Horseman Anthony MacDonald is taking his message and plan to boost harness racing horse ownership to a university campus next week.
MacDonald, the co-founder of thestable.ca will be at Michigan State University's Anthony Hall on Monday, December 5 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. He will talk about his unique single-share fractional ownership and flat-fee training program that makes racehorse ownership affordable for just about anyone.
Once a harness racing powerhouse, all that remains in Michigan's landscape is Northville Downs and a handful of country fair tracks.
"Michigan serves as a worrying glimpse into the future of horse racing if we continue to neglect our gamblers and not capitalize on investors that are simply waiting for horse racing to ask them to join," MacDonald said.
Thestable.ca - which after only a year in business, has more than 160 owners, many new to the racing game - is proof that these investors exist and are waiting to repopulate the horse racing industry.
Touching on the wide demographic of the average owner in his group, MacDonald will speak about a new era in horse racing being ushered in by fractional ownership and what it can mean for horse racing in both flourishing and failing jurisdictions.
"I'm excited to speak directly to the very types of people we are looking to attract to horse racing," MacDonald said.
"Horse racing is far from dead," he added. "Even in a place where they have all but turned off the lights, there is still a path forward, still a way to build a stronger industry than my generation has ever seen."
(with files from thestable.ca)