Thought this was interesting. WinStar does seem to be trying to find ways to bring people into the industry, a teeny tiny bit at a time.
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Since I moved outside of Charles Town WV, Iâve been getting lots of advertisements for buying race horse shares.
Really cool concept.
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In other words, WinStar wants to get on the same bandwagon as Spendthrift. 
For me, I think I respect Spendthrift a bit more as a breeder and race horse owner than I do WinStar (not always fond of how quick sometimes WinStar seems to sell off their younger stallions.
But overall, a nice way to try to get new interest in TB racing.
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MyRaceHorse didnât invent microshares. They were just the first to be successful with the model. Quite a few other microshare syndicates tried to do the same thing and failed badly.
One of the ways MRH was smarter than their predecessors is they started by syndicating small percentages of nice horses. Some of the previous programs tried to foot all/most of the bill of cheaper horses. The latter situation put the groups in a âneed to winâ situation, because the low one time purchase price and promise of no additional fees meant there was no way to bring in extra money for expenses. MRH is only footing part of the bill on these horses, giving them a lot more of a safety net when horses do what horses do. Plus having a KD winner early on certainly didnât hurt anything. Talk about the best press possible. That deal was a huge gamble that paid off for them.
I am fully in support of any and all efforts to get more people involved in racing. I believe there is a low ceiling for microshares; we canât find thousands of people to invest in every horse. If the market becomes saturated with microshares for sale, everyone is going to have trouble attracting participants. But I think itâs really smart of these major players to invest in programs to recruit new owners from every demographic. Race horses are always going to be expensive, but the sport is going to die without a new generation of fans.
I knew MRH wasnât the first but didnât realize how badly many of the predecessors had failed.
I would agree that the âmarketâ is still somewhat limited in terms of who even wants to or can afford even one microshare.
I like that they offer a range of horses⊠both in âqualityâ and in share price (although that is also a function of how many hairs you get to own). Having no experience with other microshare organizations, what I do like with MRH is providing updates on the horses you have shares in. For me, letting me see what happens at a training facility for example.
This is so very true. Microshares and how MRH is staying âin your faceâ with their successes and just keeping their name out there. But really, white logo on black silks???
So this is my really limited experience:
I got involved with two different microshare partnerships in the past. Both of them went bankrupt. In all the time I was a microshareholder with those groups, I only actually had a horse race once. They were good about communication and everything, too, and it was a shame they didnât work out. I know the one wasnât paying their bills, so I felt pretty bad for the trainers who got stiffed.
I was lucky to have a bit of money to spend on some larger shares of horses, so I did that for a bit as well. But the trouble with that for someone like me is that is A LOT of money to invest in something that can go POOF in an instant. My last horse recently retired and went from paying his way to costing quite a bit in the blink of an eye, because thatâs horses.
I got involved in MRH, too. Originally because I wanted to buy a share for someone as a gift and wanted to know their process first. Then Monomoy Girl and Got Stormy came along, and I couldnât pass those two up! Got Stormy is literally my favorite horse racing right now; them leasing her was a cool development. Something I think is neat is how much vision they have: how they have ideas for future opportunities for individuals to become larger shareholders or even licensed owners. Those types of scaffolds are brilliant considering how hard it can be to get into the sport as an outsider.
I would be plenty curious to check out WinStarâs program, too.
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Interesting. I will have to tell my husband about it.
He enjoys following âhisâ horses with MHR. I think I need to write Breyer and pitch an Authentic model to them.
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I think itâs a neat concept and I know it has brought a lot of joy and fun to friends and family. MRH did well with their ownership group in Authentic with sending win photos, etc and making it a very personal experience despite having near 6k owners. . I understand and acknowledge that it opens the door for the little guy to âownâ a racehorse. I just donât understand the big picture. At the end of the day you really own nothing (especially when considering the mares Monomoy Girl and Got Stormy where they are leased, not owned) and your collective monies are going to a very rich group of business men to fuel their hobby while they stand on the big stage on everyone elseâs dime. Its a GREAT scheme for those who invented it and own the businesses. I have not been able to personally jump on the MRH ship; I have a mental block about the entire thing
I am getting âPonzi Schemeâ-like vibes here; especially when the G1 type horses and big winners arenât the ones driving the limelight (like Authentic did)+
the price to buy a hoof nail in the operation is rather minimal compared to the cost and risk of jumping in full time.
the people who buy into this donât have access to the track, or any connections to purchase anything remotely in a competitive situation! They can go about their lives, look at their winning picture, and tune it at race time, drop a few bucks on âtheirâ horse.
There is a small dividend from the winnings, and a small one if the prospect goes to the breeding shed (if applicable)
The return is in proportion to the investment. The grin on my husbandâs face last year after the Derby was worth every penny.
It connects the common people to the industry via âtheir horseâ seeing that none really stay around long enough to have a fan base like Seabiscuit. Or cult following like Barbaro (which is still weird to look back at)
to each their own.
It is not a Ponzi scheme as you donât sell sub shares of your share.
You buy a micro share. That is all.
itâs like buying a lottery ticket. You get to experience the excitement of having a horse in the race.
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You may want to review the definition of âPonzi Schemeâ 
This is not it.
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Hence the âquotesâ. It is a Scheme and its paying off the business ownerships expensive hobby rather handsomely
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Like thousands of barns across the US profiting more or less from the âhobbyâ
Which makes it an industry.
You are free to opt out.
To me and my family, the investment was worth every penny.
And more enjoyable than lining Bezoâs pockets.
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I was expecting backlash from those who decided to invest in the microshares. I wasnât criticizing your investment or personal choice to do so. I just was explaining why this new phenomena didnât add up for me, personally. I am glad you had an enjoyable experience.
The beauty of the âschemeâ as you choose to call it is that I donât own a horse at the end of the day. You are right, I âownâ nothing of Monomoy Girl or Got Stormy; at the end of the year, my âownershipâ goes âpoofâ. On the flip side, I own nothing more than my original investment.
âSchemeâ maybe but it also has gives the working person a chance to be part of a sport theyâd never be able to have. I donât have the $$ to do more than drool over some of the nice horses that go through Keeneland or Fasig-Tipton or OBS sales rings.
MRH maybe plays their ad showing Authentic on TV to get new investors.
I have shares in horses, now 2YO, that arenât even on the track yet. Iâve had a chance to see them at training centers (via video). Something I most likely would never have a chance to do otherwise.
Maybe a scheme but no more risky than any other SEC approved investment. Each horseâs offering has to go through the SEC. As noted, no Ponzi⊠I canât sell my shares. Yup, I know that Spendthrift is benefiting from this partnership with MRH. But, so am I.
You can think Ponzi, you can think scheme and thatâs just fine that you donât choose to invest. For me, it is something Iâd never have a chance to do otherwise. It isnât just about the racing leases of horses like Monomoy Girl or Got Stormy
Out of curiosity, if MRH doesnât add up for you personally, why did you come here and use the negative arguments that Iâve already seen about MRH. I suspect there are many who have read this thread and thought that racehorse micro-shares didnât add up for them but they have chosen to say nothing.
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Which is fine. I am entitled and permitted to voice my opinion. Just as you, yours
your opinion seems to imply that we are suckers for âfalling for this schemeâ
I have spent more money on worse things that didnât entertain me half as much.
For the industry it is a positive deal, it brings people to the tracks and to the betting industry.
MRH has had a lucky hand picking prospects. No doubt about that.
I still got a share in a lot of 4 fillies we are really excited about. I would not mind owning the colt we also invested in, currently, he is billed as a stallion prospect (lol, but he is nice looking)
Of course, your options might be different.
And you should expect backlash when you basically imply we are idiots for getting involved with this.
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Exactly!
FWIW, yup, you are free to think Iâm an idiot. Yup, you are free to voice your opinion. Youâre also free to be considered âentitledâ and âbetter than usâ by the rest of us
Sure you donât have to participate. It is a financial risk. I am not an idiot because I chose to take this risk. Iâd rather throw my money away on micro-shares of race horses that may never even set foot on a track than attempting to be a day trader in the stock market. 
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Yup. A crap shoot for sure. Today Ancient Royalty, Kantharos x Speightstown Belle, from Keeneland September 2020, both an individual offering and part of the Future Stars bundle, died on the way to the vet hospital after a freak accident at the training facility.
Tristan de Meric at the farm informed us that when finishing up his morning gallop, Ancient Royalty spooked and bolted into the rail when another horse working close by him spooked and unseated the rider. Unfortunately, when bolting into the rail Ancient Royalty suffered deep lacerations and a severed artery to his left stifle and surrounding areas, causing significant blood loss.
Tristan and the quick-acting staff at de Meric had Ancient Royalty on the van within 5 minutes of the accident and were transporting him to the equine hospital down the road for emergency surgery when Ancient Royalty succumbed to his injuries.
Youâre looking at this backwards. Those very rich business men were already standing on the big stage (on their own dime). Then they looked around and said, âHey, weâre having fun up here. Why donât we invite a whole bunch of people to join us?â
Full disclosure: I bought into one of MRHâs first offerings (a colt named Wayne O) because I wanted to see how the partnership worked. The colt didnât amount to much and has now gone on to a second career (fully documented just like his racing career was.) I had fun following his exploits on the track. For someone who doesnât know much about horseracing, it would have been a great learning experience. I consider my money very well spent, even though I didnât win the Kentucky Derby. 
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That sucks 
