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Not as far as i ‘m aware.
People always assume that racing in general is riddled with crooks and the little man never gets a fair crack of the whip.
The truth is a lot less interesting. As any other owner will tell you, it is a sport where most people encounter a lot more bad luck than good.
If you buy into an unraced horse, say as a yearling from the sales, the chances of getting it to the racetrack as a 2 year old are only about 50%
Of those that do make it to the track only about 20% of them will ever win a race.
So, your chances of finding a winner are about 10/1.
Of those horses that are actually able to win, just a ridiculously small percentage ever make money for their owners.
Besides this syndicate, I own a share in a very useful dual purpose horse, rated in the mid 120’s over hurdles, and after the new weights come out on Wednesday he’ll probably be in the mid 80’s on the flat.
He’s won 5 races in the last 18 months along with a string of good placed efforts, and the chances of him ever breaking even are slim to none (and Slim’s out of town).
Believe it or not, the chances of me ever being involved with a better horse than him are just about zero. Owing a decent loss maker like that is probably going to be the pinnacle or my owing career (and i count myself INCREDIBLY lucky).
It’s not a question of getting "done over" it’s a question of accepting that no owner, big or small, makes money and will have to suffer a lot of dashed hopes and disappointments along the way. That applies to the Maktoums just as much as it does to this syndicate.
Only the very dim witted go into race horse ownership with the expectation of getting any monetary reward.
The reward is the love of the sport, the great days out at the races and the very small chance that one day, if you keep trying, you’ll find that elusive decent horse who can win a few for you.
The horse being talked about by GD, was a lightly raced mare from a very good family, closley related to Inglis Drever and Rock Hopper down the dams side.
She had been competetive in three bumpers prior to our involvement and looked as if she could be competetive this year in novice events.
We were lucky enough to be able to lease her as oppose to buy her because the breeder wanted to retain her as a brood mare if things went well.
If GD and the rest of us were getting "done over" we’d still be presevering with her because the trainer would have fed us some line about "needing more time" etc etc.
In this instance, the trainer was totally honest in his appraisal and he simply told us she wasnt going to be competetive. It’s an unfortunate fact that some mares become very regressive very quickly. How many nice fillies do you see not train on?
So no, we arent getting "done over" – we are encountering the usual share of bad luck that every owner has to put up with.
Isn’t this the 3rd filly in a row though(or am I confused with someone else)?
It is great that you are educated enough to expect to lose money, but leasing fillies means you are paying for someone elses benefit, even if it doesn’t work out.I think you’re being more than a touch insensitive with your comments The Cheekster, and more than a little rude also.
No, they didn’t – and your rudeness was especially inappropiate given that your interest is entirely self-promoting since you are very likely to try and sell them on a horse of your own instead.
Some things just shouldn’t be said.
We had luck with Tajree, she won us (I know I’m not in the syndicate but you know what I mean when I say "us") a race! That was worth all the ups and downs, you just have to hope you’ll strike lucky again. Horses aren’t machines, and there’s way more losers than there are winners.
No, they didn’t – and your rudeness was especially inappropiate given that your interest is entirely self-promoting since you are very likely to try and sell them on a horse of your own instead.
Some things just shouldn’t be said.
a) I have nothing to sell for racing.
b) I don’t believe in leasing which is obviously what they prefer.
So infact, you are also being pretty rude with your insinuations. I just have a dislike to people being taken for a ride, and if there is a possibility of such I will always point it out.Dont imagine we’re a bunch of half wits or kindly old gentlemen who, when not busy helping old ladies across the street, are parting with our cash on a whim.
We look for the best value we can get.
You may not like leasing, but at the bottom end of the market it’s an easier proposition than owning outright. We’re not breeders looking for residual value, we’re racing enthusiasts looking for a bit of fun.
We dont have tens of thousands to throw around at the sales and then say "oh well, lets go and buy another one" when things go pear shaped.
If we were to go to the sales we’d be looking for a very cheap purchase (and by very cheap i mean less than a couple of thousand guineas).
At that sort of level we’re bound to have a lot of disappointments.
By leasing horses we can move on relatively quickly if the horse doesnt perform and I dont have to worry about my back garden not being big enough for the ones who dont make the grade. The breeder concerned simply takes them back to his farm and ensures they are retrained and rehomed.
We have dabbled with outright ownership. With Wendy Craig last summer we purchased a part of her and leased the rest from the breeder.
We had a handshake agreement with the breeder that if she didnt win a race for us in a year, if we wanted, he’d buy our share back off us for what we paid him to start with.
Wendy wasnt competetive and we called it a day after three runs. The breeder honoured the "money back guarantee" on the same day she was taken out of training.
Some people in this game are neither crooks nor taken advantage of by crooks. I do all our deals on handshakes and i havent been turned over once and certainly havent looked to turn anybody over myself. You’d be surprised how many people actually do what they say they are going to do.
It still doesnt stop us having the requisite share of bad luck though but that’s just par for the course. Hope springs eternal.
Precisely apk – some things suit some owners that would do the opposite for other owners.
Each to their own and everyone has their own ideas about what they want out of ownership and how they will go about it. I’ve been in partnerships and syndicates and have decided that I will very likely not own a horse with anyone else again – not because it went horribly wrong before (it didn’t) but because it just doesn’t suit me or the way I do things.
Then again a lot of people wouldn’t be interested in buying unraced/unbroken youngsters from the sales and bringing them along themselves – heaven knows I could have plenty of runners if I chose to buy horses that are fit and running, I just choose not to the same way I choose not to lease them.
That doesn’t mean to say that leasing horses isn’t a good idea for some people – for plenty it provides a much more sensible option.
Good luck with whatever else you take on.
- Total Posts 158
Not as far as i ‘m aware.
People always assume that racing in general is riddled with crooks and the little man never gets a fair crack of the whip.
The truth is a lot less interesting. As any other owner will tell you, it is a sport where most people encounter a lot more bad luck than good.
If you buy into an unraced horse, say as a yearling from the sales, the chances of getting it to the racetrack as a 2 year old are only about 50%
Of those that do make it to the track only about 20% of them will ever win a race.
So, your chances of finding a winner are about 10/1.
Of those horses that are actually able to win, just a ridiculously small percentage ever make money for their owners.
Besides this syndicate, I own a share in a very useful dual purpose horse, rated in the mid 120’s over hurdles, and after the new weights come out on Wednesday he’ll probably be in the mid 80’s on the flat.
He’s won 5 races in the last 18 months along with a string of good placed efforts, and the chances of him ever breaking even are slim to none (and Slim’s out of town).
Believe it or not, the chances of me ever being involved with a better horse than him are just about zero. Owing a decent loss maker like that is probably going to be the pinnacle or my owing career (and i count myself INCREDIBLY lucky).
It’s not a question of getting "done over" it’s a question of accepting that no owner, big or small, makes money and will have to suffer a lot of dashed hopes and disappointments along the way. That applies to the Maktoums just as much as it does to this syndicate.
Only the very dim witted go into race horse ownership with the expectation of getting any monetary reward.
The reward is the love of the sport, the great days out at the races and the very small chance that one day, if you keep trying, you’ll find that elusive decent horse who can win a few for you.
The horse being talked about by GD, was a lightly raced mare from a very good family, closley related to Inglis Drever and Rock Hopper down the dams side.
She had been competetive in three bumpers prior to our involvement and looked as if she could be competetive this year in novice events.
We were lucky enough to be able to lease her as oppose to buy her because the breeder wanted to retain her as a brood mare if things went well.
If GD and the rest of us were getting "done over" we’d still be presevering with her because the trainer would have fed us some line about "needing more time" etc etc.
In this instance, the trainer was totally honest in his appraisal and he simply told us she wasnt going to be competetive. It’s an unfortunate fact that some mares become very regressive very quickly. How many nice fillies do you see not train on?
So no, we arent getting "done over" – we are encountering the usual share of bad luck that every owner has to put up with.
very well said.. good luck and keep enjoying your racing
We had luck with Tajree, she won us (I know I’m not in the syndicate but you know what I mean when I say "us") a race! That was worth all the ups and downs, you just have to hope you’ll strike lucky again. Horses aren’t machines, and there’s way more losers than there are winners.
I was involved up until the race before she won!! Some people just do it because they enjoy.it. I certainly did. Lingfield on a sunny evening stood in the middle of the parade ring was worth it.
Keep it up Andrew.
Nick
And I was with Taj when she ran at Warwick. She didn’t do particularly well that day, but it was a hugely memorable event.
Well as you recall that was Craig’s memorial race over a trip that was too far for her and she cut herself also.
Two out she looked like the winner so it wasn’t too bad a run.Yes I did remember that. A very poignant day but I did enjoy it too. It’s not just the winning, it’s the taking part and everything that goes with it.
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