I am a farmer from pa and I am trying to use race horse quality hay as an avenue to market my hay I was just wondering what the race industry is seeking and what is the cost of premium hay? I have applied for permits to sell hay at penn national i was trying to get an idea of what a fair price per bale of premium hay is at a racetrack?
I’m not much help, but when I had horses at Arlington, they were getting Timothy from ellensburg and now that they are at Churchill downs training center they are still getting Timothy from ellensburg. I want to say the trainer was paying $24/bale for 3 tie 120lb bales, but that was 2 years ago. I’m sure a lot of trainers feed local hay, might be best to just go down and talk to the trainers at the track
I second going to the track and talking to trainers. Ask them where they buy their hay. Be aware that there is probably some other vendors there and they may be well established the track. Often these vendors don’t really welcome any competition so you may want to talk to these people first. It may be worth your while to sell your hay to the vendors that are established at the track and this will help you get yourself familiar with the workings at the track.
Individual trainers can only store a small amount of hay at the track so you will be expected to make many trips to the barns selling as few as 5 bales up to maybe 50 or 100 at a time depending on the size of the stable. The trainers frequently are given credit and pay monthly so you will also become a bill collector and it can be difficult to get all the money owed to you. So, by starting out supplying your hay to the existing venders may make it easier to get started.
Your hay should be clear of dust and mold and larger bales that are consistent in size will be easier to sell. I am not familiar with the price of hay at Penn National but like I said try making connections with the vendors and go from there. I know that vendors will jump on a chance to buy good quality hay at a fair price.
There are as many opinions about hay as there are for horses. Timothy is still the gold standard but Orchard has been widely excepted and they go pretty much hand in hand nowadays. Old school trainers may still only want Timothy, Timothy/Alfalfa. Penn is still pretty much a blue collar track and the type of outfits stabled can be mom and pop, owner-trainers to big stables that are well funded.
Personally and other trainers I know and respect like to feed a really good 1st cutting of Timothy and or Orchard. Not too much stem, that hasn’t gone completely to seed and when opened good leaf and color that can be readily seen and makes up the majority of the bale’s weight. A nutty on the sweet side smell. Given the fact that horses in training are being grained and sublimated so as to get plenty of calories and protein already the hay should have a good notational balance but high in quality fiber. Timothy and or Orchard, Alfalfa mix is always popular. Though unless I have know the source I have not found T-O/Alfalfa mix to be worth the higher price asked. Just never enough Alfalfa in it. I bale around 40 acres of Orchard with a touch of Timothy. Tried mixing in some Alfalfa with moderate success. Softer second cutting are always popular and for obvious reasons more abundant. A lot of horses and or their caretakers feel a softer hay with more leaf is to their liking and of course Alfalfa is always popular. A large quality outfit will usually keep a variety stocked. But as another said storage at the track barns is limited, at just about any racetrack. Big resellers usually have a storage facility nearby and deliver daily. But reseller are just that and are not the producers. They may have a relationship with a number of local producers and or buy at auctions like New Holland and or Kirkwood. So the quality and type is constantly changing which can be very frustrating for some trainers. I know if I were training at Penn I would seek out a good local producer do the math for how much I would need to get through to the next season and buy the load. The producer would store for delivery and or pick up and price accordingly. X amount down and payments through the season. If they arrangement should change good hay will never go to waste and easily sold to others. As to picking up customers I am not sure how the racetrack goes about this. To deliver I would think you will need a vendors license to have access to the stable area by state law. They may limit how many they give out so as not to have to deal with traffic and congestion in the stable area. If you are reasonably local to the track you maybe able to get a visitors pass and go barn to barn and talk to trainers about local pick up at a discounted price from on track prices. And or go to the racing office and get a list of trainer’s names and addresses. A lot may be getting their mail at the track. Put a brochure together of what you have on offer and prices. If you have the goods they will come. Through out the history of horses slow pay can be and or is the norm. And no pay can be quite a problem also. There is a learning curve on this issue. You should be willing to extent a certain amount of credit but never let anyone get too far behind no matter how nice they are. I head it may times growing up around the track, “I’ll settle up as soon as the big horse wins”. Also understand that those of us that make a living with horses rely on being paid also. Some owners are really good fast pay some are really slow. We have to lay out a lot money every day and have to wait at least 30 to 60 days from time of billing to get reimbursed and really appreciate vendors/suppliers or understand this and work with us. All of us in the horse business need to remember NO BODY needs a horse. What we do and what our service and suppliers do are not a necessary cog in the wheel of things.
Checking with a few trainers at Penn right now they are paying around $6.50 per bale, 40-50lb for a decent Timothy Alfalfa delivered, around $300 a ton.
In Maryland a trainer we use told me $7.50 at the track, $5 if he picks it up. Didn’t say what kind. Tough hay season around here. Only got about ½ to 2/3 of normal that was worth baling. Gave away many tons of 1st cutting to a mushroom hay producer neighbor for a fraction of what it would have been worth. What I have in my barn is nothing to be proud of but decent. IMO good hay has never commanded a good price for the time, effort and expense it takes to produce. Only those that make it know what a PIA it is to make really good hay. Small bales don’t bring what they should in relation to the more standard large bales that more and more producer are going to. A number of hay producers around here are getting out of the hay business. Other crops are far easier to produce and have been bringing consistently good prices. I am told straw is and will be short in supply around here and getting expensive. Corn has a lot to do with that. And the stupid ethanol laws passed a few years ago.
Horse people that are generally willing to pay a premium for really good hay and straw are high end show and event barns. 4 new event outfits just spent major money on 4 different farms around here recently adding to 3 others well know trainer/rider barns in our neighborhood.
There are as many opinions about hay as there are for horses. Timothy is still the gold standard but Orchard has been widely excepted and they go pretty much hand in hand nowadays. Old school trainers may still only want Timothy, Timothy/Alfalfa. Penn is still pretty much a blue collar track and the type of outfits stabled can be mom and pop, owner-trainers to big stables that are well funded.
Personally and other trainers I know and respect like to feed a really good 1st cutting of Timothy and or Orchard. Not too much stem, that hasn’t gone completely to seed and when opened good leaf and color that can be readily seen and makes up the majority of the bale’s weight. A nutty on the sweet side smell. Given the fact that horses in training are being grained and sublimated so as to get plenty of calories and protein already the hay should have a good nutritional balance but high in quality fiber. Timothy and or Orchard, Alfalfa mix is always popular. Though unless I have know the source I have not found T-O/Alfalfa mix to be worth the higher price asked. Just never enough Alfalfa in it. I bale around 40 acres of Orchard with a touch of Timothy. Tried mixing in some Alfalfa with moderate success. Softer second cutting are always popular and for obvious reasons more abundant. A lot of horses and or their caretakers feel a softer hay with more leaf is to their liking and of course Alfalfa is always popular. A large quality outfit will usually keep a variety stocked. But as another said storage at the track barns is limited, at just about any racetrack. Big resellers usually have a storage facility nearby and deliver daily. But reseller are just that and are not the producers. They may have a relationship with a number of local producers and or buy at auctions like New Holland and or Kirkwood. So the quality and type is constantly changing which can be very frustrating for some trainers. I know if I were training at Penn I would seek out a good local producer do the math for how much I would need to get through to the next season and buy the load. The producer would store for delivery and or pick up and price accordingly. X amount down and payments through the season. If they arrangement should change good hay will never go to waste and easily sold to others. As to picking up customers I am not sure how the racetrack goes about this. To deliver I would think you will need a vendors license to have access to the stable area by state law. They may limit how many they give out so as not to have to deal with traffic and congestion in the stable area. If you are reasonably local to the track you maybe able to get a visitors pass and go barn to barn and talk to trainers about local pick up at a discounted price from on track prices. And or go to the racing office and get a list of trainer’s names and addresses. A lot may be getting their mail at the track. Put a brochure together of what you have on offer and prices. If you have the goods they will come. Through out the history of horses slow pay can be and or is the norm. And no pay can be quite a problem also. There is a learning curve on this issue. You should be willing to extent a certain amount of credit but never let anyone get too far behind no matter how nice they are. I head it may times growing up around the track, “I’ll settle up as soon as the big horse wins”. Also understand that those of us that make a living with horses rely on being paid also. Some owners are really good fast pay some are really slow. We have to lay out a lot money every day and have to wait at least 30 to 60 days from time of billing to get reimbursed and really appreciate vendors/suppliers who understand this and work with us. All of us in the horse business need to remember NO BODY needs a horse. What we do and what our service and suppliers do are not a necessary cog in the wheel of things.
Checking with a few trainers at Penn right now they are paying around $6.50 per bale, 40-50lb for a decent Timothy Alfalfa delivered, around $300 a ton.
In Maryland a trainer we use told me $7.50 at the track, $5 if he picks it up. Didn’t say what kind. Tough hay season around here. Only got about ½ to 2/3 of normal that was worth baling. Gave away many tons of 1st cutting to a mushroom hay producer neighbor for a fraction of what it would have been worth. What I have in my barn is nothing to be proud of but decent. IMO good hay has never commanded a good price for the time, effort and expense it takes to produce. Only those that make it know what a PIA it is to make really good hay. Small bales don’t bring what they should in relation to the more standard large bales that more and more producer are going to. A number of hay producers around here are getting out of the hay business. Other crops are far easier to produce and have been bringing consistently good prices. I am told straw is and will be short in supply around here and getting expensive. Corn has a lot to do with that. And the stupid ethanol laws passed a few years ago.
Horse people that are generally willing to pay a premium for really good hay and straw are high end show and event barns. 4 new event outfits just spent major money on 4 different farms around here recently adding to 3 others well know trainer/riders barns in our neighborhood.
