$50,000 per year just to cover bills?

[Dingus]

It’s about 14 k a yr to race a horse

Nothin big

    Maybe if you turn them out for 8 months   

[Wild bull]

If you factor in the price of the yearling, you need $100,000 just to break even the first year and how many do that?  Trainers have to realize that it is reaching a point of no return to own a harness horse if this trend continues.  How much hay and oats can a horse injest in a month to warrant $2000 for just the daily training fee?  If 3 horses are being shipped to the same place, why aren't the fees divided equally to pay for the shipping?  Paddock fees are OK if the trainer sends someone else to watch the horse but why is the trainer adding fees if they do it themselves?  The 'nickel' and 'diming' has becomes GRANTS and FRANKLINS added to these bills.  It is similar to cable triple play bills.  At what point does the consumer say, 'the heck with this' and  do without that?    so are you telling me that a trainer shouldn't get paid to paddock wtf is that nobody does shit for free anymore that has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard you win asshole of the year award

[rainman2]

  Maybe if you turn them out for 8 months   

The 14K is 4 months training @ 3000/month, and $ 1000 each way to ship to Florida and back up north!!

[Calhoun]

horsemen are just stealing the slot welfare money

1,000%

They cheat the bettors every day.

[Parked]

From when the hammer falls at the sale to July first when they should be racing I figure $18,000 to $19,000 including state SS and a few other stake payments and no surprise vet bills.  That is up 15 to 20% from pre pandemic figures. 
Yearlings bought at Harrisburg, Fl. Trained. 
I have had yearlings for years. Do they have to be in Fl.?  No.. but if I cant afford to train a yearling where the temperatures are at least moderate, no frozen tracks and they can train on a schedule not when weather or track conditions permit,  I can’t afford a yearling. 

[Generation XYZ]

Because there will be less demand. The price of anything used to race will have to be dropped or they will sit on the shelf. Lower purses mean less horses racing which means less demand for everything. Simple supply and demand.

If thats the case join 4H and show horses. 

[LimeTime]

 Seems the market dictates what anything costs. If the yearlings sell for big money the bidding did that. If its multi millionaires hobby so be it, then the little guy gets priced out of the market.