$50,000 per year just to cover bills?

[Fuguzzi]

Oh, you meant 3.50 for a days ration 

[Brown jug]

its all well and good to point out the few cheap yearlings that go on to be great horses, it happens and thats what keeps the game great
but for every yearling that sells for under $50 k that goes on to make $500k there are 99 others that make nothing
look at the top horses in most classes, they have pedigree and they have conformation
to suggest that both or one of those does not matter is ridiculous

[Fuguzzi]

1980s YR/RR   Im charging $45 per day - that gets you ME, A groom, feed, bedding, basic equipment, supplements etc. So, basic is $1500. assuming shoes 1.5 times per month - $250   Now we are at $1,750  Assuming the horse races 3 times in a month, we have 3 paddock fees   I paid grooms $45 for a paddock. If we won I gave a $100 win bonus which came out of my pocket, the owners were free to tip grooms as they pleased   So 3 paddocks per month billed to owner - $135  Now we are around $1,900 per month

If we shipped crosstown that was billed by the shipper   As for the big invariable, the vet, let's just say I did all I could to keep that to a minimum. I did not believe in jugs and rarely injected joints. As for tubing and pre-racing, no comment.  Between horse dentist and vets i tried to keep things to around $300 per month MAX. besided I had Drs. DeCicco, Danvers, Grasso, etc at Yonkers - not much to choose from there. All in all, my bills averaged around $2250 per month, per horse to owners.

[Fuguzzi]

I was around 17 years old when Frank Popfinger in between training sets struck up a brief convo with me because I complimented one of his SS fillies, Stonegate Octane. He said directly, "Kid, if you cant make twice gambling what your horse makes racing, you'll die broke" As many on here may or may not know, Frank was an excellent schemer and strategist, gambler and race fixer. Any of his horses could win on any night from any post and he would sit on them a month. Btw, he did not die broke - when he retired he opened up a fine Italian restaurant in lower Manhattan and that takes cash.

[LAW AND ORDER]

If he thinks it costs 14K per year he's losing money regardless of interpretation.

HIS COST PROBABLY IS 14K PER YEAR BECAUSE HE ONLY OWNS MAYBE 10-15% OF ALL OF THOSE HORSES WITH ERV. SO AT THAT RATE LUCPARK IS REALLY BEING TRUTHFUL BECAUSE HE LEFT OUT THAT 14K PER YEAR IS ONLY FOR HIS SMALL PERCENTAGE OF OWNERSHIP

[PIGLAND]

horsemen are just stealing the slot welfare money

[Fuguzzi]

My gut was always that he is a fractional owner. Big time, principal owners dont have the inclination to talk like he does.

[Larry Bird Boy]

My gut was always that he is a fractional owner. Big time, principal owners dont have the inclination to talk like he does.

100% true. LucPark deep down is a good guy that has a great sense of humor. But he has only own small percentages of the horses with the many trainers he’s had. The big time owners usually keep their mouth shut and are less than friendly people. I’ll refer you guys to look at fellow horseplopper Howard Taylor and when and how he posts here. He’s sharp and his posts make sense and the guy owned many million dollar horses.

[Fuguzzi]

100% true. LucPark deep down is a good guy that has a great sense of humor. But he has only own small percentages of the horses with the many trainers he’s had. The big time owners usually keep their mouth shut and are less than friendly people. I’ll refer you guys to look at fellow horseplopper Howard Taylor and when and how he posts here. He’s sharp and his posts make sense and the guy owned many million dollar horses.

Interesting. No Idea HT was on here. Ty for the info, but unless we know his screen name doesn't help us much   LOL.. 

Only know of him, Not crazy about his trainer choices, especially LT, but that's not my business.

[harnessplop]

Great info

[rainman2]

You forgot about the expenses of training in Florida for the winter. Try 1 thousand each way to ship plus higher feed costs as well as shaving/bedding straw costs.

[PIGLAND]

You forgot about the expenses of training in Florida for the winter. Try 1 thousand each way to ship plus higher feed costs as well as shaving/bedding straw costs.

and big carrots

[rainman2]

and big carrots

And food is more expensive for the people who take of the horses down in Florida too.

[Brown jug]

agree with the comments and figures quoted are accurate
and while i concur that purses have not increased there is a lot of stake money out there to chase
you wont get rich but you can make $50-$60 k with a average/decent horse
the best ones cant race in all the races , there is a lot of overlapping dates
and remember you dont need to recoup the entire yearling purchase price in their 2 yr or even 3 yr old year
really breaking even should be the goal and have some fun

[rainman2]

The cost will come down when the slots handouts go away.

How do costs go down when you will be racing for blankets and trophies instead of money???