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  #41  
Old 11-13-2006, 10:19 AM
ELA ELA is offline
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Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin
Let's figure that Bernardini is worth about $60 million. The insurance premium is usually about 5% of the horse's value. So if Bernardini is worth $60 million and they want to insure him for $60 million that means it would cost about $3 million a year to insure Bernardini.
BTW, here is an interesting question -- so the owner(s) of Bernardini can easily afford this type of insurance premium from "other wealth" and perhaps as such, the fans feel a certain way (of course for other reasons as well).

What if Bernardini or a similar type of horse worth the same money was owned by a working class guy, or someone who did not have wealth per se. If that person did not have other assets or couldn't get a farm to offer up enough real cash, etc., and they could not "afford" the premium -- would people feel differently? What about if there was an estate tax/liquidity issue (ie: Joe Robbie and the Miami Dolphins)?

Any thoughts? Thank you.

Eric
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  #42  
Old 11-13-2006, 10:21 AM
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Originally Posted by oracle80
Anyone with even half of a pea brain will not judge Henny based on the BC Sprint. Its quite obvious that something was awry, and that race was a tossout.
I have heard people say some of the same things that have been said about Bern...and for the most part they are justified...a three race campaign @ 3 and a 10 race career over all does not really confirm a horse in most people's mind. not mine anyway...so while I believe he is great I can't actually SAY he is great.
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  #43  
Old 11-13-2006, 10:25 AM
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Originally Posted by ELA
BTW, here is an interesting question -- so the owner(s) of Bernardini can easily afford this type of insurance premium from "other wealth" and perhaps as such, the fans feel a certain way (of course for other reasons as well).

What if Bernardini or a similar type of horse worth the same money was owned by a working class guy, or someone who did not have wealth per se. If that person did not have other assets or couldn't get a farm to offer up enough real cash, etc., and they could not "afford" the premium -- would people feel differently? What about if there was an estate tax/liquidity issue (ie: Joe Robbie and the Miami Dolphins)?

Any thoughts? Thank you.

Eric
there is no question in my mind that if this horse was owned by some blue-collar types and they decided that they couldn't afford to take the risk of racing the horse next year the backlash would not be nearly as severe.
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  #44  
Old 11-13-2006, 10:38 AM
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Originally Posted by ELA
BTW, here is an interesting question -- so the owner(s) of Bernardini can easily afford this type of insurance premium from "other wealth" and perhaps as such, the fans feel a certain way (of course for other reasons as well).

What if Bernardini or a similar type of horse worth the same money was owned by a working class guy, or someone who did not have wealth per se. If that person did not have other assets or couldn't get a farm to offer up enough real cash, etc., and they could not "afford" the premium -- would people feel differently? What about if there was an estate tax/liquidity issue (ie: Joe Robbie and the Miami Dolphins)?

Any thoughts? Thank you.

Eric
I would definitely have more sympathy if the owner couldn't afford the premiums so retired the horse for that reason. I wouldn't be totally sympathetic though as they could sell a small share in the horse to get enough money to pay the insurance premiums so it isn't like they were forced to retire the horse because of insurance costs as they would likely try to lead the public to believe.
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  #45  
Old 11-13-2006, 10:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Dunbar
I understand that profitability can easily revolve around a 5% expense. But still...I can't help thinking that it just might be okay to end up with $57 million for Bernardini rather than $60 million, and have the pleasure of watching him run as a 4-yr-old. (and that assumes that he would only break even on costs/income while running).

I understand there are other risks, too. Mainly, that a horse like Bernardini may not live up to expectations as a 4-yr-old, thus reducing that $60 million estimate of worth.

Perhaps that is the main reason horses are rushed to stud--fear that they are not as good as the market currently values them.

--Dunbar
The emotions that owners feel are not neceassirly what you think. You said that you would think an owner would want to "have the pleasure" of watching his horse run as a 4 year old. I can't speak for all owners, but I can tell you that for many owners there would be very little pleasure. When you have a really good horse competing at the highest level, there is a lot of stress involved. It's basically a fun ride, but it's also nice when the ride is over.

I can think of a good analogy. When an athlete has some type of great streak going, sometimes when the streak finally ends, you will actually hear the athlete say that they are sowewhat relieved that the streak is finally over. The pressure can almost be unbearable.

Once your horse reaches the level of a Bernardini, you really don't gain much by going on. I'm not talking about just financially. I'm talking about all the other stuff involved too, like a lot of the stuff that Oracle mentioned. There can just be so many things on the line that there really is very little pleasure for the owner at that point. Everyone expects you to win when you have a horse that good. If you win, it's like "So what. Everyone expected him to win. He was the odds-on favorite." But if you lose, then it's a big deal. People will start to say that the horse isn't that good and that type of thing.

I'm not saying that it's not fun to own a great horse. It's a lot of fun, but by the same token there is a lot of stress involved and it can be very nice to make a big syndication deal and go out on top. It's not just a matter of the money.

Another good analogy would be if I went to Magic Mountain tomorrow and rode their best roller-coaster. Even if I had a great time on the roller-coaster, I wouldn't neceassarily get on it again the same day. I'd appreciate the one good ride and then move on to something else.
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  #46  
Old 11-13-2006, 10:46 AM
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Originally Posted by DaHoss9698
Yeah, I definitely think this is the case. I think there are a few factors here. Number one, after Barbaro, fans needed something, anything to get their minds off of what happened in the Preakness. Well here comes Bernardini, with the looks, pedigree, and easy win after easy win. Some thought he was the next coming. And fans want to see a good one run, they could care less about anything that goes on in the business side. To be retired, assuming he's healthy after a very good, but not great 3 year old campaign is kind of premature. Number two is, and many will not admit it, and I'm not saying anyone here, because with the exception of maybe one person, I haven't heard any of this crap, but the fact the owners are Arabs bothers people. Lastly, the fact that the Shieks are seemingly buying everything in site doesn't sit well with people. It's one thing to be like the Phipps, and breed and own your champions, but it's another thing to just buy up most of the prized stock, and race it a few times. I definitely think it's a pissing match between Godolphin and Coolmore, because Coolmore has been much more successful in the breeding shed.
IMO the fact that the Boys from Dubai are buying everything they can get there hands on is not good @ all...and it has nothing to do with where they are from...right now they are the homerun every breeder wants to hit when they are selling horses...they lay out a fortune @ auction and are the underbidder on a great many more, that they don't feel they 'have to have' for one reason or another...
So right now they are buying the best broodmares the best studs and the best racehorses...to go along with all of their yearling puchases....Sooner or later they will have what they need and there is no doubt in my mind that they will stop participating in the buying and selling because they will have what they need on the farm already...Look @ Juddmonte. They don't buy and sell because they have one of the best groups of brrodmares in Kentucky.
If they Sheik's go this route (and it may take another 10 years 15 years who knows)...then the breeding/auction market suffers and the trickle down affect could be severe. JMO
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  #47  
Old 11-13-2006, 10:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Cannon Shell
Steve, please suspend me for a day so I can get some work done.
You'e not kidding. The board can be very addicting. You can end up spending much more time on the board than you planned, much to the detriment of other work that needs to be done.

And on that note, it's time for me to log off.
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  #48  
Old 11-13-2006, 11:17 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin
The emotions that owners feel are not neceassirly what you think. You said that you would think an owner would want to "have the pleasure" of watching his horse run as a 4 year old. I can't speak for all owners, but I can tell you that for many owners there would be very little pleasure. When you have a really good horse competing at the highest level, there is a lot of stress involved. It's basically a fun ride, but it's also nice when the ride is over.

I can think of a good analogy. When an athlete has some type of great streak going, sometimes when the streak finally ends, you will actually hear the athlete say that they are sowewhat relieved that the streak is finally over. The pressure can almost be unbearable.

Once your horse reaches the level of a Bernardini, you really don't gain much by going on. I'm not talking about just financially. I'm talking about all the other stuff involved too, like a lot of the stuff that Oracle mentioned. There can just be so many things on the line that there really is very little pleasure for the owner at that point. Everyone expects you to win when you have a horse that good. If you win, it's like "So what. Everyone expected him to win. He was the odds-on favorite." But if you lose, then it's a big deal. People will start to say that the horse isn't that good and that type of thing.

I'm not saying that it's not fun to own a great horse. It's a lot of fun, but by the same token there is a lot of stress involved and it can be very nice to make a big syndication deal and go out on top. It's not just a matter of the money.

Another good analogy would be if I went to Magic Mountain tomorrow and rode their best roller-coaster. Even if I had a great time on the roller-coaster, I wouldn't neceassarily get on it again the same day. I'd appreciate the one good ride and then move on to something else.
This is called 'Funny Cide syndrome'.
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  #49  
Old 11-13-2006, 11:32 AM
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The best thing to do is personally ask every 2 dollar bettor at every track if its alright with them to retire a 60 million dollar animal. If they said its alright, then maybe the owners could sleep better at night?
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  #50  
Old 11-13-2006, 11:46 AM
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Originally Posted by DaHoss9698
I agree, what they are doing at sales and such isn't good in the long run. It's lining some pockets now, but what happens when they get everyhting they want. I think you are right, it'll be kind of like Juddmonte. The point I was trying to make about saying where they are from is honestly, and again I'm not saying anyone on here, with the exception of one person, I think if these horses were owned by someone like Bill gates, or even someone like Mary lou Whitney, there wouldn't be such an outcry about it. And trust me, I for one am totally against the premature retiring. I understand where the owners are coming from, but as a racing fan, I like to see racing, plain and simple.
I dont think they'll ever get everything they want. I think the way they work against the good of both racing and breeding is the unrealistic surge in bloodstock prices that is going to crash eventually. All markets eventually bottom out but by the same token they all have a peak and we have to be getting close. A lot of the suppliers of stock (breeders) do this as a business and as such borrow money for farm upkeep, mare acquisition, insurance, stud fees, etc. Because they prices of the top level prospects keeps going up and with it stud fees and mare prices, they must borrow more to continue to produce the same product. Therefore putting themselves further in debt. The odds that you will sell a huge homerun horse are still reasonably the same but the urgency is greater, especially with interest rates climbing. Also dont forget that many of the non-arab, mega-purchases are also rarely without some kind of "extra" cost right off the top.
I have clients that sold a horse for $750k a few years ago. After they had paid expenses, consignor fees, sales company %, and a cut to the agent who bought the horse thier take was down to $400k. Considering that the stud fee was 125K and the mare cost them 220K, the amount of "profit" was not all that much. And to the outsider it looked like a home run.
As stud fees rise, it is harder to make a profit on horses. The few farms that are big enough to stand many high dollar stallions still do well but the medium sized farms with the hard knocking stallions that cant afford to go after the bigtime stallions are going to suffer as their expenses keep rising but thier market(the middle to lower) is stagnant.
The reason that this whole economic situation affects racing is that because the "end users" are forced to spend more to purchase horses. With purses being flat with the exception of slot tracks and regular expenses rising, the odds that an owner can make any money decrease therefore causing owners to buy fewer horses which ultimately hurts the middle market more than the high end where the expenses are less important. The bloodstock market CANNOT go up forever and when it slips due to industry problems, global problems (terrorism/ another 9/11) or the fact that the democrats in control of Congress are far less likely to pass economic relief to the "rich" through tax cuts or incentives, the flood of farms and trainers going out of business will be ugly.
Now this is not all due to the Arabs spending habits but they are the big carrot dangling out in front of this whole industry.
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  #51  
Old 11-13-2006, 11:49 AM
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Originally Posted by The Bid
The best thing to do is personally ask every 2 dollar bettor at every track if its alright with them to retire a 60 million dollar animal. If they said its alright, then maybe the owners could sleep better at night?
There are bettors and there are fans of horses. Some are both. The bettors could care less, but the fans are very disappointed.
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  #52  
Old 11-13-2006, 12:04 PM
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Cannon Shell and ELA make great points. It's simple for fans and bettors to say "they are rich...they dont need the money." Because a wealthy owner has income from non racing sources does not mean that he or she should run the racing enterprise like a charity.
Darley is a business. I have no idea how much Sheik Mo has spent on it this year but lets assume that it's $100M. Add up his purchases, his expenses in running several farms (everything from grass seed to matching jackets for grooms + insurance and related business expanses/salaries) the fees charged by trainers and the trainer and rider fees for winning performances, insurance for his stock, global shipping, medical care and farriery... It could easily exceed $100M. That said, why begrudge the man for wanting to recoup some of those expenses in stud fees from one of the hottest young properties in the stallion market? Everyone loves Sheikh Mo when he's buying something and hates him when he's selling. Why?
Just because owners like Sheikh Mo and others seem to have a bottomless pit of money doesn't mean that they should operate their business as such.

I would like to see horses race more often. I'd like to see top 3yo's stay in training at 4. I'd like to see more matchup between top class runners all season long. I'd like a gazillion dollars and a new Mercedes too...
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  #53  
Old 11-13-2006, 12:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Linny
Cannon Shell and ELA make great points. It's simple for fans and bettors to say "they are rich...they dont need the money." Because a wealthy owner has income from non racing sources does not mean that he or she should run the racing enterprise like a charity.
Darley is a business. I have no idea how much Sheik Mo has spent on it this year but lets assume that it's $100M. Add up his purchases, his expenses in running several farms (everything from grass seed to matching jackets for grooms + insurance and related business expanses/salaries) the fees charged by trainers and the trainer and rider fees for winning performances, insurance for his stock, global shipping, medical care and farriery... It could easily exceed $100M. That said, why begrudge the man for wanting to recoup some of those expenses in stud fees from one of the hottest young properties in the stallion market? Everyone loves Sheikh Mo when he's buying something and hates him when he's selling. Why?
Just because owners like Sheikh Mo and others seem to have a bottomless pit of money doesn't mean that they should operate their business as such.

I would like to see horses race more often. I'd like to see top 3yo's stay in training at 4. I'd like to see more matchup between top class runners all season long. I'd like a gazillion dollars and a new Mercedes too...
I agree, Linny. I'll take a new Mercedes as well!
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  #54  
Old 11-13-2006, 12:14 PM
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Originally Posted by BellamyRd.
it sort of rubs me the wrong way when owners retire their horses early and take the stud money, and scoff at the public in a kind of "let them eat cake" stance, by saying it's their horse they can do what they want...
well, nobody is putting a gun to our heads and telling us we have to follow the sport and bet the sport, which a lot of us do not in these G1 "walkovers"
so owners should consider not biting the hand that feeds, and giving something back to the public and not sending their horses to places like a Claiborne or a Darley Stud after winning a graded stake
there are some owners who do run, and they are respected, while others...
not so much
This is funny. So you are saying that a person who spends millions on horses shouldnt have a say so on when to send the horse to stud?? Come on--that is laughable. If it wasnt for the owner, then us bettors wouldnt have anything to bet on. Come on---think logically.
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  #55  
Old 11-14-2006, 04:38 AM
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ill give a little owners perspective from my point of view. alotta owners especially people who have been in the game/business for a long time will take the money while its there more times than not. theyve had past experiences(or heard ofa thousand times over) where theyve been offered money for their horse and they turned it down only to have negatives to follow such as the horse being injured/broke down or not running up to the potential that was once seen in the animal. it happened in my case with my horse. 3 starts after i had him with only 1 3rd i was offered actually a little more than what i claimed him for by a guy@mountaineer who saw him run 3rd on the grass in indiana. i turned the money down and have come out- obviously ever since financially. i dont regret my decision at all becuase i love dan and got personal attachment to the horse but most owners in my same spot woulda said sold in a heartbeat. lol i promise if i ever own a derby winner they will return for their 4yo year on the track. speaking of the derby were running 1@CD next week
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  #56  
Old 11-14-2006, 09:35 AM
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Originally Posted by disappearingdan_akaplaya
ill give a little owners perspective from my point of view. alotta owners especially people who have been in the game/business for a long time will take the money while its there more times than not. theyve had past experiences(or heard ofa thousand times over) where theyve been offered money for their horse and they turned it down only to have negatives to follow such as the horse being injured/broke down or not running up to the potential that was once seen in the animal. it happened in my case with my horse. 3 starts after i had him with only 1 3rd i was offered actually a little more than what i claimed him for by a guy@mountaineer who saw him run 3rd on the grass in indiana. i turned the money down and have come out- obviously ever since financially. i dont regret my decision at all becuase i love dan and got personal attachment to the horse but most owners in my same spot woulda said sold in a heartbeat. lol i promise if i ever own a derby winner they will return for their 4yo year on the track. speaking of the derby were running 1@CD next week
Good luck at CD next week... post a reminder so I can watch out, will you?
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  #57  
Old 11-15-2006, 08:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin
The emotions that owners feel are not neceassirly what you think. You said that you would think an owner would want to "have the pleasure" of watching his horse run as a 4 year old. I can't speak for all owners, but I can tell you that for many owners there would be very little pleasure. When you have a really good horse competing at the highest level, there is a lot of stress involved. It's basically a fun ride, but it's also nice when the ride is over.

I can think of a good analogy. When an athlete has some type of great streak going, sometimes when the streak finally ends, you will actually hear the athlete say that they are sowewhat relieved that the streak is finally over. The pressure can almost be unbearable.

Once your horse reaches the level of a Bernardini, you really don't gain much by going on. I'm not talking about just financially. I'm talking about all the other stuff involved too, like a lot of the stuff that Oracle mentioned. There can just be so many things on the line that there really is very little pleasure for the owner at that point. Everyone expects you to win when you have a horse that good. If you win, it's like "So what. Everyone expected him to win. He was the odds-on favorite." But if you lose, then it's a big deal. People will start to say that the horse isn't that good and that type of thing.

I'm not saying that it's not fun to own a great horse. It's a lot of fun, but by the same token there is a lot of stress involved and it can be very nice to make a big syndication deal and go out on top. It's not just a matter of the money.

Another good analogy would be if I went to Magic Mountain tomorrow and rode their best roller-coaster. Even if I had a great time on the roller-coaster, I wouldn't neceassarily get on it again the same day. I'd appreciate the one good ride and then move on to something else.
Rupert, a lot of what you wrote rings true. I can remember Jack Van Berg talking publicly about the stress in running Alysheba. Even though he tried to make a case for running Alysheba as a 5-yr-old, it was clear that part of him was relieved to be done with it.

I would think, though, that many owners get in the game with the dream of owning a top-notch horse that can compete at the highest level. When that unlikely dream happens to arrive, it seems to me that these same people are too quick to end it. It's as if once they hit the jackpot, they forget what motivated them in the first place. Perhaps having had the incredible luck to get one of these horses, they think it will happen again.

Your Magic Mountain analogy does not hold, because you know you can go back to that ride any time you want. Yes, you want to savor the feeling, but if you knew that (realistically) you could never ride it except for that day, you would almost certainly ride it again immediately. IMO, horse owners should be looking at it the same way, unless money was their #1 interest from the get go. (I'm not disparaging a money-oriented goal; I just think many owners get into racing for different reasons that don't revolve around money.)

But as I said at the start, I understand your point about getting out before something bad happens.

--Dunbar
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  #58  
Old 11-15-2006, 09:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Dunbar
Rupert, a lot of what you wrote rings true. I can remember Jack Van Berg talking publicly about the stress in running Alysheba. Even though he tried to make a case for running Alysheba as a 5-yr-old, it was clear that part of him was relieved to be done with it.

I would think, though, that many owners get in the game with the dream of owning a top-notch horse that can compete at the highest level. When that unlikely dream happens to arrive, it seems to me that these same people are too quick to end it. It's as if once they hit the jackpot, they forget what motivated them in the first place. Perhaps having had the incredible luck to get one of these horses, they think it will happen again.

Your Magic Mountain analogy does not hold, because you know you can go back to that ride any time you want. Yes, you want to savor the feeling, but if you knew that (realistically) you could never ride it except for that day, you would almost certainly ride it again immediately. IMO, horse owners should be looking at it the same way, unless money was their #1 interest from the get go. (I'm not disparaging a money-oriented goal; I just think many owners get into racing for different reasons that don't revolve around money.)

But as I said at the start, I understand your point about getting out before something bad happens.

--Dunbar
Guys I think something else is worth pointing out here, something that noone seems to realize or if they do they don't mention it.
I don't see many, if ANY, of these owners who take stud deals cutting bait and taking the money and then leaving the game.
Its not like they played the game to just make a score and then get out.
They take that money and renivest it into more horses, which helps perpetuate the industry. The Sheikhs may not be the geratest example as the money has little meaning in itself to them.
But I look at a friend of mine like Lansdon. He sold Offlee Wild to the Arabs and then part of First Sam(he still owns a great deal of him and will be breeding to him this spring), and alls hes done is get back what hes spent in the industry. The nice scores hes made with those two stallions is going back into the business. Hes compiled some broodmares and has been breeding hsi own horses the last few years, but this upcoming year those mares will be getting serious upgrades in terms of the stallions they will be going to. Hes also bought seasons in both Johar and Flower Alley.
My point is that many owners do what he is doing. They don't stop playing the game or chasing the dream, they simply take the money from a stallion and put it back into the game chasing the next grade one winner. It seems funny actually, but thats what so many of these guys do. They want that "buzz", or "high" of owning a big one again so they spend even more money at sales, on broodmares to breed to the portion of the stallion that they retain, and on more horses and higher sire fees.
Its actually healthy for the whole game in terms of wealth redistribution.
The money earned by the owners off a stallion or broodmare sold for a huge fee doesn't just stay in the bank accounts of those folks. The money is redistributed on a broader scale to people selling yearlings, two year olds, broodmares, people standing other sires, and trainers who get to train more horses and agents who get commissions for buying these horses or selling these stallion shares.
The only way I could see this an unhealthy for the business would be if these folks simply "took the money and ran" and didn't pump it back into the industry.
Imagine how many folks have benefitted from the success of people like the deceased Bob lewis and his wife Beverly who is STILL playing the game. They never cut bait and ran away after their success, they continued to buy horses and more horses.
Racing may be one the best examples I've ever seen in the trickle down effect of money being made on the highest end. That money is put back into racing's economy and then MANY people benefit from it.
While I understand the disappointment of someone like Darley retiring a horse like Bernadini to stud, it could simply be that the Sheikh can't wait to have many little Bernadini's running around instead of one regardless of how slim the chances are that he will sire a replica of himself.
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  #59  
Old 11-15-2006, 10:21 AM
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Originally Posted by oracle80
Guys I think something else is worth pointing out here, something that noone seems to realize or if they do they don't mention it.
I don't see many, if ANY, of these owners who take stud deals cutting bait and taking the money and then leaving the game.
Its not like they played the game to just make a score and then get out.
They take that money and renivest it into more horses, which helps perpetuate the industry. The Sheikhs may not be the geratest example as the money has little meaning in itself to them.
But I look at a friend of mine like Lansdon. He sold Offlee Wild to the Arabs and then part of First Sam(he still owns a great deal of him and will be breeding to him this spring), and alls hes done is get back what hes spent in the industry. The nice scores hes made with those two stallions is going back into the business. Hes compiled some broodmares and has been breeding hsi own horses the last few years, but this upcoming year those mares will be getting serious upgrades in terms of the stallions they will be going to. Hes also bought seasons in both Johar and Flower Alley.
My point is that many owners do what he is doing. They don't stop playing the game or chasing the dream, they simply take the money from a stallion and put it back into the game chasing the next grade one winner. It seems funny actually, but thats what so many of these guys do. They want that "buzz", or "high" of owning a big one again so they spend even more money at sales, on broodmares to breed to the portion of the stallion that they retain, and on more horses and higher sire fees.
Its actually healthy for the whole game in terms of wealth redistribution.
The money earned by the owners off a stallion or broodmare sold for a huge fee doesn't just stay in the bank accounts of those folks. The money is redistributed on a broader scale to people selling yearlings, two year olds, broodmares, people standing other sires, and trainers who get to train more horses and agents who get commissions for buying these horses or selling these stallion shares.
The only way I could see this an unhealthy for the business would be if these folks simply "took the money and ran" and didn't pump it back into the industry.
Imagine how many folks have benefitted from the success of people like the deceased Bob lewis and his wife Beverly who is STILL playing the game. They never cut bait and ran away after their success, they continued to buy horses and more horses.
Racing may be one the best examples I've ever seen in the trickle down effect of money being made on the highest end. That money is put back into racing's economy and then MANY people benefit from it.
While I understand the disappointment of someone like Darley retiring a horse like Bernadini to stud, it could simply be that the Sheikh can't wait to have many little Bernadini's running around instead of one regardless of how slim the chances are that he will sire a replica of himself.
oracle, I think all of what you wrote is true. Still, there is some kind of loopiness to the whole process. My point is pretty much what you wrote here:

"They don't stop playing the game or chasing the dream, they simply take the money from a stallion and put it back into the game chasing the next grade one winner. It seems funny actually, but thats what so many of these guys do. They want that "buzz", or "high" of owning a big one again so they spend even more money at sales, on broodmares to breed to the portion of the stallion that they retain, and on more horses and higher sire fees."

What you say "seems funny" is something that I think is (in some cases) irrational. You get what you've always dreamed of, so you sell it fast so that you can try to get what you've always dreamed of again, even though the odds of that happening twice are miniscule.

And it's not like an owner has to risk huge parts of the profit by retiring quickly. Insurance can be bought, partial ownership can be sold. I agree there is a cost to the risk, but I'm trying to weigh that in comparison to the original dream that many owners start with.

Every owner has the right to cash in whenever he/she wants. I don't think anyone is disputing that. But whether retiring the stars is good for racing and whether it's even good for each owner's own satisfaction is open to debate.

--Dunbar
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Curlin and Hard Spun finish 1,2 in the 2007 BC Classic, demonstrating how competing in all three Triple Crown races ruins a horse for the rest of the year...see avatar
photo from REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
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