Bolstering investment with fractional ownership

There are many problems with our industry as we all know.

We have lost horses that we can't replace.
We have lost investors to other jurisdictions that don't appear to be in any hurry to come back, and we all know people who have left the game, likely never to return.

Where does that leave us?
Where does this leave horse racing?

I myself have written about many topics that I consider to be "fixable" problems within our industry.
Doesn't mean I'm right.

We have small and large groups of people who also have ideas on how to fix our industry.
We shouldn't throw stones at anyone putting such an effort into presenting a viable way forward.
I applaud them and you should also.

So in light of this, I figured I'd touch on the other side of the industry.
Rather than writing about the government, it's perceived shortcomings, or how I would do things different.
I wanted to instead focus on horsemen.
What we need to do and how we need to do it moving forward for us to slow, if not stop this free fall.

As most of you know my wife Amy and I started thestable.ca at the end of the summer.
A fractional ownership website of sorts, but with a twist.
There are no upfront fees, and we receive no money on sales or purchases.
We worked hard to procure content for this website.
The timing was poor to secure consignors, investors, and owners for a fractional ownership website, but through hard work and help from some friends both old and new we were able to secure 23 yearlings to break and train down.

Like a true foolish horseman I did what I was well aware I shouldn't.
Our mortgage was up for renewal and we took a portion of equity out of our home to seed this unproven venture.
We all need our significant others behind us and my wife was right at my side.
Working her butt off and shockingly encouraging this apparent lunacy.

With only a few rough ideas put down on paper I started out.
Calling, emailing, and meeting with perspective investors and breeders who thought this truly was, and would be a better way to buy and sell yearlings.
Our website was open, easy to use, understand and navigate.

The sales came and went and then the hardest part began.
Who would buy these horses?

We advertised with SC, the USTA, HRU, and anyone else we could afford.
We had no marketing budget so everything was right out of pocket.

We were offering to sell shares of horses as small as 1 per cent. But who would want 1 per cent of a yearling?

Well, luckily everyone.

I had emails immediately, from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Dakota, British Columbia, Alberta, Winnipeg, Ireland, the United Kingdom, new Zealand and so on.

As Christmas approached we had 26 investors in two continents for 12 horses.
Some horses had already been sold and although the new owners left the horses with us to train, they didn't feel the need to reprice them immediately.

Then people started buying pieces of horses for loved ones for Christmas.
A UPS driver from Florida bought two per cent of a horse for his wife.
A lady in Ottawa bought 1 per cent for her dad.
Four per cent of a Majestic Son filly for a mother and son in Toronto (thank you Garnet) and 1 per cent to a couple in the GTA, just because.

Then the most incredible thing happened, I came to the barn to train on a Saturday and 15-20 people were there.
It was cold and damp but these people, now owners, came to see their horses.
The couple that bought one per cent, brought five grand kids, their daughter and son-in-law and themselves.

You see as horsemen we were born into this, and along the way we forgot how interesting it is to be an owner.
To see a horse on the track and know it's yours.
The majority of the general public couldn't afford to own a horse before, but we just made it affordable.

Imagine if we sold 100 per cent of a yearling, 1 per cent at a time and every person came with such an entourage?
We would need buses for ownership groups to go watch their horse race.

You see we have always had the commodity to grow this industry exponentially, but we couldn't see the forest for the trees.
Fractional ownership isn't new, syndicates have been around for ever.
Thestable.ca and sites like it to come will make it easy to be an owner, to be able to budget without hidden costs.
To experience the best part of our game will be invaluable to everyone involved with this industry.

We get happy owners who can budget and know what they can afford.
Our industry gets an infusion of revenue, but even more importantly, an infusion of optimism.
These people won't show up and ask for two per cent of a beer or one per cent of chicken wings at the racetrack this summer.
They will show up with friends and family to watch their horse race and we will be happy and excited to see them.

I've seen the Analytics from our site.
I know how many people visit, and for how long they stay on the site.
I know when they come back and what they look at on the site.
I've talked to the people that are interested in investing,
They are just everyday people excited to be included.

When we finally figure out how we need to disperse our money properly so we can race for fair purses across this great province.
When we find a better way to track our horses in the province so we know what we have and what we need.

When we finally have one singular voice for horsemen in Ontario, this site and sites like it will hopefully have compiled a new wave of owners.
Eager, enthusiastic, and hoping and praying to walk into the winners circle on race night.

We have reasons to be optimistic about our future.
The Stable makes me feel like this guy I once saw on TV
Who knows, some of us could all turn out to be a lot like him?
Do you remember him.......

"Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed
A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed,
And then one day he was shootin' at some food,
And up through the ground came a bubblin' crude."

Come out Saturday night to our open house at Woodbine. See what thestable.ca has been up to. Listen to what fractional ownership brings to our industry and see if it's something that may be a good fit for you.

Anthony MacDonald

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