Back to the Future - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:52:00 GMT

Trainer Jack Van Berg is a member of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, as is his late father, Marion Van Berg.

If there were a section of the Hall of Fame for breeders, Arthur B. Hancock III would be a member, as would his father, the late A.B. “Bull” Hancock Jr.

These two men from prominent racing families have been outspoken critics of the current state of the Thoroughbred industry, so they were easy selections to be among those chosen to testify before Congress June 19.

Just look at the title of the session held by The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection: “Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns: The State of Thoroughbred Horseracing and the Welfare of the Thoroughbred Racehorse.”

Van Berg’s sound bite from his testimony was this: racing is “chemical warfare.” Hancock’s best line was that the industry is a “rudderless ship.”

Though some testified progress has been made, it really was impossible for any of the witnesses to completely defend the sport.

Now everyone knows what the industry’s participants have known: Thoroughbred racing is like a dysfunctional family. Just a few of our family’s problems are we allow the use of too many drugs, too many corrective surgeries on young foals, and too much leakage of our handle.
There are dozens of groups with a vested interest, and Hancock was right when he said what often gets in the way of progress or consensus is “ego.”

It has been said that if the leaders of racing were selected to conduct a firing squad, they would get in a circle and start shooting. True, that may also apply to Congress, but the fact a House subcommittee has racing on its radar screen should serve as a wake-up call to everyone connected to racing and breeding.

Even the threat of federal intervention should be enough to make racing’s various organizations agree to sit around a table and discuss what must be done. Some groups expressed displeasure with not being invited to testify before Congress, so it will take a very large table and those in attendance must be willing to check, as Hancock might say, “their egos at the door.”

Congress has only one real bargaining chip to hold over racing’s head, but it is a huge chip—the Interstate Horseracing Act. The last Triple Crown winner is not the only thing that happened in 1978. That year, racing asked for, and received from Congress, the law that governs the simulcast of races across state lines.

Thirty years ago, simulcasting accounted for a small percentage of the dollars wagered on horse races. And account wagering did not exist. Today, it is estimated that 90% of dollars are wagered through such means.

If Congress decides to tinker with the legislation, then horse racing hangs in the balance. Going back to the days of wagering only on track is not going to happen.

But racing can go back to the days of using fewer medications. Racing can go back to the days of breeding more for racing than for selling. Racing can go back to the days of letting nature and genetics decide the conformation of a horse.

To do so, racing will need to present a plan and timeline to Congress for making such things happen. It will take the cooperation of owners, breeders, consignors, buyers, trainers, jockeys, and veterinarians. It will require the buy-in of racetracks, horsemen’s groups, racing commissions, and state agencies.

It will not happen overnight, but it can happen over many years. It can happen to save a vital industry.

This is not the same industry as when Marion Van Berg and Bull Hancock were alive. We’re not returning to that era.

But together, we can can create a new era.

Sales Sold - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:47:00 GMT

Few have the resources to do anything they want in the Thoroughbred industry. Sheikh Mohammed would be one of the exceptions.

The news of the last few weeks only further validates how much the ruler of Dubai not only loves the Thoroughbred industry, but desires to be its most dominant global player.

On March 24, news arrived that Sheikh Mohammed had closed a blockbuster deal in Australia, purchasing the Ingham brothers’ entire Woodlands Stud operation for approximately $425 million. The deal includes stud farms, training centers, stallions, and more than 500 horses of various ages.

Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley already owned farms and stood stallions in Australia, and Bob Ingham, head of his family’s Thoroughbred interests, said they were not looking to sell. “Once approached by Darley, I decided it was an opportunity I should accept,” Ingham said.

The Hettinger family, majority shareholders in Fasig-Tipton Co., were not actively looking to sell, either. But sell they did when a company controlled by “an associate” of Sheikh Mohammed came calling with an offer to buy the oldest Thoroughbred sale company in the United States.

The April 10 announcement said Synergy Investments, headed by Sheikh Mohammed’s friend Abdulla al Habbai, will purchase the assets in Fasig-Tipton, which conducts auctions in Kentucky, New York, Maryland, Florida, and Texas.

Last year, Sheikh Mohammed made headlines when he purchased Street Sense, Hard Spun, and Any Given Saturday to join the stallion ranks at his Darley near Lexington. Already this year, a deal was announced on Pyro, who will run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) despite a disappointing run in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I). He will become the farm’s 16th stallion.

When the breeding season begins in Australia this summer, Darley will control more than 30 stallions. Considering there are roughly 21,000 mares in Australia, it is conceivable Darley stallions could cover more than 20% of the mare population.

There are those who feel Sheikh Mohammed’s new determination to stand stallions is part of a rivalry with John Magnier and partners’ Coolmore Stud. And there are those who feel they are wasting their time, and stretching their frustration level, when bidding on a stallion Darley is interested in.

They may be right on both accounts. But this is a game where big deals are made all the time, and Sheikh Mohammed has the funds to make more of them than anyone else.

More interesting than spending freely on stallion prospects, however, is the move by Sheikh Mohammed’s associate to purchase Fasig-Tipton.

Fasig-Tipton grosses more annually than any sale company in the U.S. except for Keeneland, the same Keeneland where Sheikh Mohammed has spent hundreds of millions over the years in pursuit of top racehorses.

There is no reason to think Sheikh Mohammed will stop shopping at Keeneland, or any other sale company for that matter, but the landscape could certainly be different in the future. Coolmore avoiding Fasig-Tipton sales or a price war on commissions would be unsettling.

The announcement of the pending sale of Fasig-Tipton stated that the management team will be kept intact, which is good news. Anyone who has dealt with Boyd Browning, Walt Robertson, Bill Graves, Terence Collier, and the rest of the staff is aware this is a team that not only knows how to put on auctions, but is good to deal with on a personal level.

Also, competition is healthy. Keeneland pushes Fasig-Tipton, which pushes the Ocala Breeders’ Sale Co., which pushes Barretts, etc.

An infusion of new capital into Fasig-Tipton is good for the entire industry: breeders, owners, consignors, and buyers.

And if, as the release stated, the goal of recruiting new buyers is accomplished, the whole industry will benefit.

What's Going On Here : opionions

Back to the Future - by Dan Liebman

Sales Sold - by Dan Liebman