I got a text from my son. A workout video of one of the top horses in training right now with the caption “Where and how do we get one of these horses?” With yearling sales season in full gear, my literal brain started to answer him with exact sale the horse was purchased at. But there were nearly 300 horses in that particular, elite sale and most were very nice and very pricey (the sale actually set a record for average price), but even though it was a select sale with many beautiful, well bred, high priced offerings, only one proved that particular quality. So after thinking on it, I texted back, “It’s not always a particular place or an exact method. The trick is, you have to be persistent.”
Why Persistence?
I’ve been around long enough to see people come at this game from all directions. I’ve seen what works – and what doesn’t.
Things that work sometimes are:
1. Having great knowledge of horses, and knowing which physicals/pedigrees are superior.
2. Surrounding yourself with people that will look after your investment and develop it to its full potential.
3. Outworking the competition to be prepared for when a good deal presents itself.
4. Being willing to be wrong a lot until you’re right while dealing with the financial/mental strain that comes with that.
5. Having good luck. Blessed with a more than average Midas touch.
All of those work some of the time. None work all of the time.
Reasons:
1. You can’t money-whip the industry. Don’t get me wrong. You need to have money, and the more you’re willing to spend should increase your chance of getting the top available prospects. But the maiden 20k claiming races regularly have high priced sales horses in them, so that doesn’t guarantee success.
2. Knowing which horse should be the fastest by looking at their physical appearance or an astute knowledge of pedigree is good, but it does not guarantee the horse has heart or will stay sound.
3. The biggest trainers usually have the most opportunities. I call it “The Saban Effect”. I was once asked by a fan why a certain trainer had so many stakes wins. I was reminded of how many top horses I had witnessed their connections buy at the most recent sale I attended. For perspective, I left with two horses and spent $110K for the pair. The trainer in question bought seven of my top ten wish list, totaling $3.7M. That was just one sale with similar results being posted at the other major sales that year. Just like Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban, they have had a lot of success that have allowed them to get the top recruits year in and year out. Even that though, does not guarantee success.
4. Having general good luck comes in handy in every aspect of life, but luck doesn’t work full time for any one individual so that’s not enough to guarantee success.
5. I’ve seen people work hard. I’ve seen people work smart. Both are very important to granting you an advantage over those who don’t. But this industry is built on people who aren’t afraid of hard work so even that’s not enough to improve your chance of success on its own.
So, What’s the Trick?
Here’s my advice to somebody entering the industry or wanting to know how to get one of “those special horses”:
1. Have a working relationship with people you trust and can enjoy even when you lose. The losing part is important because you’re gonna lose more than you win.
2. Work hard enough to expect success and be humble enough to deal with failure.
3. Know that the more you spend can reduce your chances of failure especially if you’ve paired that with the due diligence an investment of that caliber deserves. Usually the sales toppers come from several people believing they have found the best horse in the sale, and are willing to not lose their top choice by getting outbid.
4. Don’t play the blame game. Nobody wins every race. The Hall of Fame is filled with people who lost far more times than they won. There doesn’t need to be a correction at every turn, and those who think they need to assign fault can ruin good working relationships. That’s a trait of the weak minded and immature.
5. Be Persistent. Be patient. It’s the only thing that all the champion connections have in common. They get beat. They get outbid. They get out-run. They fail. They’re sometimes wrong. And then they try again.
If you go into it with the love of the sport, respect of the horse, and appreciation for the work and expectations, you’ll have a great time and be far more likely to reach the level of success you want and deserve. On the other hand, if you go into it thinking that spending big money or hiring top connections will guarantee you success without patience… Good luck.
