an eye-catching eight-length score in 1:09.45. (video) Subsequently third in Keeneland's GII Raven Run S. later that October, the Airdrie homebred rebounded to take a 6 1/2-panel Belmont allowance in her 4-year-old bow in June. In what would be her final career start, the bay triumphed in Saratoga's Shine Again S.

“A big reason that we brought this colt here is that Indian Pride ran in New York,” explained Jones.

He continued, “The best way to explain it is she's just different. I honestly think she is as good as any of the fillies we were lucky enough to win the Kentucky Oaks with [Airdrie had three winners–Proud Spell, Believe You Can and Lovely Maria].”

And according to Jones, Indian Pride's talent was plainly obvious very early on in her career.

“The first time we breezed her with Wayne Mackey, she went :24 and galloped out in :36 just as easy as you can ever see a horse do it,” he recalled. “Generally, our 2-year-olds are going in :26 or :27 the first quarter. So that was kind of our 'a ha' moment.”

“She got very sick before what was supposed to be her first start, to the point where we almost lost her. She had pneumonia. We weren't sure she could even get back to the races if she did pull through. It was a long path. She finally did start, the following year at Saratoga. We never had a horse produce a debut like she did. It looked like she was just breezing.”

Despite the high hopes of being able to catch up on lost time with the uber-talented filly, the wheel of fate would once again take another turn.

“We really thought we'd win the Ballerina with her as a 4-year-old,” Jones admitted. “She won the Ballerina prep, [the Shine Again], in 1:21 3/5. Heading to the Ballerina, we thought we had a big shot to win it but, unfortunately, she got sick again. It was never musculoskeletal–it was just lousy luck.”

Weighing in on who the filly would go to in her first season following her retirement from the track, the Airdrie team decided to send her to a stallion that was up to the quality that they felt she possessed while never fully able to demonstrate on the track.

“We felt she such was such a brilliant filly that we bred her to what we thought was about as brilliant a horse as we had ever seen–American Pharoah,” he said.

This story, however, really begins well before Indian Pride ever set foot on the racetrack with Ms. Cornstalk, who was also bred by Airdrie. After RNA'ing for $35,000 at Keeneland in January, she was subsequently withdrawn from the September sale and ultimately retired to the breeding shed at two.

Her inability to find a buyer in the ring, however, proved to be a stroke of very good fortune for the Airdrie team.

Her first foal, Biofuel (Stormin Fever), earned the juvenile filly championship in Canada in 2009 before following up with another divisional title and Horse of the Year honors at three.

“Ms. Cornstalk was just so special,” Jones said. “We bred her as a 2-year-old because she never made it to the races. Her first foal was Biofuel, which gave us her first champion when she was only five.”

He said, “She was unbelievably good to us. We didn't necessarily breed her to stallions that went on to great success. We ended up keeping Biofuel because she was by Stormin Fever and we didn't think she would bring what we thought she could at the sales.”

Two years later, Ms. Cornstalk would foal Tu Endie Wei (Johar), Canada's 2-year-old Champion Filly in 2011. Both Biofuel and Tu Endie Wei were campaigned by Brereton Jones and trained by Woodbine-based Reade Baker.

“The only other horse that I can remember that had as impressive a career debut as Indian Pride was Tu Endi Wei, who debuted in a stakes race [Woodbine's 2011 My Dear S.],” Jones recalled. “She made a Zenyatta-like move from the back where she came down the middle of the track and won going away. She was just so impressive early on that she probably had the championship sewn up then.”

Sadly, Ms. Cornstalk died shortly after foaling a colt by Airdrie stallion Upstart earlier this season. Tu Endie Wei died in 2013.

“That was a very tough loss for all of us,” said Jones of the recent loss of Ms. Cornstalk. “We still have Biofuel and several of her daughters that are all being bred to very nice stallions. So, I think this family can go on rewarding us.”

In stark contrast to the caliber of sires that Ms. Cornstalk had visited early in her career, Airdrie has gone completely the opposite route with what it considers to be her most brilliant offspring. In addition to American Pharoah, Indian Pride produced a colt by Constitution this season and was bred back to Into Michief.

“Constitution is ascendant and Into Mischief is as good a stallion as there is in the world,” he said.

“With American Pharoah, we thought breeding the most brilliantly talented filly we've had to the most brilliantly talented sire we've seen, made sense,” he said. “That might be overly simplistic. It probably is, but I can promise you that the colt is just might be a little bit different himself.”

He added, “I really think he's a wow horse. He's the type of horse that when you see him, you'll think about him the rest of the day. He's just that type of physical. He's got this big, gorgeous, strapping Indian Charlie body. He's been a total class act since the day he was born. If you combine that physical and that charisma, he's just the type that stays on your mind.”

Looking forward to a return to the Saratoga sale, Jones is optimistic that the colt will be well received at a venue that can be unforgiving for a lesser animal but also explosive for the right one.

“We haven't had a horse up there in a very long time,” he said. “But I think this colt will be worth the wait.”–@CBossTDN

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