Fractional ownership delivered to the general public

Published: November 15, 2016 09:10 am EST

I've done numerous interviews this year about the short falls our industry still faces and how I believe we can change our course and build something great.

I'm not a marketing expert, nor do I have a Harvard degree but I have done one thing few people in this industry have done. I've stood on the door steps of thousands of everyday peoples houses and engaged then about what horse racing means to them. Why they aren't involved, and most importantly, how they could or would become involved.

The answers were always the same, and from those conversations thestable.ca was born. Affordable ownership and flat-rate billing.

You would think it was simple enough, but horse racing has never offered those two things together, and if it did, it was never marketed that way.

Our client list has almost tripled in the last month since the Lexington and Harrisburg yearling sales and for the first time in my life I feel gratified. Not because my wife and I built a stable of 62 horses from scratch when our province and industry was quietly crumbling around us. Not because we now have an active email list of 288 people worldwide. But because we are on the cusp of changing the business habits that has crippled this industry for decades.

Thestable.ca is not just about buying and selling fractions of yearlings. It's about bringing a voice to voiceless trainers and elevating the customer service that is hard to find in an industry that it shouldn't be.

We are always trying to bring attention to not just what we are doing, but how, and why we are doing it. We are not just trying to promote thestable.ca, but reintroduce horse racing to a group that forgot it existed; the general public.

By changing the dynamic of investment in horse racing from people 45-70 years old with disposable income to every human being that ever liked horses, we will open a floodgate of interest and investment the vast majority of our industry has never seen.

With time and support, what we have started will bolster investment infinitely, energize our dwindling fan base and cultivate new customers for our race tracks and in turn casino partners.

I write this as I wait on the tarmac about to fly to Ohio for the last yearling sale of the year. I'm asking for input, support and advertising in something I believe will be helpful to many trainers, and a unique opportunity for our industry to engage the general public.

On December 10, starting at 11:00 am thestable.ca will hold the first ever open to the public (and industry) fractional ownership sale.

We invite all trainers to bring their yearlings to Tomiko Training Centre and showcase them along side myself, my wife Amy, all our staff, and our yearlings under a drone streamed live for the world to see.

We would like to advertise the event in Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Guelph, as a unique opportunity to become a horse owner less than a 30 minute drive from where they live.

The proximity to Christmas I believe actually helps considering the inexpensive nature of horse ownership done in those manner. Our location is ideal to bring out the general public, the media and allow our industries trainers to mingle with potential investors.

Thestable.ca has yearlings priced as low as $96 and as high as $792 for a 1% share and over 40 yearlings with various price points in between. Combine that with likely interested trainers this could be an exciting morning and afternoon for not just fractional ownership but our entire industry.

We are approaching $1 million of investment in thestable.ca this year. We now have hired 14 employees in what has been a shrinking market. Take into consideration the economy, the cloudiness in horse racing's future and consumer interest, I think it's fair to say we are onto something.

I've spoken in Columbus, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and I am scheduled to speak in Illinois and also at Michigan State University next month. It's safe to say I don't mind talking to one person or a room full people about an industry I owe everything to. But for any measurable good to come from this event on December 10 I need help marketing it.

This industry should be in agreement of one thing for certain, Fans and investors are needed and we have an extremely inclusive way to provide both. Make no mistake, fractional ownership done in this manner will change the face of horse racing forever.

I know this was a novel to read, but it took a while to write also.

Thank you for your time,

Anthony MacDonald


The views presented in Trot Blogs are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Standardbred Canada.

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