Wandering Eyes

Tony Martinez, a third generation track superintendent, has been named track superintendent at Gulfstream Park. Martinez grew up working at Del Mar, where his grandfather Manuel Martinez was the trackman for decades. Martinez has worked at Sunland Park, Zia Park and was the track superintendent at Bay Meadows at the age of 28. He and his family have also served as consultants and built tracks in Australia, Saudi Arabia and Canada. “It’s a great honor to be at Gulfstream Park,” Martinez said. View the full article

The El Camino Real Derby, Golden Gate Fields’ cornerstone race for 3-year-olds to be held Feb. 16, 2019, will provide the winner with an automatic, all expenses paid berth to the May 18 GI Preakness S. at Pimlico, it was announced Wednesday. Any horse nominated to the Triple Crown series is eligible to earn the automatic berth. A Bay Area fixture entering its 37th year, the El Camino Real Derby was originally held at the now-defunct Bay Meadows, but has been held at Golden Gate since 2005. The nine-furlong event held over the Tapeta track will also provide the winner 10 qualifying points toward the GI Kentucky Derby. “We are ecstatic to offer this intriguing incentive to run in the El Camino Real Derby to our horsemen, owners, breeders and their horses,” said David Duggan, Vice President and General Manager of Golden Gate Fields. “We have seen horses in the past go on and do big things in Triple Crown races after running here in the El Camino Real Derby and we are hoping to see that trend re-emerge with this new bonus in 2019.” The Golden Gate Fields Winter/Spring Meet gets underway Wednesday, Dec. 26 and runs through Sunday, June 9. View the full article

China Horse Club, WinStar Farm, Starlight Racing, and Head of Plains Partners' Audible, undefeated in two starts last winter at Gulfstream Park, returns to South Florida for the $100,000 Harlan's Holiday Stakes (G3) Dec. 15. View the full article

After a recruiting trip to Japan, the Stronach Group’s President Mike Rogers has secured a commitment from the connections of Aerolithe (Jpn) (Kurofune) for the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational to be run Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park. The race is worth $7 million. In addition, Rogers reports that the connections of Mexican star Kukulkan (Mex) (Point Determined) are considering a start in the $9-million GI Pegasus World Cup and that the Coolmore team has indicated that it will start GI Breeders’ Cup Turf runner-up Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Pegasus Turf race. Aerolithe will be five when the Pegasus card is conducted. She is 4 for 13 in her career with three stakes wins, including the G1 NHK Mile Cup. Rogers said that the ownership group, Sunday Racing Co., Ltd., has agreed to come, but there still may be a hitch Nippon Cargo Airlines had been the primary carrier in Japan when it comes to transporting horses. Earlier this year, the airline was grounded after the Japanese government found errors in its maintenance records, which has made shipping horses in and out of Japan very difficult. Rogers said he is trying to find alternative means of shipping the horse from Tokyo to the U.S. He has been in contact with both Korean Airlines and Tex Sutton Equine Transport and is cautiously optimistic transportation can be worked out. “We’re committed to helping support the shipping costs from Japan,” Rogers said. “It’s about growing the event, so we’re committed to helping the owner with that.” Rogers said he was also scouting for Japanese dirt horses for the Pegasus World Cup, but the horses on the list that were considering the race all ran poorly in the G1 Champions Cup on the dirt and their connections decided to pass. Nonetheless, Rogers saw getting even one Japanese horse as a major coup for the Pegasus races. “It’s very exciting,” he said. “We really want to position ourselves to be an international race, so having a horse from Japan is a step in that direction.” A Japanese presence could also greatly help grow the handle. Rogers said it was unlikely the 2019 Pegasus Turf would be simulcast in Japan. That country limits the amount of foreign races its bettors can wager on to 20, and there are several restrictions. However, if the Japanese continue to participate in the Pegasus events that could open the doors to players in that country being able to bet on Gulfstream’s two rich races. The first ever race simulcast into Japan was the 2016 G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Japanese bet about $35 million on the race. “We are not overly optimistic we will get approved this year,” Rogers said. “We’re long-term thinkers and I think we will get approved in the future. We’re playing the long game on this one.” Kukulkan is a sensation in Mexico, where he was undefeated in 13 starts and won the Mexican Triple Crown. He shipped to Gulfstream to compete in last Saturday’s $300,000 Carribean Classic S. and demolished his opponents, winning by 10 1/4 lengths. “Kukulkan’s owner is considering running, as well,” Rogers said. “We are really excited about that. The horse is undefeated and you have to give him a lot of credit for that. Yes, he probably hasn’t run against this kind of competition yet, but the owner seems like a real sportsman and he’s taking it under serious consideration. For us, to have a Triple Crown winner from Mexico positions us even more so to be an international event.” Considering that Kukulkan got a 71 Beyer Speed Figure in The Carribean Classic, he will likely have a hard time competing against the caliber of horses lining up for the Pegasus World Cup. Rogers reported earlier that Coolmore, which has been a big supporter of the Pegasus program from the start, has made a commitment to run in both races. Rogers said he has been told the stable will likely ship Magical to run in the $7-million turf race. She’s coming off a stellar performance in the Breeders’ Cup Turf where she finished second behind Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), losing by just three-quarters of a length. She would likely be heavily favored in the Pegasus Turf. Getting other European horses to come over is still a work in progress, and January is not a good time to have a race when looking to attract European flat horses. The top quality horses from overseas are primarily put away for the winter until the flat season starts up in the spring. “Maybe it’s out fault because we were late in announcing this race, but we’ve been told by the Europeans if they had a little more time they could have prepared to run in the race,” Rogers said. “We’re committed to this turf race. I think you’ll see more Europeans put it on their calendar in the future.” At $7 million, the Pegasus Turf has a bigger purse than any single race in Europe. View the full article

BOB BAFFERT, TRAINER, JUSTIFY I don’t vote and, of course, John Sadler and I are both biased. We both trained two really good horses and had really good years with them. The Triple Crown is the biggest arena the sport has. It is the holy grail of our sport. What Justify did was pretty incredible. He ran six races right in a row and won them all. That takes an incredible athlete to do something like that. I’ve been fortunate and blessed to train some great horses. He had six outs. Accelerate, who had a great year, had seven outs. But they were spaced out and John did a fantastic job of managing him. Justify had to toe the line. I didn’t have a chance to pick or chose with Justify, he had to just go. We couldn’t miss a beat with him, and he pulled it off. You can’t do that unless you have an exceptional horse. We’ve seen so many horses go down in the Belmont. I should know. They fail when they get there. It takes an exceptional , superstar kind of horse, and that’s what Justify is. My take on it is that it is incredibly difficult to win the Triple Crown and he made it look easy. With him and Pharoah, great 3-year-olds, there is something about them, their mechanics, their genetics…they are superior horses and he was a superior horse. People knocked us because the horse never ran after the Belmont, but he couldn’t run, he had an injury. Unfortunately, those things happen. I was just as sad as everyone else when we had to stop on him. I wouldn’t have had any doubts about him handling older horses. If he was that good in the spring of his 3-year-old year, just imagine how much better he would have been come the fall. He would have been twice as good. JOHN SADLER, TRAINER, ACCELERATE Full disclosure to everyone: I’m biased and I do not have a vote for Horse of the Year, but if I did, it would be for Accelerate. At the beginning of 2018, we mapped out a year-long campaign that was crafted to get Accelerate to the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. During that period, Accelerate hit every mark we needed him to in his training, never took a misplaced step or had a setback. Accelerate went on to compile a race record of six wins from seven starts, was the high- weighted/co-highweight horse in six of those races and five of those wins were at the highest level, Grade I, going 1 ¼ on dirt– the quintessential “Classic” distance in U.S. racing. From a historical perspective, only four other horses have achieved this feat since 1975 and three of those were named Horse of the Year in their respective years (Affirmed in the pre-Breeders’ Cup era, Alysheba and Cigar since the inception of the Breeders’ Cup…Lava Man was the other and he was defeated by Invasor (Arg) in the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Classic, their only head-to-head meeting.) The Breeders’ Cup is, by our sport’s definition, the Championship event of horse racing. Winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic is the equivalent of the Super Bowl and more times than not, the winner of that event has been named Horse of the Year. Accelerate did all those things in 2018, ran superior speed figures (by whatever metric you use) and did not duck anyone in the process. It would be remiss to not acknowledge Bob Baffert and the connections of Justify for their achievements. The constraints of the Triple Crown are well known and there are no “do overs” on the trail. Bob’s record in the Derby, Preakness and Belmont needs no preamble at this stage of his career and what Justify did in a short amount of time was another of his achievements that made history. I’m sure the connections of Justify are disappointed that they were not able to finish out the year due to injury. As a sport, we were all denied the opportunity to see these two horses compete head to head in our Championship event. That said, Accelerate should not be penalized because Justify was unable to run and he did. On a final note, while Justify overcame the “Apollo curse,” Accelerate overcame my much-maligned Breeders’ Cup record. That’s a Horse of the Year achievement unto itself! View the full article

Lester Piggott is still hospitalised and is recovering after have surgery to be fitted for a pacemaker a few days ago. One of the sport’s all-time great figures, Piggott, 83, was admitted to hospital at the start of this month and underwent tests while doctors monitored his condition. His daughter Maureen Haggas, wife of Classic-winning trainer William Haggas, confirmed on Wednesday a pacemaker had been fitted to help her father’s heart beat normally and revealed he could return home as soon as this weekend. “He had a pacemaker fitted around 10 days ago, but he’s going ok,” Haggas told Press Association Sport. “He’s still in hospital at the moment. We’re hopeful he might be out by the weekend, but they’re not 100% sure yet. He obviously wants to get out of there, but they won’t let him go unless they’re 100% happy with him.” Piggott–who had a spell in intensive care in 2007 in a Swiss hospital with a heart complaint – won the Derby a remarkable nine times. View the full article

Editor’s Note: Today’s column on equine tax planning is the first in a new regular series in the TDN, presented by Keeneland. It is written by Len Green of The Green Group and DJ Stables, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies this year with Jaywalk. As is often heard in the horseracing industry, “The race is not over until the horse crosses the finish line!” The same is true with maximizing your tax deductions and minimizing your taxes. For those, who think it is too late to save on your 2018 taxes, we are here to tell you it is not. With over 35 years of experience saving our clients taxes along with our knowledge of the new tax laws, we are confident the following information will help you as you approach the 2018 home stretch and allow you to hit the wire a winner. What Does the 2017 Tax Act Do to Assist You? First, the recently enacted Tax Act contains favorable developments for depreciating and expensing yearlings, breeding stock, farm equipment and other property. Bonus Depreciation: An increase in bonus depreciation allows a write off to increase from 50% to 100%. Accordingly, you are now permitted to fully expense purchases in the first year for yearlings, breeding stock and farm equipment. Used property can now qualify also. A few weeks still remain for 2018 asset additions with the potential benefit of a full tax write-off. IRC §179 Deduction: The maximum amount that may be expensed has been increased from $500,000 to $1 million. The phase-out threshold has been increased from $2 million to $2.5 million. Farm Equipment: The useful life has been reduced from seven years to five years and the 200% declining balance method can now be used. Race Horses: Certain Thoroughbred horses can still be depreciated as 3-year property. Even if business equipment or horses are purchased before year end, they still qualify for these tax benefits. Maximize the Pass-Thru Business Income Deduction: An entirely new tax saving deduction allows certain taxpayers to deduct 20% of their qualified business income. To maximize the deduction, you should take action steps to qualify your taxable income so it is below this new provision’s phase-out thresholds. If your taxable income (not adjusted gross income) is less than $157,000 for single taxpayers or $315,000 for married filing jointly, you may be eligible for this new pass-through deduction. The deduction phases out at $207,000 for individuals and $415,000 for married filing jointly. In some cases, the deduction may be limited to 50% of wages paid. Accordingly, one strategy would be to convert your independent contractors to employees to boost the 20% deduction. Set Up a Retirement Plan: You may be eligible to establish a retirement plan before year-end (or beyond). Contributions to a Keogh plan or a one-person 401(k) plan can be significant and save you significant 2018 tax dollars if set up before December 31, 2018. A SEP-IRA is another flexible alternative. A SEP can be set up before the filing date of your 2018 tax return, yet still provide you with a 2018 deduction. Required Minimum Distributions: If you are age 70 ½ or older, please remember to take your required minimum distribution from your retirement plan in order to avoid a harsh penalty. Child Tax Credit More Available: Under prior law, the child tax credit was phased out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income of more than $75,000 for single taxpayers and above $110,000 for joint filers. Those thresholds have been increased dramatically, up to $200,000 for single taxpayers and $400,000 for couples. In addition, the credit, which is for each child under age 17, has been doubled to $2,000. Gifting: For those of you inclined to make gifts still in 2018, keep in mind that the annual gift tax exclusion is $15,000 per recipient or $30,000 if married. With the Federal estate tax exemption scheduled to return to the 2017 amount of $5.5 million after 2025 (from the 2018-2025 threshold of more than $11 million), an opportunity is available for high net worth individuals to transfer substantial assets tax-free now to family members or trusts. Charitable Deductions: There is still an opportunity to make contributions before year end. A tax saving technique is to donate appreciated securities to qualified charities and receive a tax deduction at the appreciated amount and avoid the capital gains you would have paid if you sold the securities and donated the cash. Tax Preparation Fees: The 2017 Tax Act eliminated itemized deductions for individuals where this was previously deducted in prior years. To the extent that the tax preparation fee includes work done on your horse business, that would be properly deducted on Schedule C, Schedule F or on your LLC. Action Steps You should review the applicability of these recommendations with your tax professional or take advantage of the fact that readers of this column receive a one-hour consultation with our firm. To contact The Green Group, please visit http://www.greenco.com/ or call (732) 634-5100. View the full article

Yearling entries for the 241st running of the 1 1/2-mile G1 Investec Derby, totalling 356 yearlings, were announced by Epsom Downs Racecourse on Wednesday. Slated to carry a purse of at least £1.5 million and be run on June 6, 2020, the Investec Derby sees 12 entries from Godolphin, who won the 2018 edition with Masar (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}). Coolmore has won the Derby seven times with various partnerships, and they have entered 75 yearlings representing Sue Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor. Among their best yearlings is a Galileo (Ire) colt out of Shastye (Ire) (Danehill), who brought 3.4 million guineas at Tattersalls and is a full-brother to Group 2 victor Japan (GB), himself a leading 2019 Derby contender. Five-time Derby winning owner His Highness the Aga Khan enters 19, Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum as 22 potential Derby starters led by a Dubawi (Ire) colt out of 2014 G1 Investec Oaks victress Taghrooda (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Prince Khalid Abdullah (16), Saeed Suhail (9) and Her Majesty The Queen (5) are also represented. The stallion with the most entries is 2001 Derby hero Galileo with 56, while his undefeated son Frankel (GB) has 22. Dubawi (Ire) sends out 13 yearlings, with the highlight a son of MG1SW Dar Re Mi (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}). The most expensive yearling at 3.5 million guineas sold in Europe in 2018, the colt is a full-brother to undefeated G1SW Too Darn Hot (GB). Derby winners Australia (GB) (24), Camelot (GB) (16), Sea The Stars (Ire) (18), New Approach (Ire) (5), Authorized (Ire) (2) Pour Moi (Fr) (1) Ruler of the World (Ire) (1), Sir Percy (GB) (3) and Golden Horn (GB) (18) are also featured. International stallions represented on this list include Triple Crown hero American Pharoah (4) and Deep Impact (Jpn) (1). For the full list of entries, click here. “It is pleasing to see owners from across the world continuing to support the Investec Derby at the yearling entry stage, including so many of those who have enjoyed Investec Derby success in the past,” said Andrew Cooper, Head of Racing and Clear of the Course at Epsom Downs. “The yearling entry stage offers a tried and tested route to Investec Derby glory and we are grateful for the support it continues to receive.” There is a £9,000 second entry stage for the Derby in April of 2020 and an £85,000 supplementary entry stage on June 1, 2020. There are also two wild card slots open: winning a juvenile conditions race on Sept. 29, 2019 or the 10-furlong Listed Investec Blue Riband Trial in April of 2020. View the full article

Keeneland is expanding its Spring Meet in 2019 by opening a day earlier than in previous years and presenting two new stakes, both $100,000 turf sprints, the track announced Wednesday. The meet will open Thursday, Apr. 4 and host a total of 18 stakes worth a season-record $4.6 million in purse money through closing day Apr. 26. The centerpiece of the meet, as usual, will be the $1-million GII Toyota Blue Grass S. Apr. 6, with the $500,000 GI Central Bank Ashland S. set for the same Saturday. Opening on a Thursday means the Spring Meet will not lose a day because of Easter Sunday, Apr. 21, when Keeneland is closed. Prior to 1960, the Spring Meet often opened on Thursday when the season was shorter. The new stakes added to the calendar are both for sophomore turfers, with the 5 1/2-furlong, $100,000 Palisades S. for straight 3-year-olds to be held opening day, and the $100,000 Limestone Turf Sprint for 3-year-old fillies unfolding Friday, Apr. 12 at the same distance. “Keeneland is excited to offer these new features for the 2019 Spring Meet,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing and Sales Bob Elliston said. “The addition of two turf stakes for 3-year-olds will increase opportunities for horsemen competing during the Spring Meet and fill a nice niche in the national landscape of turf racing. We’ve also seen the growing interest of several major connections to use the grass stakes at Keeneland to prepare for summer campaigns, including competing at Royal Ascot. The new races will enrich a season anchored by blockbuster stakes racing on the first two Saturdays and one that spotlights leading 3-year-olds with classic aspirations.” The 2019 Spring Meet will also include the resumption of Keeneland’s April Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, to be held Tuesday, April 9. Preview Day, during which cataloged horses will have breezes over both the dirt track and turf course, is scheduled for Monday, April 8. View the full article

The Godolphin Holiday Halter Auction, an online sale of halters worn by renowned Darley stallions and some of Godolphin’s star racemares and broodmares (click here to view), will begin Friday, Dec. 14 at 9 a.m. EST, and continue through Monday, Dec. 17. All proceeds will go to the Kentucky Equine Humane Center. The halters, which will include a letter of authenticity, will be shipped for free or can be picked up in person at Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Ky. The auction will be hosted by Starquine.com. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday’s Insights features a daughter of MGISW Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy). 5.45 Chelmsford City, Cond, £8,000, 2yo, f, 8f (AWT) Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith’s debutante STRATIFICATION (Australia {GB}), one of three contenders from the John Gosden barns, is a daughter of GI Las Virgenes S., GI Santa Anita Oaks, GI Kentucky Oaks and GI Belmont S. heroine Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy). Her 14 rivals include stablemates Star Catcher (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), who is a hitherto unraced half to GI Canadian International-winning sire Cannock Chase (Lemon Drop Kid) and G2 Prix Eugene Adam victor Pisco Sour (Lemon Drop Kid); and dual runner-up Jadeerah (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who is out of MG1SP G2 Queen Mary S. victress Maqaasid (GB) (Green Desert). View the full article

Equibase Company, in partnership with Keeneland and at the request of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, conducted a test at the Lexington, Ky., track to collect workout data using global positioning satellite (GPS) technology. Equibase currently has GPS systems at Woodbine Racetrack, Golden Gate Fields, Laurel Park, and Pimlico, and is the official timer at those tracks. Equibase’s GPS technology partner, Total Performance Data, is based in the United Kingdom and has more than a dozen tracking systems deployed there. The goal of the six-week test, held September through October 2018, was to identify issues and potential solutions for using GPS technology to track workouts. Results of the study revealed the technology performed well overall and demonstrated the power of being able to track multiple workouts simultaneously. However, further testing is needed with respect to the logistics of using this technology for workouts. “The test revealed that the technology holds great promise to provide race-like accuracy to workout information,” said Jason Wilson, president and chief operating officer for Equibase. View the full article

Last weekend’s Thoroughbred Classic Horse Show drew more than 100 retired racehorses thriving in their second careers at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, Ca. Hosted by CARMA (California Retirement Management Account) as an awareness campaign to promote the adoption of off-track Thoroughbred and foster connections between the racing and equestrian community, the event is the only of its kind on the West Coast. “When we launched this event in 2012, we really wanted to give retired racehorses a welcoming environment to get experience in the show ring,” said Lucinda Mandella, executive director of CARMA. “Seeing horses who have gone through the Placement Program competing in the show brought everything full circle for us.” View the full article

The nominees for the 2019 Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards, sponsored by Godolphin and run by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) in association with the Racing Post, were announced on Wednesday. A total of 202 nominations, from Flat and National Hunt yards across England, Scotland and Wales, were received. The three finalists in each category will be invited to the Jumeriah Carlton Tower in London on Feb. 18 where the winners will be revealed. “For we judges here comes the best and worst task of the year,” said Brough Scott, who chairs the judging panel. “It’s been bad enough getting each category down to a shortlist of 10 from a total of 202 high quality nominations. Now we have to whittle each group down to just three. All I can promise them is that we will do it with a respect and fairness which matches the admiration and appreciation we have for their efforts every day.” The finalists with their nominator in () are as follows: David Nicholson Newcomer Award–Lee Aziz (Robert Stephens), April Clarke (Jedd O’Keeffe), James Cooke (Overbury Stud), Hannah Crawford (Iain Jardine), Connor Fox (Amy Murphy), Zara Gott (Philip Hobbs), Max McLoughlin (Cheveley Park Stud), Charlie Richards (Andrew Balding), Sophy Scott (Mark Johnston), and Lauren Thomas (Tim Vaughan). Leadership Award–Jessica Bell (Brian Ellison), Catriona Bissett (Nick Alexander), Dan Horsford (Alan King), Steve Howarth (Kevin Ryan), Louise Kennedy (David Lanigan), Leanne Kershaw (Jedd O’Keeffe), Sean Mulcaire (Philip Hobbs), Barry O’Dowd (John Gosden), Ian Russell (David Simcock), and Jarek Stadnik (Richard Fahey). Rider/Groom Award–Ian Clarkson (Micky Hammond), Zoe Fuller (Julia Feilden), Monika Gasparova (Ed Walker), Sean Graham (Philip Hobbs), Stewart Gosnell (Richard Hughes), Javed Iqbal (Tom Dascombe), Darren McAlinden (Nicky Martin), Imran Shahwani (John Gosden), Patrick ‘Paddy’ Trainor (Mark Johnston), and Jessica Wareham (Brian Barr). Stud Staff Award–Noel Challinor (Northmore Stud), Christine Chapman (Theakston Stud), James Frank (Hascombe & Valiant Stud), Sophie Heaps (Highfield Farm), Tom Hughes (Hazelwood Bloodstock), Martin Languillet (Fittocks Stud), Andrew Snell (Cheveley Park Stud), Kevin Tobin (New England Stud), Anna Wesolowska (Witney Stud), and David Woodley (Dullingham Park Stud). Dedication to Racing Award–John Bottomley (Ollie Pears), David Crofts (Marcus Tregoning), John Dixon (Roger Charlton), Jaimie Duff (Lucinda Russell), Helen Halliwell (James Fanshawe), Tracey and Ray Hutt (Highclere Stud), David Macleod (James Ewart), Marjorie Renwick (Harriet Graham), Joline Saunders (Richard Phillips), and Andrew Stringer (John Gosden). Rory MacDonald Community Award–Darren Bird, Amie Canham, Rev. Peter Clark, Lizzie Harris, Deborah Hay, Sarah Montgomery, Andrea O’Keeffe, Shelley Perham, Carly Sage and Amy Starkey View the full article

Keeneland Dec. 12 announced expansions to its 2019 spring meet, which will open April 4, a day earlier than in previous years, and present two new stakes, both $100,000 turf sprints. View the full article

Following the completion of the foal and breeding stock sales in Great Britain and Ireland, there has been much comment about the state of the bloodstock market. While the middle and top end have arguably never been stronger, the bottom end of the market has plummeted to a state not seen since the years following the worldwide financial crisis a decade ago. It is easy to gloss over what has happened at the bottom of the market as being a result of overproduction leading to supply exceeding demand. However, to do so perhaps oversimplifies the situation and also fails to give adequate attention to what a weak bottom of the market means to small breeders that are the foundation on which the entire Thoroughbred industry is built on. Thus, it is worth delving into the figures to illustrate just how bleak the bottom of the foal market is and discuss what has brought it about and what it all means. For this purpose, the sales that have been examined are the foal section of the Flat Foal & Breeding Stock Sale at Tattersalls Ireland, Part 2 of the November Foal Sale at Goffs and the first day of the December Foal Sale at Tattersalls. Those that have read my analysis of bloodstock sales on these pages in the past will know that in an effort to properly contextualise the sale results, a fixed production cost is added to the published stud fee to level the numerical playing field. While each breeder has different circumstances, the figure that has been settled on as an industry average for keep and assorted costs from birth up to a foal sale is 4,000gns. For the Irish sales, this figure has been converted to €4,750 using the average exchange rate from the beginning of 2018 up to the end of November. In total, there were 422 foals offered between the aforementioned sales at Fairyhouse and Goffs of which 240 sold for a clearance rate of 56.4%. Of those just 32 (13.3%) were profitable for the vendors after stud fees and production costs were considered. Of those 32 profitable sales, 18 of them made a profit of less than €5,000 and only 10 made a profit of €10,000 or more. That is the extent of the good news to emerge from the two sales in question. Moving on to the bad news, of the 240 foals that sold, 208 (86.6%) did so at a loss to their breeder. One-hundred-seventy-one of these sold for a loss of €5,000 or more. Seventy-nine sold for a loss of €10,000 or more. Sixteen of them made an eye-watering loss of over €20,000. As bad as that reads, at least those breeders found a buyer for their foals and won’t have to shoulder any more costs. The same cannot be said for the owners of the 182 lots that failed to find a buyer and had to bring their foals home. The figures suggest that this was not a result of vendors putting unrealistic reserves on their horses. Indeed, just seven of those foals had reserves of or were bought back for amounts in excess of their cost. In the vast majority of cases the reserve or figure they were bought back for was substantially lower than their cost. There was simply no one willing to bid enough to meet those conservative reserves. The cumulative stud fees and costs of those 182 unsold lots was €2,272,610, yet none of them could find a buyer. Perhaps most depressingly of all, 59 of those unsold lots either failed to get a single bid or were bought back by their vendors for the minimum bid of €800/€1,000. The cumulative stud fees and production costs of those 59 foals was €690,820. Yet, the market declared that they were all-but worthless on the day of the sale. The situation wasn’t quite as bad at the Tattersalls Foal Sale at Newmarket, but it was still bleak. On the first day of the sale, 254 foals were offered and 154 were sold for a clearance rate of 60.6%. Fifty (32.5%) of those that sold were profitable for their vendors. Eighteen of them scraped a profit of 4,500gns or less and just 22 of them made a profit of 9,000gns or more. On the other side of the coin, 104 (67.5%) of those that were sold made a loss for the vendors. Eighty-three of those sold for a loss of 4,500gns or more, with 43 selling for a loss of 9,000gns or more. Five of them lost 18,000gns or more. However, while the results for those that sold were less bleak than at Goffs, the details of the 100 foals that didn’t sell make for equally depressing reading. Again, this wasn’t a case of vendors putting obviously excessive reserves on their foals, with only 11 of the 100 unsold foals having reserves that were higher than their production costs. The cumulative costs of those 100 foals was 1,288,196gns. Twenty-four of those 100 unsold lots failed to attract a single bid or were bought back for the minimum bid of 800gns. The cumulative costs of those foals was 306,950gns. Despite the huge investment made in them, not one of them attracted a single bid. So, what can be taken from all of this? When confronted with results such as the above, many observers are likely to point the finger at two factors: stallion fees being too high and breeders producing too many low-quality horses. To address the stallion fee theory, I ran all the above numbers again with every stallion fee hypothetically reduced by 20%. This change only resulted in nine of the 208 unprofitable foals sold at the aforementioned sales at Goffs and Fairyhouse becoming profitable for their vendors. On day one of the Tattersalls Foal Sale, the same 20% reduction in stallion fees would only have brought seven of the 104 unprofitable foals into profitability. In a nutshell, while lower stallion fees will reduce the losses of breeders, they are not to blame for the depressing state of the bottom of the foal market. If it isn’t stallion fees that are blamed for these poor figures, most are likely to point the finger of blame at the breeders for what is widely considered to be overproduction of foals from below-standard mares and stallions. The general comment one tends to hear on this subject is that breeders need to up their standards, reduce mare numbers and try to use better stallions. There is undoubtedly some wisdom in this line of thinking, but I am not so sure the full emphasis should be on this line of reaction. The importance of the role played by smaller breeders in the industry, over 90% of whom in Great Britain and Ireland have four or fewer mares, should not be underestimated. They essentially act as the gold panners of the bloodstock world, sifting through the lesser mares and stallions in search of unlikely gems. History is littered with examples of broodmares with questionable credentials proving to be excellent producers after being given a chance at stud by smaller breeders. Likewise, it shouldn’t be forgotten that the likes of Kodiac, Dark Angel, Invincible Spirit and Exceed And Excel started off their stallion careers standing for fees of €10,000 or less and in the main it was the support of smaller breeders that gave them the opportunity to show their worth. While there is no question that breeders can help themselves by being more ruthless in calling it a day with mares that have been given their chance and not come up to the required mark, they should not be demonised for performing what is a very important function in the industry at the bottom end of the market. As well as that, when one takes a step back and looks at the British and Irish racing industries, one can readily question whether overproduction of foals is the actual problem at all given there is more than enough need for the amount of horses currently being bred in Britain and Ireland. The fixture list is crying out for more runners to fill it and there are very few trainers that don’t want more horses to train. Rather than overproduction, the real issue is a lack of people willing to put horses into training to race, particularly at the lower end of the scale. This leads to a weak bottom end of the yearling market which has resulted in pinhookers being reluctant to take chances on cheaper foals at the foal sales. Thus, rather than focusing entirely on the breeders, perhaps we as an industry should be coming up with ways that make the bottom end of the market more attractive to both pinhookers and end users in an effort to grow the market from the bottom up. Auction races hold the most appeal as a means to do this. Auction maidens have increased in popularity in Ireland in recent seasons courtesy of the excellent Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Series and an increase in the number of such races would be welcomed. Specifically, more auction maidens confined to horses purchased for €30,000 or less would serve to offer more incentive for owners to get involved at that level of the yearling market. As well as that, the introduction of a series of auction nurseries for horses bought for €30,000 or less would also be a welcome addition for those not good enough to win a maiden. Similarly, perhaps, there could be scope to link a series of such lower value auction maidens and nurseries to a bonus scheme that specifically caters to this end of the market. Many of the existing bonus schemes regularly reward those that don’t especially need rewarding and a scheme that zones in on stimulating increased business at the bottom end of the market can only be a positive. With the popularity of ownership syndicates and racing clubs on the rise, we as an industry should be doing all we can to make ownership as attractive as possible. With the bottom end of the market being the most accessible to newcomers to ownership, anything that makes owning racehorses bought at that level more attractive should be encouraged. A strengthening in the bottom of the yearling market will lead to a strengthening of the bottom of the foal market which will keep smaller breeders in the game. All growth starts from the ground, but it requires nourishment and attention from above to stimulate it. Right now, the bottom of the foal market is in bad need of attention. If you’re interested in providing feedback contact Kevin Blake on Twitter @kevinblake2011. Or send your opinion to Gary King garyking@thetdn.com. View the full article

13.15 Newcastle Highland Hunter lived up to the hype and confirmed his early promise following point to point and bumper successes when romping home at Ayr last time out on hurdling debut. Lucinda Russell’s latest recruit was so impressive that day with the manner of the win and the astute Scottish trainer has found him […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Thursday 13th December appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

“Price is what you pay, value is what you get.” The axiom is routinely attributed to Warren Buffett, though credited by him to Ben Graham. But there is nothing like the bloodstock market to remind us that value is subjective–making the setting of a stallion’s fee, the annual exercise that has occupied some of the most experienced minds in the business over recent weeks, an extremely delicate balancing act. A mare owner’s sense of value, after all, may itself be determined precisely by the ambitions implied in a fee. In a world where so many purchases will be recycled, and generally sooner rather than later, a stallion’s brand needs to be protected. Present a sire to market as a bargain, and you have to hope that he is welcomed as “commercial” rather than dismissed as “cheap”. On the other hand, you can’t price him beyond that point where the customer thinks him fair value. As with all markets, then, it’s a two-way street. Both sides need to be able to make sense of the deal. Within any major farm, indeed, there will be people pulling in different directions. The marketing guys want the fee to be as attractive as possible; the accountants want it to be as high as it can be, without eroding book size. “Setting a fee is an art, not a science,” reflects Dan Pride, chief operating officer of Darley America at Jonabell Farm–where they have an interesting annual ritual that not only gives their whole team a say, but allows those who make the ultimate decision to take a pulse, both informed and interested, beyond their own hopes and fears. “Everyone who’s responsible for selling seasons or marketing stallions has to sit around a table with a piece of paper and independently write down each stallion’s name and what they think his fee should be,” Pride explains. “Then we go back and forth debating before making a recommendation. We do try to make it a communal effort, so that people have a chance internally to voice an opinion.” Obviously the critical fee, for any stallion, tends to be the one at which he starts. In many cases, he will never again command one so high, just because it is statistically inevitable that most sires will not make the grade. But some farms are at particular pains to avoid having to take evasive action during the notoriously difficult third and fourth seasons, when breeders tend to reserve judgement on first yearlings, and then first runners. “It’s a fine line,” says Bernie Sams, seasons and bloodstock manager at Claiborne Farm. “But obviously if you get it wrong, and have to drop one, it’s not good. If you’re going to be wrong, you’re better off being wrong low–and then be able to pick and choose through the mares. If you get it wrong high, and have to drop, then people run scared. “The first couple of years probably we’re going to be on the lower side of where some other places may be. But then if we’re able to maintain for the third and fourth years, it evens out when you don’t have to change the fees. That is key to us. The guy who paid $25,000 the first two years doesn’t have very good taste in his mouth if you’ve meanwhile dropped to $15,000. And won’t be as quick to come back.” One good example of thinking that way was Dialed In (Mineshaft) at Darby Dan. “He could easily have started higher than $7,500,” says Robert Hammond, the farm’s vice-chairman. “But you try to start them off at a price that gives people a chance to make their profit and to have a good experience. There are some farms you see that pitch their new sires as high as possible–but that does potentially expose their clients to a bad experience.” Sure enough, after his first runners walked the walk, Dialed In’s fee was doubled and he has since advanced to $25,000. Darby Dan, of course, is also one of many farms nowadays to offer a variety of incentive schemes to patrons. And sometimes programs of this kind make the formal stud fee relatively academic, little more than a market peg. “We have tried to create a synergistic relationship with our breeders,” explains Elliott Walden, president and CEO of WinStar, who reckons the farm has given away $3 million in stallion rewards over the past three years. “We’ve done that to incentivize breeders who had success with our stallions, to reward them for a job well done–and to get them continuing to breed at WinStar. It has been huge for the little breeder. We have clients who have been able to upgrade their whole program: instead of breeding to $10,000 horses, they are now breeding to $50,000 horses. And you never know where that takes someone, down the road.” The one solecism that absolutely must be avoided, according to Sams, is to repent of an ambitious fee once it has been set. “You do that, you’re in trouble,” he says. “You start a horse too high, and nobody goes to him, and you have to drop the fee within a month or two? Then you’re behind the eight-ball from the very beginning. Then you have to go out and start hustling people, and that’s the last thing you want to do.” That is consistent with a preference for trying to err on the side of generosity. Needless to say, however, once a young stallion’s stock has proceeded through market reception to racetrack performance, then every farm has to sit down and take a fresh look at the road he appears to be traveling. “Essentially when they retire you’ve got three variables: pedigree, race record and conformation,” says Pride. “And you’re trying to look at the relative value of those three variables, compared to what you’re going to compete against–both on your own roster, and in the general market where you’re standing the horse. But once you have runners of racing age, and that fourth element of performance, you’re still looking at where each horse slots in relation to its competition. You always try to have a feel for what we call the right side of price. “It’s a subjective mindset, but you try to make sure that if people are interested in your stallion, the price is really the last thing they consider instead of the first. That they go through the other aspects of the horse, and how he fits the mare, and then hope the price lines up with that.” And it’s a moving target. As Pride remarks, you’re having a discussion in November about the value of matings that won’t begin until February. Between setting fees and the end of the covering season, there are many big races that can affect a stallion’s profile, for richer, for poorer. That is especially true of a young stallion with one or two early flag-bearers coming through. The overall temper of the market can change prejudices, too. Walden notes that breeders took sanctuary in proven sires after the recession in 2008, but that the bull run since has prompted a return to “home-run” speculation in new sires. Then there are the ups and downs in the fortunes of a particular stallion. Off the record, the director of one major farm cited an example of an elite sire who had hit a flat spot in his career. For where he found himself now, his fee should strictly have been halved. But the fear was that an associated air of panic would have the reverse of the desired effect, so he was given a conservative trim and is now treading water. At Claiborne, however, they had the courage to take exactly that drastic action with Blame (Arch)–slashing his fee for last season from $25,000 to $12,500. Given that he had just sired a Classic winner in Europe, it was not as though he was wholly lacking momentum. Sure enough, those who were tempted by the new fee (taking his book up to 112 from 48) were delighted to see him enjoy a stellar campaign this year, earning elevation past his old fee to $30,000. “They always have dips,” says Sams. “You take War Front. He went 12.5, 12.5, 10, and probably we did deals the third year and didn’t bring a lot of mares. With Blame, last year was at struggle at 25. So at the end of the year we cut him in half, and it worked. And then they started running. So it worked both ways. And now I’ve a long list of people want to breed to the horse at 30 next year. But saying that, if you went to 40, would you have the same ability to pick and choose through mares?” War Front has earned his stripes all the way to $250,000, and it was a similar story with Tapit at Gainesway: clipped to $12,500 from an opening $15,000 by the time his stock ventured into public and began moving himself to the stratosphere. At WinStar, equally, Walden can point to Distorted Humor, now in the evening of his career but at one point able to multiply his second-year fee of $10,000 by a factor of 30. “All these horses were just given an opportunity,” Walden says. “They weren’t given a silver spoon in their mouth. They earned it. So, you’ve got to price them where they get an opportunity. You have to adjust sometimes. You just have to pay attention to your market and adapt, depending upon supply and demand. That’s really the driver, like anything else in this country. Because if stallions don’t get opportunities, they can’t prove themselves. That’s the bottom line. “So typically, when you sit down and evaluate where a horse is in his career, you have to think in terms of a partnership with your breeders. Because if you try to look at it singularly, just for the stallion owner or the shareholder, then you’re going to leave your breeders behind. “There has to be a balance. There’s a tremendous life cycle to this business. If one entity tries to get too far out, it doesn’t work. The worst thing that can happen is for Grade I winners to become too cheap to buy, from a stallion perspective. Racehorse owners need to be compensated for their stallion prospects. It all kind of works in unison. You have to marry the breeders’ needs, and their ability to make a profit, and your own need to make a profit. So you try to set the fee right down the middle.” In the end, that comes down to instinct. If your client’s view of value is subjective, then it’s a case of making a call based on experience. Farms know how their clients think. And everyone knows how stallions can fail, with the world at their feet; or equally rise to stardom from nowhere. “Walker [Hancock] and Seth [Hancock] and I will talk about it over a period of time but really you’ve got a pretty good idea where you want to be,” says Sams with a shrug. “It’s not brain surgery. Really it’s not.” View the full article

Caspar Fownes’ Smart Baby continued his excellent form, ringing up a third straight win, while his jockey Zac Purton racked up a hat-trick of his own as everyone fought through a Longines Hong Kong International Races hangover at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. After celebrating a local sweep at Sha Tin on Sunday, the biggest day of the season, it was hard for anyone to get really excited about your standard midweek fare, but Purton, fresh off two Group One wins, continued his excellent... View the full article

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen brings strength in numbers into the $400,000 Remington Springboard Mile Stakes, boasting five entrants in the 11-horse field for the one-mile test on Dec. 16. View the full article

A race for juveniles that had attracted horses like Will Take Charge and Caleb's Posse in recent years, the Springboard Mile at Remington Park gained even more status when it was added to the Road to the Kentucky Derby series. View the full article

15:20 Hexham A very competitive handicap hurdle awaits us in the last race at Hexham this afternoon where a case could easily be made for any of the ten-strong field. Course and distance winners Beyondtemptation and bottom weight Towerburn both have credible chances based on their form at this venue. The ever consistent Sheriff Garrett […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Wednesday 12th December appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Freedman back on top as he claims Singapore title View the full article

A $2,000 fine slapped on Javier Castellano was upheld by top regulators at the state Gaming Commission for a bumping incident during an August race at Saratoga Race Course won by the Hall of Fame jockey. View the full article

After no significant move forward on a $25 million plan to renovate the grandstand and install historical racing machines, Turfway Park on unveiled a less daring plan Dec. 11 that would aim to have 350 machines up and running by June. View the full article