PRIZE MONEY DROPS ON HIGHVELD??????

pirates Wrote:

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> owning horses is not an investment and the sooner
> we all realise that the better..if stakes went up
> 25 percent it would make very little difference

In a nutshell!

I agree with lots of points Jack made...and AL...i thought from the start prize money was increased to suddenly...if they increased it in smaller percentages we wouldn't have to decrease it...Jack, you're a breeder, point is there are too many animals on sale and all breeders want to sell and buyers want to get their money back...i'm an auctioneer, specialising in insolvent immovable estates and believe me we have a 1000 properties on our books any given month...average 30 auctions a month and we sell 20% if we're lucky..the rest get bought in by the creditors - the reason - bond originators and banks granting excessive 2nd and 3rd bonds at higher than market value. Thus people go insolvent more regularly and therefor the market is flooded with properties and horses reaching prices way below average...but still all wants to make a buck back...

I still just want to know in black and white how the shortfall came about? another alternative is less racing and more stakes...

Jack to point out...my trainer and lots of others pay their own stables and is not subsidised - totally private and i contibute to this as well as other owners in our stable...

Pirates...good one mate...as you know I always nag,just want to know the reasons but NO dispersal - racing and owning to addictive for that and...always the dream of a July winner...

I'm just complaining cause P can at least warn us well ahead of time...and the RA for that matter...or discuss with their members...

Merry Xmas

Rad,

There may well be too many horses, but you must remember how long the breeding cycle is. Yearlings coming up for sale now are the result of decisions made in 2007 (and a Jet Master yearling is the result of a mare paying R200,000 up front) before the credit crunch.

About too many horses, as recent as 1993 there was a smidge less than 10,000 horses in training and that has halved almost.

In fact the figures are interesting and shows you what has happened, keeping in mind other things in SA (restaurants, shopping malls, car production etc etc) grew by the normal 5% or more p.a.:

[code:tunvagel]
<strong><u>Year In training Colours Trainers Mares Stakes</u></strong>

1991/2/3 9600 6000 230 7200 110,000,000
Current 5700 3700 180 3600 325,000,000

Reduction -40% -40% -20% -50% +200%
[/code:tunvagel]

This won't be a popular comment but I'll say it anyway. In boom industries like cell phones or banking (till the other day) and property, any idiot could flourish because the truth is it was almost impossible to be wrong. You were paddling down river in a strong current. (It's interesting to hear that the CEO of Lehman Bros...now bankrupt with an $82 share ending up at 0.03c paid himself an alleged R4 billion from 2000 to 2007).

If however, you were a racing administrator, your starting position (as seen from the figures above) is at best trying to stand still in a huge current and it would be impossible to look good no matter how 'good' you were.

Racing is in a decline because the product is now a niche interest. All of the elements that racing sells is attainable elsewhere in seperate portions, except for the ownership experience (from yearling selection, pedigree study, preperation and interaction with animals and trainers, the thrill of competition and winning). The gambling and spectator parts are freely available around the world online and on TV.

Re-reading what I have just written, I have to change an opinion I have held up till now. We do have to consolidate horse racing in SA, it looks like it may be the only way to survive, let alone grow. My previous opinion was that the (small) competition between P and GC kept a measure of honesty in how they treated the players, and at least there was always an alternative.

Hey Jack great post,is it true that Breeders have nearly halved in the same period,but the live foals have stayed the same?

Thanks Jack, its on the other posts but horseracing will always be a hobby and pastime for me and if anyone is in it for a profit? the best of luck. For the rest of us mugs.........................enjoy X(

hibernia Wrote:

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> Hey Jack great post,is it true that Breeders have
> nearly halved in the same period,but the live
> foals have stayed the same?

No, the registered foals seem to trail the registered mares figure by approx -1000, and even then I think a lot is just left out.

Breeding horses is large animal husbandry and Thoroughbreds are a particularly tricky breed...they are all power and speed and volatility, but very fragile at the same time. Compared to other animals (like cows and pigs) and even other breeds of horses, thoroughbreds must be close to highest risk and the individuals carry such high values too.

The attrition from conception the the race course is huge and a massive 'hidden cost' burden to breeders and subsequently to owners. Insurance is prohibitive, especially early on. If you think about it, a mare at stud for 10 years will rarely have 10 runners and most likely 6 or 7 would be the norm, so a pure guess would be about 30-40% loss some how. Mares that give you losses in the first few years don't even make it to the list of '10 year' mares and only successful broodmares are really still around after that so the 30-40% figure may be higher since the 'bad' breeders are culled without being counted.

Been reading an article about French racing they have increased stakes by 3%,it would have been five but they have tucked away the extra 2% just incase there is a downswing next season(tu)