I realize that this is la la land thinking but it would have been nice if Baffert had done something. He sure doesn’t mind photo ops with Silver Charm…
I know. Not reality.
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Shah says the horse will be ok, but I don’t trust him…
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I liked Dortmund as a sire potential and I liked the look of him physically. Sadly entered the MD market and didn’t get many mares. Due to this, I will be surprised to see any of them amount to much.
I did see in the BH article today he was sold overseas to a Doctor to stand privately. Shah seems to indicate there was stipulations in his contract but I feel as though he may be backpedaling at this point given the quotes in the article. He first states there was stipulations. and then later in the article states he doesn’t expect the horse to end up slaughtered because of the amount of money they paid for him. … if there were stipulations there wouldn’t be any need for such actions or comments
One should know that the TB industry is driven and fueled by the uber Rich and wealthy who are often very successful business people. Horses are an investment; not always a living being. If that investment is not returning; it is culled. Regardless of the amount of money paid. Shah just culled Dortmund from his roster and cut his losses. if Dortmund (or any stallion or mare) in South Korea is not bringng a return on investment; his new connections will cull him too (as appears to be the process over there)
As I have said in other threads regarding the TB industry, exporting, etc: at which point does the TB Industry put a horse’s long term welfare at the forefront instead of the the almighty dollar. I get it, Shah is a businessman and he is running his herdbook like a businessman; but he is not Joe Schmo on the street corner making 60k a year at his blue collar job to have one horse in his stable and live his dream and make ends meet. Shah is a multimillionaire with the means in a sketchy situation to put the welfare of his horses at the forefront in a situation like this. Instead; chose the almighty dollar
I do hope he is being truthful that Dortmund has stipulations in his contract that he is to return home and I do hope Shah upholds his word. But what is truth; we will not know.
But the TB industry continues to wonder why the mare population continues to decline, breeders continue to decline, why the industry continues to lose backers and fans (who ultimately drive the business) this kind of press is the reason why. There are many many good apples in Racing but the bad press which is easily shared on social media is not helping the sport of kings survive. At some point the long term welfare of the horse needs to trump the almighty dollar; regardless of business. It has to or the sport will continue to spiral.
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In the Bloodhorse article linked by @skydy , there is a pretty key point made, IMO.
The buyer paid a significant price for Dortmund.
Private Vow was a less valuable horse than Dortmund by the time he was sold to Korea. I’m not saying that to minimize what happened to him, just to point out something I have asserted in previous conversations on this topic- a horse’s value as breeding stock affects the level of risk.
Dortmund, at this moment, still has a fair amount of value as a potential sire. Private Vow was a horse of lesser accomplishments with more years as a sire behind him.
It doesn’t excuse the situation, nor does it mean Dortmund’s runners will succeed. I am just providing some perspective.
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I thought about the fact that Shah indicated that the Dr. had paid good money.
But, if they decide that they don’t want the horse, he’s just another feed bill. Dortmund would be far from the first horse to be dumped for less.
And, we need to hope that the Dr let’s people over here know he wants done with the horse. I don’t trust Shah to pay to bring him home. Even if the horse did make him close to 2 million.
The thoroughbred industry is not “wondering why there are fewer mares” (I assume you mean fewer mares bred.) They are the ones breeding them. The fact that fewer mares are being bred has absolutely nothing to with the export of stallions.
Racing may be losing some “fans” but when you look at the handles it doesn’t seem to be losing bettors, and they are the people who “ultimately drive the business” not the casual fans. The effects of the COVID pandemic have turned things upside down this year, for many other industries as well.
HISA maybe an asset to Racing and have a positive impact on horse welfare, we’ll have to wait and see. Have you read the HISA bill that was passed and signed into law? It may cheer you up a bit, though it has more to do with medications than with aftercare.
For every stallion that is exported there are many more living out their lives here, so while I get the concern I don’t understand how you conclude that the “bad press”, when a stallion is exported, is responsible for the industry being in “decline”.
The few stallions that are exported and the fans on social media have nothing to do with the number of mares bred here, nor with (I’m guessing you mean their numbers) TB breeders “declining”.
I always liked the “Dort” as well. 
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FYI - PETA Discovers That Kentucky Derby Horse Was Recently Slaughtered in South Korea! _ PETA.html (56.9 KB)
@TKR, I’d rather not download that file. Which horse was it? I think Private Vow has a thread already.
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Basically ‘old’ as yes, Private Vow.
PETA being PETA…
That would have been 65,000 at his announced fee (I think was $5,000?)… I don’t remember if he started higher. Anyway I think they could have supported him on that but cutting his fee to $4,000 or even $3,500 or cuts/freebies for stakes producers, etc. might have brought more mares until he could prove himself (one way or another). It is a shame though he was sold without a contract to guarantee his future. I hope his people keep in touch with the buyers.
I don’t know. Ask the Greyhound people how bad perception by the casual fan worked for them?
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Not exactly a good plan in a business; but maybe for a charity? How long would you expect someone to stand a stallion at bargain basement prices without attracting the mares that might help him be successful?
To me, maybe an alternative is to move the horse along to an after-care program like TAA where he could have been gelded and found a new career. But, I’m not the owner. I’m not having to deal with any financial considerations.
They have 2 other stallions who stand for $3,000 so not sure why lowering Dortmund to $3,500 would be a crushing blow especially since 13 mares (and falling) at $5,000 is $65,000 and 20 mares at $3,500 is $70,000 but more importantly the goal is to get more mares to him in order to get more foals on the track. However maybe his owner wouldn’t go any lower. It is a small regional market and only one horse listed in the stallion register stands for $7,500, a few for $5,000, a few for $4,000 and more at $1,000-3,500.
@summerhorse Bonita did not own Dortmund. They we’re only paid to board him and stand him. What the other stallions on the property stand for is irrelevant.
Also, talk about apples and oranges. Those stallions are not worth anything comparatively. Alliance didn’t even race. Kobe was a good sprinter but sprinters rarely make sires.
The mare population in Maryland is nothing these days. It gets worse every year. Every few years something happens that gives people false hope. The last false hope was a wisp of a rebound after the Great Recession that made people think the situation was improving. It wasn’t.
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I’m always a little floored by the casual analysis about other peoples’ businesses especially horse businesses.
Selling a horse or moving them on to the international market is no one’s business but the people involved in the transaction. Generally that includes the same people responsible for the horses’ care up to that point in time, effort and cold hard cash.
Incidentally, I hope the same folks critical of Bonita will be equally critical of Claiborne because I understand that Orb went to Uruguay. Talk about a cash cow that went bust…
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They had nothing like the resources that the TB racing industry has. In Kentucky especially they are a major political and economic force.
There is always this incorrect assumption kicked around that the advertised fee was paid on every mare bred. That is just not true. It’s not as simple as saying 10 mares bred @ an advertised $3k = $30k in the bank.
Most TB stallions are LFSN contract, which means no money exchanges hands until there is a foal on the ground. Rarely do stallions get all the mares they cover in foal, usually by no fault of their own. But that means horses and humans worked for free with a few mares each season.
Stallion owners are usually supporting their stallions with mares of their own, or have given away seasons as part of business dealings. More freebies.
Plus competition for mares is fierce. Unless you are standing a top 10 stallion or the new kid on the block major classic winner that everyone wants, you are going to have to hustle to get good mares. Often that means discounts or deals. I have never paid an advertised stud fee. Never. I have always received a discount, usually of 50% or more. Granted, that’s because of the types of stallions I can afford who aren’t topping the sales lists, but Dortmund falls right into that category.
Then you have things like donated seasons to charity auctions, etc.
Bottom line, most of these boys are already profiting very little off the mares they cover before you even consider their expenses. Yet a lot of these well-funded, developing racing programs overseas will still pay big money for these stallions. From a financial standpoint alone, you would be foolish to turn away that kind of money. Of course, we know there are concerning welfare issues about relinquishing control of a horse to a country with limited aftercare, no matter how financially smart the deal is.
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That is very true. They may not always have those resources though.
I don’t think that will depend on the “casual fan” though. 
