kickbacks alleged in suit

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

Nope, you are 110% correct in my opinion....they need to spend money like CFOs would spend money for a large company, or like purchasing managers would spend money for large manufacturers.....the bottomline os that YOU ARE ON THE PAYROLL WORKING FOR SOMEONE AND WHEN YOU ARE SPENDING THEIR MONEY YOU ARE ENTRUSTED TO WORK DILIGENTLY TO BE AS EFFECTIVE AND AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE!!!

How many times has a sale ended and you heard a quote from an agent or a trainer who said, "He was the best indiviual in the sale and I was going to spend whatever I had to get him"?

...I've heard this a few times and I shake my head everytime....

I will say this, one of the best things you can have as a private sales agent is educated clients. It makes it much easier because if a horse doesn't pan out they are less likely to say you screwed them. Educated clients know in what range a horse is worth and don't just take your word for everything.

Joel's right, this is the biggest problem in the game.
the problem now with racing is that we just don't have enough owners to go around. More than any other problem we face, thats so far ahead at number one that its not even funny.
Here is what fewer owners means and here is how it impacts the business:
1) trainers are under extreme pressure to win early, often, and not lay up a horse who may need laying up. If you don't perform at the highest level, your owner gets 100 phone calls from other trainers(all fighting over the same scraps of meat like hungry dogs) saying they could do better. It leads to horses being pushed too hard and too often.
2) The business has lost its "middle class" to a very large extent. You now have huge owners, and little ones. The number of guys in the middle has shrunk to a record low. A monopoly has been created among a small number of trainers and owners.
3) Fewer owners means fewer horses which means smaller fields which means bad gambling opportunities for bettors and lower handle for racetracks.
Now why do we have fewer owners? Simple, if their early experience is that they get screwed, they just decide to leave the game.

Man would I love to be given the same budget to spend in a year privately for an owner and have him give his "yearling picker outer agent" be given the same budget and see whose purchases earn more and have higher residual value at the end.

Originally Posted by oracle80

2) The business has lost its "middle class" to a very large extent. You now have huge owners, and little ones. The number of guys in the middle has shrunk to a record low. A monopoly has been created among a small number of trainers and owners.
3) Fewer owners means fewer horses which means smaller fields which means bad gambling opportunities for bettors and lower handle for racetracks.
Now why do we have fewer owners? Simple, if their early experience is that they get screwed, they just decide to leave the game.

This might be your best post ever.......couldn't be any closer to the truth here...and it is that trickle-down effest that people who do not intimately understand the game do not realize.....WE ALL LOSE WHEN PEOPLE CHEAT!!!

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

This might be your best post ever.......couldn't be any closer to the truth here

You have no idea how frustrating it is to see a horse worth what the owner is asking for it, call clients or trainers up and try to sell it to them. Hear them say its too much money, and then see them buy one at a two year old in training sale the next week for more.
Remember Cherokee Jewel's debut? Cherokee Run filly at Gulf? I was in love with her and called and they gave me a price which I thought while not a bargain, was fair considering how much i loved her.
Noone would buy her. But they sure bought a bunch of rat two year olds in training that month who won't ever win multiple stakes like Cherokee has since then. They'd already be ahead on Cherokee(including residual value as a broodmare) right now.
The reason i say that is that one of the guys I called said it was too much money. And then at the next two year old in training sale, spent twice that on some horse I haven't seen run yet.
Its exasperating.