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Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite
The purpose and objectives have changed ...
In the past ... horses were either owned by the very wealthy ... who hired hardboot trainers ... and who enjoyed watching their horses run ... or who just left the racing schedule up to the trainer ... OR ...
... they were owned by small investors who relied on purse winnings to make money or at least to make it less of a loss.
Today ... the goal ... for both the owners and the trainers ... is to get a big syndication deal ... and the fear is that losing more than a few races may queer the deal. Get that big G1 win ... then sit back and negotiate.
I think the horses ... more or less ... maybe a little less ... are just as capable of becoming professional athletes ... but they're just not asked to.
But this strategy is too clever by half ... because the scarcity of top-level racing is killing the business ... by failing to lure a new fan base into the game.
Thirty to seventy years ago .. if you asked a random adult to name a race horse ... at least half or more would have said War Admiral or Whirlaway or Citation or Native Dancer or Kelso or Secretariat.
Try that today ... and see the answer you get.
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There is definitely some truth to what you are saying. If a guy has a great horse that is really well bred, the most important thing is going to be the syndication deal. The goal will be to win the really big races. If it's a dirt horse, they're going to try to win the JCGC, the Breeder's Cup Classic, etc. They will run the horse extremely sparingly.
It's not going to do them much good to get a couple of extra wins in less prestigious races.
But every horse out there is not a well-bred horse that will be worth several million for breeding. There are plenty of grade III type of horses out there with ordinary breeding. These horses may not be worth a fortune for breeding. Horses like this may be able to make $500,000 a year or so racing if they pick the right spots. I'm talking about a horse with average breeding who is not good enough to win the Travers but who may be able to win the Indiana Derby. Even with a horse like this, where the big money is in racing rather than breeding, a good trainer is going to run the horse relatively sparingly. The horse may run 8-9 times a year or so.