Saturday, June 7, 2014

Where can I get information on results of each racing partnership?

The Jockey Club has a website called Owner View, which provides statistics on the racing performance of horses owned by each stable that manages syndicates or public partnerships.  The main page will show you summary statistics for the current calendar year, but if you click on the name of a stable, you'll get much more detailed information and can view all the data for years going back to 2011.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Do horse racing partnerships have ongoing expenses or fees?

Do horse racing partnerships have ongoing expenses or fees?  Sometimes.  It depends on how the partnership is structured.  Some will charge your a monthly fee to cover ongoing expenses.  If they do, this may be a fixed amount based on average estimated expenses, or it may vary depending on exactly what they spend on the horse each month.  The latter is the riskiest type to participate, since there may be unanticipated expenses if the horse has medical problems.  There are also partnerships that don't charge anything on an ongoing basis, but instead bake the expenses into a mark-up on the cost of entering the partnership.  I would consider these the safest, since you know exactly what you'll spend when you make the commitment to join the partnership.  Some stables offer only one of these structures, while others will give you a choice of how to handle ongoing expenses.

Is California Chrome owned by a partnership

Is California Chrome owned by a partnership?  Kind of.  While the answer is 'yes' technically, it's not the kind of partnership that was open for just anybody to join.  DAP Racing is a partnership between Perry Martin and Steve Coburn.  On the bright side, California Chrome's breeding is so pedestrian that you can probably afford shares in horses considered to have a far better chance of racing success!

Do I need an owner's license to join a thoroughbred racing partnership

Do I need an owner's license to join a thoroughbred racing partnership?  In general, the answer is 'yes'. There may be exceptions where if you own a small enough share of a horse, you wouldn't need to be licensed, but it's best to assume that you will.  The good news is that the cost (which varies from state to state) is generally quite low...ranging from tens of dollars to a few hundred dollars.  Also, any partnership you're considering joining will be able to provide you with the information you need on licensing, and in most cases they'll be happy to help facilitate this for you.

How much does it cost to buy a share of a horse?

How much does it cost to buy a share of a horse?  It depends!  You can spend as much or (almost) as little as you want on a racing partnership.  Many partnerships have shares available for less than a thousand dollars.  You can still enjoy the thrill of watching your horse race, without breaking the bank to do so.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Why Join a Horse Racing Partnership

There are plenty of reasons to join a horse racing partnership:
1.  Lowers cost of entry to owning a horse.
2.  Allows you to have the fun of race horse ownership without needing to manage the business.
3.  Lets you invest in race horses without needing to be an expert.
4.  Let's you diversify investment among multiple race horses for the same cost you'd otherwise spend owning one horse.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Welcome

Welcome to Horse Racing Partnerships.  I'll be taking a look at horse racing partnerships in my posts here.  In the coming weeks I hope to provide a wide variety of useful information on how to participate in racing partnerships, how to select the best partnership for yourself, whether it's possible to treat horse racing as an investment and much, more more.  In general, my approach to things is to take a quantitative view and try to measure everything.  And, possibly because I'm an outsider to the racing industry, I won't shy away from calling people out for misinformation, bad analysis and backwards thinking when the facts call for it.