Get Involved
For people that would like to get involved with the sport of kings, we hope you take a few notes here. The sport of horse racing is in decline for many reasons but the main reason we've found is that it's not focused on younger people. There have been many strides made over the last decade trying to attract a younger crowd but from lack of funds the younger generation either doesn't have the money to spend or they want to invest their money in profitable industries and can you blame them? There have been many syndicates formed to bring people in that don't have a lot of money to spend, but is that the answer? Obviously not, it's not working. Horses are breaking down more now then ever before, hence the syndicate was a good idea but if the equine is not making money it's all for not. We don't recommend you purchase a claimer if this is your first buy, though they are racing and have a chance to pay for themselves the animal's lifetime racing expectancy is now shortened by a great deal and no one knows when they will be unable to run anymore. When you first get involved in the racing business take a chance with a yearling or 2 year old, you might have to wait a bit longer but the anticipation is much greater. The hope of having a champion is in everyone's grasp at that age, no one ever knows how the baby will turn out that being said you could have a grade one winner that makes you millions or you could have a nice average race horse or they might not even make it to the track. It's a gamble, no doubt about it but at least your giving the horse and you a chance to see what they have and for you it's a opportunity to get your feet wet and maybe go to a sale and buy a few horses. Have a trainer that's good with babies and has a background in breaking yearlings. Do your homework, maybe give a assistant a chance to make a name for themselves. By reaching out to trainers that are somewhat new can help you with the training bills, ask them if they want a piece of the horse maybe 15% so the bill will be less each month. This gives the trainer something to look forward to and maybe will do much more then expected. Don't be over bearing with their training regimen, let the trainer do what they do, if something unexpected happens they will let you know. Pay your bills on time, if you receive a training or vet bill don't let it sit there forever, in the future something might happen to your horse and you might need that vet or farrier last minute to give your trainer a hand. If your late with any bills chances are they might not do the work that the trainer asked. If the horse is not worthy of racing and has some health issues seek positive ways to get that animal a second chance, maybe with a 4H group or with someone that offers riding lessons or even a correctional facility, there are prisons that teach it's convicts about horses and they are taken care of with excellent care. You can use this as a write off at the end of the year for your taxes.
Be Proactive
Not every horse you own will be a champion, classify the horse properly. Your trainer might not want to lose the horse or owner for that matter but you have to put the horse where they will be competitive. You want a horse that can help pay the bills, the race secretary has races for horses that are not that fast, mainly these are called claimer races. Depending on how fast they are running will determine what class they fit in. They can range from 5000 all the way to 100,000 the purse money will vary also. I never liked when a race for 10,000 claimers had 12 horse fields and the 50,000 claiming race has 6 horse fields-racing secretaries are screwing this up as well. It's actually not them it's the state. If they offered money for the cheaper races we would have many more people involved. They think because the horse is faster they should be compensated more, that's false in our eyes. Owners pay pretty much the same daily rate for all horses, if the purse money was much closer for these cheaper races you would see many more people come aboard and buy more animals. The business has changed for many reasons but the one that we see the most is slot machines and casinos. The money that they generate is amazing now, that's why you see the higher purses, it's not because of simulcasting. OK so you would think that's great for the horseman, not really. Because of the money being generated there are farriers who are charging double, the hay guy is charging double, so is the vet and feed guy! It has to be regulated better, it's the black cloud of the industry that no one wants to talk about. Eventually that cost is passed on to the owner and if their horse is not making money chances are they might leave the game all together. Our states are not horseman and just because they might have been in the game at one time doesn't make then qualified people to run this industry. We need smart financial people that have experience in budgets and keeping a business afloat. We need genuine people that are good at marketing, advertising, and we need judges that do not have any bias. If it looks like a horse interfered with another in the race, something should happen to them regardless of the outcome of the race, jockey's need to be held accountable for their actions. Excessive use of the whip coming down the stretch should cost the jockey a lot of money. They have been wreckless for way to long. If your unhappy with your trainer for any reason take the horse to another trainer. It's a business that you run not them, you pay the bills. It happens all the time so don't feel like your betraying the trainer. It's the nature of the business, not all trainers are alike and some shouldn't be trainers at all. Just because they worked for some of the best doesn't mean they learned the proper way to do it. Some young kid might have the knack for taking a average horse and could make them great! Old timers might be out of touch with the game, so your options are wide. Almost every state has some form of horse racing and some states go for big money, so take that into consideration.
What a Game
It's the best sport in the world, the people are amazing the horses are great and you could make a ton of money with a small investment. Be smart with who surrounds you, if you can find good people to work for you chances are you will have fun and make a few bucks. It's an interesting sport you will learn a lot and hopefully you will bring your friends and family in. Not every horse will make you rich but the memories will last a lifetime.
For people that would like to get involved with the sport of kings, we hope you take a few notes here. The sport of horse racing is in decline for many reasons but the main reason we've found is that it's not focused on younger people. There have been many strides made over the last decade trying to attract a younger crowd but from lack of funds the younger generation either doesn't have the money to spend or they want to invest their money in profitable industries and can you blame them? There have been many syndicates formed to bring people in that don't have a lot of money to spend, but is that the answer? Obviously not, it's not working. Horses are breaking down more now then ever before, hence the syndicate was a good idea but if the equine is not making money it's all for not. We don't recommend you purchase a claimer if this is your first buy, though they are racing and have a chance to pay for themselves the animal's lifetime racing expectancy is now shortened by a great deal and no one knows when they will be unable to run anymore. When you first get involved in the racing business take a chance with a yearling or 2 year old, you might have to wait a bit longer but the anticipation is much greater. The hope of having a champion is in everyone's grasp at that age, no one ever knows how the baby will turn out that being said you could have a grade one winner that makes you millions or you could have a nice average race horse or they might not even make it to the track. It's a gamble, no doubt about it but at least your giving the horse and you a chance to see what they have and for you it's a opportunity to get your feet wet and maybe go to a sale and buy a few horses. Have a trainer that's good with babies and has a background in breaking yearlings. Do your homework, maybe give a assistant a chance to make a name for themselves. By reaching out to trainers that are somewhat new can help you with the training bills, ask them if they want a piece of the horse maybe 15% so the bill will be less each month. This gives the trainer something to look forward to and maybe will do much more then expected. Don't be over bearing with their training regimen, let the trainer do what they do, if something unexpected happens they will let you know. Pay your bills on time, if you receive a training or vet bill don't let it sit there forever, in the future something might happen to your horse and you might need that vet or farrier last minute to give your trainer a hand. If your late with any bills chances are they might not do the work that the trainer asked. If the horse is not worthy of racing and has some health issues seek positive ways to get that animal a second chance, maybe with a 4H group or with someone that offers riding lessons or even a correctional facility, there are prisons that teach it's convicts about horses and they are taken care of with excellent care. You can use this as a write off at the end of the year for your taxes.
Be Proactive
Not every horse you own will be a champion, classify the horse properly. Your trainer might not want to lose the horse or owner for that matter but you have to put the horse where they will be competitive. You want a horse that can help pay the bills, the race secretary has races for horses that are not that fast, mainly these are called claimer races. Depending on how fast they are running will determine what class they fit in. They can range from 5000 all the way to 100,000 the purse money will vary also. I never liked when a race for 10,000 claimers had 12 horse fields and the 50,000 claiming race has 6 horse fields-racing secretaries are screwing this up as well. It's actually not them it's the state. If they offered money for the cheaper races we would have many more people involved. They think because the horse is faster they should be compensated more, that's false in our eyes. Owners pay pretty much the same daily rate for all horses, if the purse money was much closer for these cheaper races you would see many more people come aboard and buy more animals. The business has changed for many reasons but the one that we see the most is slot machines and casinos. The money that they generate is amazing now, that's why you see the higher purses, it's not because of simulcasting. OK so you would think that's great for the horseman, not really. Because of the money being generated there are farriers who are charging double, the hay guy is charging double, so is the vet and feed guy! It has to be regulated better, it's the black cloud of the industry that no one wants to talk about. Eventually that cost is passed on to the owner and if their horse is not making money chances are they might leave the game all together. Our states are not horseman and just because they might have been in the game at one time doesn't make then qualified people to run this industry. We need smart financial people that have experience in budgets and keeping a business afloat. We need genuine people that are good at marketing, advertising, and we need judges that do not have any bias. If it looks like a horse interfered with another in the race, something should happen to them regardless of the outcome of the race, jockey's need to be held accountable for their actions. Excessive use of the whip coming down the stretch should cost the jockey a lot of money. They have been wreckless for way to long. If your unhappy with your trainer for any reason take the horse to another trainer. It's a business that you run not them, you pay the bills. It happens all the time so don't feel like your betraying the trainer. It's the nature of the business, not all trainers are alike and some shouldn't be trainers at all. Just because they worked for some of the best doesn't mean they learned the proper way to do it. Some young kid might have the knack for taking a average horse and could make them great! Old timers might be out of touch with the game, so your options are wide. Almost every state has some form of horse racing and some states go for big money, so take that into consideration.
What a Game
It's the best sport in the world, the people are amazing the horses are great and you could make a ton of money with a small investment. Be smart with who surrounds you, if you can find good people to work for you chances are you will have fun and make a few bucks. It's an interesting sport you will learn a lot and hopefully you will bring your friends and family in. Not every horse will make you rich but the memories will last a lifetime.
