| Friday, May 12, 2023 | Contact: Gary Falter (859) 224-2803 |
| Thoroughbred Owner Conference Series Continues with Conversation on Developing a Business Plan | |
On Tuesday, May 9, OwnerView hosted the fourth panel in its Virtual Thoroughbred Owner Conference series to provide information about creating a business plan as a racehorse owner. The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and sponsored by Bessemer Trust, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and The Green Group. This panel was sponsored by Coolmore America and String Music Thoroughbred Investments. The panel was composed of Liz Crow, co-owner of BSW/Crow and ELiTE Sales; Greg Harbut, president of Harbut Bloodstock; and John Phillips, owner of Darby Dan farm. Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, hosted the discussion. Attendees were able to ask questions through Zoom’s Q&A feature, and questions were answered at the middle and end of the webinar. The Q&A session was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds. Crow, Harbut, and Phillips discussed topics including ways to reduce risk, creating a budget, understanding costs of ownership, types of ownership to pursue when getting into the business, breeding to race versus buying to race, and claiming horses, among other topics. “Rule number one when putting a business plan together is to have realistic expectations. The money that you put up should probably be money that you’re okay parting with,” said Harbut. “So be secure with purchase price and the cost of ownership.” “Surround yourself with people that know a lot about the sport and do this professionally,” Crow said. “The whole thing is risky, so the most important thing is understanding the risk before you go in. Having an advisor is important, especially if you’re new to the sport. I often suggest people get involved with a racing partnership first to get their feet wet.” “Your business plan is going to evolve, and who you need to listen to is the horse, because the horse will tell you — and the whole process will tell you — ‘I’m only this talented,’” Phillips said. “We hope that they are all First Saturday in May horses, but the reality is you need to amend your business plan essentially to what the horse is telling you.” A replay of all the conference panels can be viewed here: bit.ly/OVVideos. Seven additional Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panels are scheduled for 2023. The next session will be held June 13 at 2 p.m. ET and will feature videos of preparing for race day following by a discussion with owners and trainers. A full schedule can be found here: bit.ly/OVSchedule. There is no registration fee for the virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com. OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing. The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012. | |