Entries Tagged 'How To' ↓
June 1st, 2010 — How To
Keeping up with all the latest thoroughbred racing news both locally and abroad can be a challenge, but there are plenty of free online resources out there to help you get informed, stay informed and perhaps even pick up a bargain or two.
NZ Racing is the official site for New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing and comes complete with a beginners guide to racing, an online studbook, and an online thoroughbred marketplace. Newcomers to thoroughbred racing in New Zealand are highly advised to pay NZ Racing a visit.
Thoroughbred News is an excellent resource providing daily thoroughbred racing and breeding news from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and international racing from Hong Kong, South Africa, England, Japan and Dubai with raceday previews, reviews, changing wagering markets and industry commentary.
New Zealand Herald Thoroughbred Racing Headlines If you want the (mildly) important news quickly, the New Zealand Herald runs a thoroughbred headlines column featuring news and opinion from the world of thoroughbred racing.
New Zealand Bloodstock Those who wish to breed thoroughbreds in New Zealand will quickly become acquainted with New Zealand Bloodstock. New Zealand Bloodstock is New Zealand’s premier thoroughbred auction house, and one of the leading thoroughbred auction houses in the world boasting the famous Karaka sale complex in Papakura, Auckland.
New Zealand Racing Board The New Zealand Racing Board is the organisation behind all New Zealand racing and betting.
July 27th, 2008 — Choosing A Stallion, How To, Thoroughbred Broodmares, Value For Money
Handsome Ransom – Great Value!
Last week I outlined some suggestions about how newcomers to the industry could choose a potentially successful broodmare without it costing them a small fortune.
This week’s posting outlines another procedure which I recommend. There are two main ways one can make a profit out of breeding thoroughbreds. One is by the mare increasing in value as a result of her progeny succeeding on the track; the other is by breeding a foal whose sire becomes much more sought after in the time between the conception and eventual marketing of that foal. Identifying such stallions is an exercise to which breeders devote much time.
A stallion whose foals are about to race when you breed your mare to him is your best chance of making a significant capital gain via this approach to breeding. To give an example, I would recommend the Red Ransom sire Handsome Ransom as a case in point. A blazingly fast juvenile himself, he is likely to leave good 2yos; yearling buyers at the last round of sales were clearly of this opinion as Handsome Ransom yearlings fetched excellent prices as compared to his $4000 service fee. This season his fee remains at $4000; if his progeny win good races next year’s fee could well be considerably in excess of this figure.
The next step in the plan should be to buy or lease a mare with a pedigree which is complementary to that of Handsome Ransom. If you are not confident in your knowledge of pedigrees, then there are a number of pedigree advisors such as myself who will be happy to help you. Certainly, I would be looking for a mare with a reasonable amount of speed in her pedigree and I have a strong preference for mares which have won at least one race. It’s one thing to breed a foal by a stallion which is doing well; it’s quite another to breed a foal which buyers can see is likely to have the necessary qualities to win good races.
July 20th, 2008 — How To
As in any business venture, it is important to have a plan with realistic goals when you are getting involved in breeding thoroughbred racehorses.
The first decision that needs to be made is whether you are breeding to race or breeding to sell. If your dream is to prepare a stunning yearling and sell it for a large sum of money, you are going to have to make a significant initial investment. In New Zealand terms, if you are going to sell a K1 or K2 yearling, then you’ve got to own a mare with the commercial appeal for her progeny to be selected for these sales in the first place. Such mares do not come cheap; nor do the service fees required for such yearlings to be produced.
If you have only a few thousand dollars to invest, then you’re much better off forming a partnership with other like-minded individuals or changing your focus into breeding to race. Sound racemares with winning form and adequate pedigrees can be bought at the moment for only a few thousand dollars. These could be mares which have just finished racing or young broodmares which have just embarked on their breeding careers. Last week’s posting contains some pointers which should aid the selection of such mares.
The policy of choosing a young mare with a reasonably good pedigree and mating her with an appropriate stallion in order to maximise her strengths and minimize her weaknesses has a number of advantages. In particular, you will be able to assess the quality of foal your mare can produce without spending a fortune. If the foal is a good type, you will have a range of options as to what you can do with it. Selling as a weanling or taking the foal through to the stage at which it can be leased as a racing proposition are just two of the possible courses of action. Attractive individuals can make good money as weanlings; leasing stock you have bred will not bring you any immediate cash return but if you offer the lessee a right of purchase and your horse wins some races you could gain a significant return on your investment.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like further details on leasing out horses or on any of the other issues I’ve mentioned.
July 13th, 2008 — How To, Thoroughbred Broodmares
One question I’m often asked is what guidelines are there for people getting involved in breeding thoroughbreds for the first time. In particular, how can one select a mare which has a reasonable chance of becoming a successful broodmare.
For the purposes of this article I’m assuming that there is a sale coming up in which a significant number of mares are being offered for sale. I suggest that newcomers focus on mares which have won at least one race; sometimes racehorses, no matter how impressive their pedigrees, just don’t want to be racehorses – in other words, they don’t try. These mares are to be avoided because they tend to leave foals which demonstrate exactly the same fault. There’s nothing more soul-destroying for a breeder to produce a stunning foal, spend vast sums of money raising it – maybe even put it into training themselves – only to discover that the horse just doesn’t have the competitive spirit. Being a race-winner doesn’t automatically guarantee that a mare is courageous – she may have won a weak maiden race early in her career and then decided that enough is enough – but it is certainly a positive indicator. Needless to say, finding a mare which has won, even in modest company, in each of two or three seasons, is a great way to start your selection process.
The second thing to look for is a consistent family. If a mare is a winner and is from a winning dam which has produced a series of winners, then the conclusion is obvious: if one chooses a suitable stallion, the resulting foal should have a good chance of following the family tradition. Conversely, the sort of mare to avoid is one whose dam has had several foals, few of which have either been to the races or been successful. A significant percentage of non-runners may indicate conformational or temperament problems; a significant percentage of non-winners implies strongly that the mare is not passing on desirable genes.
Finally, and this is where some degree of expert help is required, an assessment needs to be made as to the quality of stallions which have served the mares in the family under consideration. If a family has a record of producing useful winners by average, or worse, stallions then this is a family with room for improvement. If one can find a winning mare from such a family and the mare herself is by a decent stallion, then this the sort of mare one ought to consider buying.
Next week: some further pitfalls to avoid.
