HOSS
Well-known member
The owner of the company that I work for is a mega-millionaire. He owns about 70 racehorses and is a big player on the New Orleans and Kentucky race and polo scene. He found out that I have a couple of horses and asked me if I wanted some thorobreds(sp?). I told him that I could not afford to buy race horses and he said that they were free to his employees. Most are mares and geldings about 5 to 6 years old and have papers. They are or have been active racers that have went down in class. He said that they are 100k plus winners but he does not keep anything that does not earn 500k by a certain time. He said that he has trucks transporting horses back and forth between his farm near New Orleans to his training facility in Kentucky and whatever horses I wanted he would have his driver drop them off to me as he has to drive right by my place of employment to get to Kentucky. All the mares have potential as brood stock. He has offered to A.I. them in Kentucky if I want to come up there and pick them up. They are supposed to be gentle and broke but the ones that are actively racing should be pastured for a month prior to riding to get the "race" out of them (according to his trainer). Since I could't beat the price of free I figured I could take them, pasture them for a month and then sell them as brood mares to folks in this area that like to cross them with Quarter Horses or Walking / Gaited stock. I might be able to turn a few bucks. I think he has 5 or 6 I can have now.
He said that the expense of keeping a racehorse for him is very high so he culls the bottom earners. He didn't tell me what it costs him per horse to train, feed and keep but I imagine it is pretty high. Much higher than it would cost me to pasture them.
I know that race horses bring their own challenges. Has anybody out there had experience handling these types of horses and how do they differ from walkers or QH's in handling them? Do ya'll think I could make a few bucks or will I find that folks will shy away from the fact that they are former racers? None of these horses are lame or have medical issues.
He said that the expense of keeping a racehorse for him is very high so he culls the bottom earners. He didn't tell me what it costs him per horse to train, feed and keep but I imagine it is pretty high. Much higher than it would cost me to pasture them.
I know that race horses bring their own challenges. Has anybody out there had experience handling these types of horses and how do they differ from walkers or QH's in handling them? Do ya'll think I could make a few bucks or will I find that folks will shy away from the fact that they are former racers? None of these horses are lame or have medical issues.