Excited owners of Lightinthenite after his Gr 3 David Jones Cup win during the 2012 Melbourne Spring Carnival Photo: courtesy of RacePix

Quick Link to: Getting Started

If you have ever watched Black Caviar in the winner’s circle, with Peter Moody and her ecstatic owners and thought, “I want to be part of that”, now you can! Okay, maybe you can’t be one of Black Caviar’s owners, but you can certainly be involved with owning a racehorse and the immense excitement and possible wealth that goes with being part of the exciting thoroughbred racing industry.

Best of all, you don’t have to be excessively wealthy to own a thoroughbred racehorse, because the introduction of syndications means that horse racing is now more than just the Sport of Kings, it's the sport for everyone.

So what is a syndicate? This is where you buy a racehorse with others and own a percentage of the racehorse, pay for a percentage of all expenses and earn a percentage of all winnings. This is a very affordable way to race a racehorse and be involved in the glamorous racing industry.

Being part of a quality racehorse syndicate gives you the opportunity to share the thrill of ownership for a far smaller cost. For peace of mind, with syndication there are legal documents that include publicly disclosed details, such as all costs and vet checks, and a signed partnership agreement outlining the procedures for managing the horse, such as how to vote on the horse name, how to distribute trophies and how to manage disputes.

The Syndicator is responsible for all communication to the shareholders from the trainer or the stable directly. There will also be a management fee which varies according to the syndicator.
There is nothing more thrilling than dressing up, going to the races and watching your own horse race, and if the stars are aligned, win, however, owning a racehorse is much more than wearing your best hat and accepting the winner’s cup – even though that is a fabulous part of it! With thoroughbred racehorse ownership you invest in the racing industry and become part of its lifestyle and what a wonderful lifestyle it is – filled with horse lovers, colourful characters and racing fans from all walks of life.

When considering buying a thoroughbred racehorse, it is always important to remember that one of the main challenges in racing is the very fact that money can't guarantee success. There is a long list of expensive racetrack flops and an even longer one of bargain buys - racehorses bought for a proverbial song, that have returned their purchase price many times over.

Some of Australia's most successful racehorses have been raced by syndicates in recent years, including:

• Multiple Group 1 winner Alinghi syndicated by Slade Bloodstock (purchased for $80,000) and trained by Lee Freedman with prizemoney earnings of $3,559,367.

• Blue Diamond winner Reward for Effort syndicated by Dynamic Syndications (purchased for $190,000) and trained by Peter Moody with prizemoney earnings of $937,200.

• Golden Slipper winner turned sire, Sebring syndicated by Star Thoroughbreds (purchased for $170,000) and trained by Gai Waterhouse with prizemoney earnings of $2,537,060 and was sold as a stallion prospect for a rumored $30,000,000.

• Dual hemisphere champion Starspangledbannner syndicated by Spicer Thoroughbreds (purchased for $120,000) and trained by Leon Corstens with prizemoney earnings of $2,322,594.

• Group 1 winner Zabrasive, syndicated by Champion Thoroughbreds (purchased for NZD$95,000) and trained by John O’Shea with prizemoney earnings of $441,050.

• Four time Stakes winner Belong To Many syndicated by Shelley Hancox (purchased for $20,000) trained by Barbara Joseph and Gai Waterhouse with prizemoney earnings of $575,310 and sold as a Broodmare for $525,000.

So if you’re keen to become really involved in the world of racing and not just watch from the rails, read on…

GETTING STARTED

1. Share Value
You need to decide whether you want to take up a small share or a large share. You can take as little as 5%. Holding 5% entitles you to have your name in the racebook and allocated tickets when you horse is racing.

It’s important to know that the size of the share also dictates the monthly or regular costs to maintain the horse (if you own eg 5% would you be up for 5% of all costs).

2. Purchase Share Price

Next step is to set a budget on how much you would like to spend on your shares. Keeping in mind better bred shares in horses will cost more per share.

3. Location

Where do you want your Racehorse trained?

You can choose a horse trainer that is based locally in your area, or you may have a favourite thoroughbred racehorse trainer that is based elsewhere. You need to consider how often you would like to visit your horse? How far do you want to travel to see your horse race? Horses move easily between metropolitan and provincial/country tracks and horse transport is readily available, but what about you?

Depending on the location of the horse, will determine your monthly ongoing fees.

On Bloodstock.com.au Syndications, you can conduct a search by Trainer or location to view all horse shares available in your area of interest.

4. Training & Ongoing Costs

How much do you want to spend each month?

When you view a listing within Bloodstock Syndications you will be able to see the monthly ongoing fees for each racehorse.

Based on 100% ownership below are averages of what it would cost per day depending on location. These amounts exclude major race nominations and any surgery.
• Country trainers - $30-50
• Provincial trainer – $65-$85
• Metropolitan trainer –$95 - $150

In addition to a trainers agreed daily training rate, you will be responsible for associated fees, which can include but not limited to:

Trainer other - medications, equipment, race track fees (eg: track gallops, walking machines), farrier, dentist, chiropractor/physiotherapist, staff attendance (jump outs/barrier trials/race days), race club fees (e.g. barrier trials, race nominations, scratchings, race acceptances).

Vet - worming, wound treatment, blood tests

Transport - to and from spelling farms and race tracks

Agistment - costs for paddocks, boxes, pre-training, breaking-in, farrier, dentist, vet

Race club - nomination to a race fee, acceptance into the race fee

Incentive Schemes - scheme nomination fee, horse registration fee, syndicate name registration fee, jockey colours registration fee.

Racing has never been more lucrative with state based incentive schemes distributing more than $27 million Australia-wide in bonuses to owners, trainers and breeders. Each scheme is listed below:

• NSW - BOBS distributes $8 million annually
• Victoria - Super VOBIS distributes $18 million annually
• South Australia - SABOIS distributes $1.8 million annually
• Queensland – QTIS distributes $8.88 million annually
• Western Australia - Westspeed distributes $3.2 million annually

5. Find your Racehorse

Now that you have considered all of the above you are now ready to search Bloodstock Syndications  to view all racehorse shares for sale by Syndicators in Australia.

The listing on Bloodstock Syndications will provide you with as much information as possible. Other questions that are relevant to ask a Syndicator are:

• When are the monthly ongoing costs due?
• Who did you buy the horse from?
• What is the breakup of the costs included in the share price?
• What are management and ongoing fees for the syndicate manager?
• What bonus and race series is the horse eligible for?
• Can you please send me a product disclosure statement?
• How often do you contact the shareholders?