I know – claiming races, auctions, breeder, etc. What I mean is, how do you decide who you want to buy? Remember me? I am the Miss Abby Kat lady. I am sorry sometimes that I didn’t buy her. The bloodstock agent said that they were pleased with the price…
It depends on your budget
The place to start is to find a trainer you trust and then ask for their assistance in choosing a horse that fits into your budget.
It depends on your level of experience, but for a newcomer, I agree with Laurierace. It also depends on what you are looking for. Do you want something started and ready to race? The first horse I raced (as an adult, my parents raced when I was a kid), was a $10/15k claimer in KY. I had been out of the sport completely and newly married (to a non horse person). I think the good advice we got was to claim a horse that was competitive at the level it was running at, and see how much enjoyment it gave us. We weren’t comfortable with the claiming process yet, so we bought a filly privately for $10k. Ran her at TP and she finished 4 or 5th. Decided to run her a few weeks later at KD she won and was claimed. It was great! We actually made about $5k on the whole deal and were hooked.
What does a trainer do? I have dealt with hunter trainers and eventing trainers. What do racehorse trainers do?
Btw, my budget is 4 to 5 figure here. I am more interested in it as a horse thing to do. I am having ankle surgery next week and continue to question whether I am going to have a future riding career. Oh and my horse had a serious colic episode, surgery, etc.
Race horse trainers do everything. Meaning the owners send a check and smile for the picture. We decide what to feed the horse, what shoes to put on, what supplements to give them, how far they gallop on a given day etc. You need to budget $2k per month for training fees and vet bills and such.
imissvixen, just an aside here. My much loved jumper passed on last year from complications of a snake bite.
Horses have been such a huge part of my life.
Since then I’ve gotten so involved with racing, first to get over my loss, now as an overwhelming passion. Really makes you forget what you aren’t doing anymore. (jumping.) Best of luck buying a race horse!
As Laurierace said, the trainer pretty much makes all of the daily decisions in regards to the horse. You won’t be involved in any of the husbandry apects of it’s care. That is why it is very important that you choose a trainer that you trust and you are on the same page. Ask your questions up front. I know some trainers that give Gastroguard daily to all of their horses in the barn. So, when you are told a day rate of, say $75, also ask what other things are added on and what to expect for an average vet bill. I was speaking with a friend the other day whose trainer charges a workman’s comp fee every month. It’s nice to know up front, so you aren’t PO’d when the first bill arrives.
In racing trainers are entirely the people calling the shots. Owners hire the best trainers they can and let them decide, or at leastthey should. Trainers decide everything from feed to shoes to what races to enter. Most trainers act as a duly designated agent for the owner in that they enter and scratch a horse, choose it’s food and jockeys and exercise riders etc.
In racing, most owners are hands off. It’s not like h/j where they owner says “I want to decide what feed he gets” etc.
There are several ways to get into the game. You can but throught the claim box, after hiring the trainer to sign the claim slip. You can buy a horse at auction at any age from weanling on up. You can try a partnership, though there are many pitfalls there too.
I’d advise one of 2 routes if you want to get involved quicky, meaning you don’t want to buy a baby and watch it grow for a year or two before racing. First, find someone who is involved and see if they might “cut you in” on one or two of their next purchases. Overpay them for their trouble. (Meaning if they are buying a $20K horse and you want in for 10% pay them more than 2k for the trouble of a partner.) The other option is to find a trainer and decide on what you want and go buy the whole thing. The “decision” must include options like “what if the horse we claim is very sore or lame?” and “are we looking at fillies with possible breeding value?” and “what if he’s claimed away immediately?”
If you are not willing to view a horse as a commodity, don’t hire a trainer who sees them all as such, its a bad mix. Get alot of advice on trainers. It is the biggest decision you make as an owner.
I think the toughest part of a trainers job is to keep the owner realistic about their horse, and to keep them away from a condition book! 
Just remember that the purchace price is usually the cheapest part of owning a racehorse… they all cost the same once they are in the barn!
You might want to look into the racing stable partnership concept first as a way to get your feet wet.
There are many different deals you can get into which may or may not suit your needs and budget.
Speak to a reputable Bloodstock Agent about it.
George
I also think that getting into a partnership is the best way to learn - there are a lot of smiling tigers in racing and the experience they provide will allow you to navigate around them.
A couple good ones are www.Bongoracing.com and www.Westpointtb.com
Signature: please help me out.
I am getting married in July and am trying to win a new living room set to give to my bride as a wedding present (I was recently laid off so buying one if out of the question for the time being). If you could please vote for me I would appreciate it.
Please go to - http://www.lovesac.com/room_planner_contest.asp and vote for me (Iain Holmes I am right at the top).
One more thing I think you should know is that most people who get involved in racing lose money at it. Only about 10% of racehorses make any money to support themselves.
Let me repeat that MOST PEOPLE WHO GET INVOLVED IN RACING LOSE MONEY!!!
Having said that I’ll also say that most of your expenses are legitimate tax deductions which you can be advised on. This does soften it somewhat but please if you can’t afford to play do yourself and everybody else a big favor and stay out of it
George
I also think looking into a partnership is a good idea. If you look here: www.bloodhorse.com in the column on the right hand side about half way down the page, you’ll see a list of links to about a dozen different racing partnerships.
[QUOTE=HungLikeAStallion;4085309]
I also think that getting into a partnership is the best way to learn - there are a lot of smiling tigers in racing and the experience they provide will allow you to navigate around them.
A couple good ones are www.Bongoracing.com and www.Westpointtb.com
Signature: please help me out.
I am getting married in July and am trying to win a new living room set to give to my bride as a wedding present (I was recently laid off so buying one if out of the question for the time being). If you could please vote for me I would appreciate it.
Please go to - http://www.lovesac.com/room_planner_contest.asp and vote for me (Iain Holmes I am right at the top).[/QUOTE]
Gawd, totally get your screename now… any relation?
Okay, my minds out of the gutter for now…
Uncle John - though we called him shorty!
OMG.
She asked…
Well I shouldn’t say this because I really don’t want you to show me that I am wrong but generally people who run off at the mouth tend to do that to overcome their weaknesses. But whatever floats your boat, I just think its gross and tasteless.
Laurie - when I created my username I sort something brash that I expected to use just once after seeing a post I was not particularly impressed with - that is how the username came about. I since came to enjoy the forum and have thought of changing my username as I can see why some think it tasteless, but the immature part of me still finds it amusing.
For the record - John is not my uncle.
