Question about purchasing a racehorse?

Question

I am looking to purchase my first race standardbred horse between the prices of $6000-$7000.

My trainer has told me hell make a deal with me where he covers all of the bill (stall,shoes,vet,feed...etc) in return i give him 50% of the purse money for every race i win prize money for.

My understanding is that monthly expenses can run around $2500 a month.

My question is what is the better way to go, in your guys honest opinion?

Thanks

smartapple123 · Answer

I am looking to purchase my first race standardbred horse between the prices of $6000-$7000.

My trainer has told me hell make a deal with me where he covers all of the bill (stall,shoes,vet,feed...etc) in return i give him 50% of the purse money for every race i win prize money for.

My understanding is that monthly expenses can run around $2500 a month.

My question is what is the better way to go, in your guys honest opinion?

Thanks

smartapple123 · Answer

Is it better to keep 100% of the prize money and pay the flat rate for expensesorhave all of the bill paid for by trainer and give 50% of winnings to trainer.

bombcapper · Answer

looking at it from a motivational factor for the trainer to try to make money and win races-- I would take the latter--  especially since you are not an owner that can give a trainer multiple horses especially expensive ones--  its a no brainer to me but I am not in the game ***have all of the bill paid for by trainer and give 50% of winnings to trainer.

vetdrm · Answer

Mikey

smartapple123 · Answer

any other opinions?

Jr315 · Answer

I&#x27;ve never owned a race horse so for what it&#x27;s worth (nuttin&#x27;). I would counter offer a 70( you)-30 (trainer) split at least until you recover your investment?  It sounds like said trainer has some barn space he needs to fill up to me and is trying to take advantage of a newbie to the game.After that a 50-50 split sounds good to me?JMO and I know nothing about the owner-trainer relationship stuff.

smartapple123 · Answer

update: Trainer now saying i would have to pay for stall rent and shoes ($520 a month).

Horse would be a $8,000 5 yo mare that we could negotiate down to $7,000. PA sire so it can race at all the PA racetracks.

Deal now would be, split 50/50 prize money, I pay for stall rent and shoes, trainer pays for everything else

or

I pay for all the bills and also win 100% of prize money

bombcapper · Answer

bait and switch already-- just bet 520 a month on horses or sports and screw being an owner-- I'd bet that trainer can manage to pay all bills with that $520 a month then split purse 50/50-- the fact it was 0 monthly and now 520 monthly would make me run for the hills either scam or he doesn't know what he is doing and learning on the fly

smartapple123 · Answer

Ive known the trainer for some time, i have a friend as well that has struck this deal with him ($520 a month, 50/50 split).  However, initially he offered me a better deal (all bills paid, 50/50 split).  I told him im not interested in doing the deal unless its all bills paid and 50/50 split.Likewise, i dont know how interested i am in paying the bills outright since who knows how accurate the billing will be.  I dont like that thats out of my control.  Trainer could only spend $1000 on the horse but bill me for $2500.

Kurshka · Answer

You need to reach out to Mikey. He is an owner and great guy. I&#x27;m sure he will be posting the three Derby preps on Saturday.

Chaka26 · Answer

heres my .02i can tell you first hand take the split..i have been in partnerships of about 5-6 individual horses of slightly to much greater in value and every one of them wound up on the shelf from chipped knees, torn tendons, hoof issues and these bills add up quickly and recovery time is months...one never made it to the track. actually was the most expensive onealso at your buy value your purse winnings wont be much. here is another scenario that happened ..my low level claimer won a 7500 maiden claimer then gets bumped to non winners of 2 races but now is only worth 5k in open claim...lesson learnedi regret nothing as its been a learning experience and i did not come from horse background-  rather garnered interest as a player and tried to get in owner game in small % partnerships...but it can get very expensive quickly while receiving no enjoyment from racing...trust me it gets old reading " she is recovering nicely"the most fun i had was a summer with DAS where horses kept getting claimed but was always right back in game.. i got out because of how jacobson claimed raised fir one race then dropped horse 3 levelshes no longer associated with DAS last i heard but claiming horses by text was kinda cool lol

mikeyp1 · Answer

SMARTS....I will give you my thoughts...I&#x27;ve owned about 25 or so thoroughbreds over the past 13, 14 years from cheap claimers to Keeneland and Ocala sales buys. There is always something going on from horses getting hurt to jockeys sitting on their hands out of the gate to the animals breaking down. We had one that died on the operating table from the anesthesia during a simple bone chip removal. Owning horses is not for the faint of heart. If your hand shakes when you&#x27;re writing out the check each month to the trainer, then get out....NOW.Quite frankly, there is no way I am splitting the pot with any trainer...even if my trainer was Bob Baffert. What happens if you get into a $100K stakes race and the horse wins ($60K)....no way the trainer is getting half.....on top of the 10% (in this case $6000) the trainer collects for winning&gt; So the trainer gets half of the winnings PLUS the $6000. He makes more money than you will. No way in hell.We were lucky enough to win a few big stakes and, believe me when I tell you, my horse partner and I were very happy to take all the money. After all, it&#x27;s a business. NOT A HOBBY when you&#x27;re paying out $30,000 per year for training, Vet, boarding, feed and vanning.I have been fortunate to have 2 great and HONEST trainers, and one rat they that we fired after 6 months. Regardless if you trust the trainer or not, write the check every month--and write it with relish-- and collect the checks in your name when you win.Hope this helps. Good luck!

mikeyp1 · Answer

After reading all of your posts, Smarts, I&#x27;d find another trainer. This is not a good deal for you, in my opinion.

smartapple123 · Answer

Thank you for your insight.  If the horse does end up in a 100k stakes race i will be shocked/ecstatic.  But i guess anything is possible.I am EXTREMELY hesitant about writing the checks to this guy each month.  After dealing with him the past week or two, hes just about as shady as they come.  But, i have also known him for a few years, and feel i just need to stay on top of things.  Writing checks each month would result in me paying $2500, when the trainer only spent $1200, and thats just the bottomline.  I already had the trainer sign a contract that included terms of the deal that we would split the winnings in exchange for all expenses paid.I believe this is the only way i can continue to do business with this trainer.  At least now he has a vested stake in the horse and wants it to succeed just as badly as i do.  If i was paying out of pocket, i also feel as though the trainer would not be as motivated to train him.I just do not feel like going to a different trainer and paying $2500 a month for bills when the horse was only $5000.  Thank you all for your help.

mikeyp1 · Answer

"I am EXTREMELY hesitant about writing the checks to this guy each month. After dealing with him the past week or two, hes just about as shady as they come. But, i have also known him for a few years, and feel i just need to stay on top of things. "

Smarts....I think you just answered the question. Can I ask what state you are located in?

smartapple123 · Answer

Yeah, im from New Jersey

rubberneck · Answer

I live in NJ and owned good trotters for 15 years-very riskey when u make deals with broken down horse trainers,most of them are drunks-wait tell they add shipping&#x2B;vet bills on you

mikeyp1 · Answer

Not sure I would put it in the same words as Rubberneck, but he is correct. Most local trainers are lucky to net an annual salary of $40K per year. Here in Illinois today most would be make more money going on unemployment.

smartapple123 · Answer

is it odd that hes making me purchase $1000 worth of new equipment for the horse?Are trainers supposed to use their own?

DrNas · Answer

Smarts I or my family have been involved in owning and breeding thoroughbreds in NY since the 80's. We started buying privately then moved to breeding. We have won races at Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct from claimers to stakes. I would RUN away from this trainer. I would also never split with a trainer, if you can't make the payments work, either horse racing isn't for you or bring in a friend or 2 willing to have some fun everyone puts in 2K and split the costs and winnings 3 ways. Hopefully the horse wins more than the 2500/ month and you have some fun doing it. First thing I would do though is run from this so called trainer.

In no way shape or form should you have to pay for equipment, when/if the horse breaks down or just can't compete anymore, are you suppose to keep the equipment. Everything you have written says run from this guy while you still can!

If you are serious about owning a standard bred I would contact any friends or contacts I have in the industry already that can put me in contact with a trainer, if someone sent you do this guy well that sucks and I would remove that person from my circle. If you have no contacts in the industry I would find a trainer one of two ways, start with the top of the trainer leader board and start calling, talk to them see if they are accepting new clients and what their day/month rate is. If you don't want to start at the top, find the newest trainer in town, he will be hungry and want to win.

Hope some of this helps Good Luck!

mikeyp1 · Answer

Circling back to DrNas comments....Right on target! Solid advice.Smarts....what did you decide to do?

Question about purchasing a racehorse?

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