Originally Posted by Hoisttheflag

The only horses that are capable of getting an appearance fee for an owner are Classic winners. Maybe a horse like Cigar. Nobody else. Tracks provide them to bring in people. The owner might want to know but why would they care. No trainer is going to put an elite horse into a race simply for an appearance fee. In fact, I can't recall more than a few appearance fees, and only know of one for sure and that was Baffert.

Just curious, are these trainers getting shares or a couple seasons? I always thought a couple seasons. A share in some of these, like an Empire Maker would be worth millions to Frankel.