Yes, the Secretariat deal, which was reached before he started racing as a 3yo, was understood as a special situation, where the money was necessary to save the farm, quite literally. But when the syndicate that was put together for Conquistador Cielo, who was not particularly well-bred, for $40million, the floodgates opened.
Many of the financial difficulties of Calumet stemmed from the insane amounts that Lundy 'paid' for lesser lights like Secreto and Mogambo. Risen Star sufferred a minor injury and was retired after the Belmont to cash in. Spend a Buck didn't run at 4, either, although he did run until August.
THe 1980s bloodstock bubble was the beginning of the time when breeding for the sales became more important than breeding for racing. The original Breeders' Cup concept was a response to this trend - to create a race with a big enough purse to tempt owners into keeping their hot 3yo in training until the fall at least, and into their 4yo season at best. It hasn't worked.
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