I get a lot of questions about horse racing. The women ask mostly about the horses. The men ask mostly about the racing. So here are a few questions and answers.
Where do you find a racehorse?
You have two options. You can buy one or raise one. Some people buy privately, which requires a little more knowledge of the business. Most buy at sales. Horses usually begin their careers at two years of age, so the quickest route of entry into horse racing is to buy at a two-year-olds-in-training sale, the majority of which are held in Florida in the winter or spring. There are select sales, which require certain minimum pedigree standards, and there are open sales, for which there are no requirements for pedigree or conformation. The average cost for a two year old at a select sale is much greater than at an open sale, although there are bargains to be had at a select sale and very expensive horses at an open sale. Some consignors sell when they feel their horses are blossoming and will perform best.
Probably the most popular sale among trainers and owners is the Ocala Breeders Sale in April. There are over a thousand horses in this sale, most of them selling for reasonable prices.
You can also buy yearlings, weanlings, mares in foal or barren mares. As a rule, the horses closest to racing are more expensive than the yearlings and the yearlings are more expensive than the weanlings, etc. However, this is not always the case. Keeneland, in Lexington, Kentucky has a three-week yearling sale in September, during which many horses sell for phenomenal prices. As does the Fasig-Tipton Company at Saratoga each August.
Another option is to buy a piece of a horse. This keeps costs down and the buyer can have a lot of fun (hopefully) with modest risk. The negative aspect is that you will have little to say about the course of the horse’s career and you will probably make very little profit.
Finally, you can raise a horse. Ideally, it takes two acres of pasture per horse, although most people skimp on this, and considerable time, effort and expense. You could start by purchasing a broodmare, preferably in foal so you will get a faster return on your investment. Obviously, this requires a modicum of fenced land, some semblance of a barn and the capacity to feed horses twice a day. If the mare is boarded, you can expect to pay in the vicinity of $15 a day. When the foals grow to yearlings (and there are many pitfalls between foaling and then), they are put into training in the late summer or early autumn of their yearling year. About five months later, depending on the horse, they should be ready for the racetrack.
Which racetrack do I send them to and how do I find a trainer?
I have sent horses all over the country, with varying degrees of success. But I prefer to keep them close enough to go and watch them when they run. I have found that I can manage them better this way, also. Even if you have a lot of trust in your trainer’s opinion, which I do, I still want to see them in the flesh, particularly if there is some problem. So I don’t want to be flying to California all the time.
You select a trainer the same way you select a doctor or a lawyer. You interview them, you check their statistics, you talk with other clients. When I was looking for my first trainer, I called Art Grace, the racing writer for the Miami Herald, and got half a dozen recommendations, then discussed them with knowledgeable people in Ocala. Then, I drove to Miami, visited them at the track and made a decision. Obviously, when you are immersed in the culture for awhile, it becomes more and more obvious which people get the job done. Still, it is critical that you have a trainer who will accept input and dispense information on a timely basis. Even if it is an investment, you should enjoy what you are doing. If it’s no fun, find another trainer.
These are just the basics. Hopefully, however, you know more now than you did then.
Old college humor magazine joke from 1965:
A man went to a dance and met a beautiful girl. He asked her to dance, and she danced like a dream. Between dances, he found she could converse intelligently on any subject. She was particularly interested in his favorite sports and hobbies. At the end of the dance, he asked if he might escort her home and she said that her car was parked right around the corner. Heading up to her apartment she asked him in for a late dinner because she loved to cook.
By the time she had put the key in the lock, he was already contemplating marriage. As he entered the girl’s apartment, however, he fell back, aghast, for there in the middle of the living room was a dead elephant.
“Well, all right,” she snapped. “So I’m not neat.”
That’s all, folks.
