A recent question on OTTB Connect was posed that peaked our interest and we wanted to bring the question to our fellow COTHers. Where did you find your OTTB?
Through a craigslist ad, in the backyard of the man who bred and raced him. He was born in the garage.
They always seem to find me!
I had searched Canter and saw a few I liked, but they would be sold so quickly. Most of the horses were a distance away from me and working full time added to the difficulty of being able to act quickly. I ended up finding my OTTB mare on Va Equestrian. The woman I purchased her from was her owner and trainer. She had owned her for most of her life. (she’s 6 and I think owner got her around 1yo). She did all of her initial training from ground work to under saddle. She raced a total of 9 times and although she would train well, she bombed out on actually racing. Owner liked her and kept her as a pleasure horse for her and her husband for trail riding for a while. She felt like it was a waste for her to just hang around for the occasional trail ride and wanted to find her a good home.
Found her on CANTER No.California. She was at Golden Gate Fields.
From an advertisement on the Facebook group “OTTB Connect.” I got him from the woman who bred him, trained and raced him, and owned him for all of his nine years.
New Vocations, the PA facility. They’re awesome!
Two from FingerLakes as a result of the Fingerlakes Finests threads I saw here on COTH. One from Maryland as a result of a post on COTH. Two were bought with only a photo to go by.
[QUOTE=skipollo;7358075]
New Vocations, the PA facility. They’re awesome![/QUOTE] They always post such beautiful pictures of the horses available.
Going to get my girls from CANTER Mountaineer on Sunday! One was listed on CANTER and the other is with the same trainer but wasn’t listed.
I found my first on Dreamhorse. He was in southern Idaho with a woman who got horses from west coast tracks. My second had been off the track for a while and ended up at an eventing barn where I was working. Sold the first and bought the second. It was a better arrangement, confidence-wise, for all of us.
Through a COTH connection. Someone PTed me with a contact name and number. Picking her up on Saturday!
Two of mine I saw on the CANTER NE website and bought at Suffolk Downs in Boston.
The other one I bought from a friend, who had just bought the horse at a NH track. I don’t know how she found out the horse was for sale in the first place - I have a feeling she just went to the track and asked about small mares for sale - always plenty of those around, fairly cheap ;).
I got my first one from Dreamhorse.
My second one came from Canada after he quickly proved to be a dud at the track and my good friend raised and raced him.
Both, unraced, through my trainer. Mare had been sitting out in a field for a couple of years (I think she had been broke and maybe trailridden a bit but had minimal training) and came through someone who gets horses off the track. Gelding was race trained but never raced, then trained as a polo pony.
All of mine by “word of mouth”. I had an “on the track” 
Thoroughbred, and got several of her barn mates from my trainer. 25 yrs. ago I bought an Arabian from a show barn, and I became friends with a woman who worked there. She now manages a Thoroughbred race/breeding farm, and always calls me when they’ve got something.
When I buy one, I buy direct from the track, from the owner and/or trainer. No need for a middleman or agent for me.
My current guy was word of mouth through one of my bodyworkers and I met with his owner/trainer on the track after his last race and ended up bringing him home.
The one before him came through an agent friend (sales barn) who had picked her up from the track via a direct connection.
And the one before that came to me as a virtually-unhandled-since-he’d-been-on-the-track 10 year old from a private party who needed to get rid of him (also word of mouth).
I’ve bought most of mine directly from the breeders that ran their own stock. They bring them back to the farm and they care about where they go. So we have more of a chance to trial ride and handle them. Well worth developing the relationship that they call me.
Portland Meadows, PDX
Common Trust, aka Commander
