TRACKSIDE
TRACKSIDE A look at stories in the news from tracks across North America.
Thoroughbred OwnerView Conference The only bad news with a great opening act is that it’s a tough act to follow. And by any judgment, from vastly different perspectives, the first Thoroughbred OwnerView Conference at Keeneland in October, 2014, wasn’t just a home run, but a grand slam. How do you top that? We’ll find out in January, when the second OwnerView Conference is unveiled at Gulfstream Park, January 11-14th, a perfect lead-in to the January 16th Eclipse Awards at the very same venue, the Sport of Kings Theater. While helping fulfill owner Frank Stronach’s vision of Gulfstream Park as a unique, vital equine destination punctuated by a $30 million magnificent statue of Pegasus, the second conference will be another vital step for an industry that has cried for ways to lure new owners for decades. The first conference finally gave prospective owners first-hand access to information crucial to making that
WORDS: BILL HELLER
initial investment in a Thoroughbred. “Many owners told us that getting into the ownership ‘was like a board game without any instructions,’” Gary Falter said. Falter heads Thoroughbred OwnerView, the website and information resource developed by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). The impetus for Thoroughbred OwnerView came from a comprehensive study of the sport commissioned by The Jockey Club in 2011. The study found a need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership. Falter, a Thoroughbred owner and breeder since 1981, was assigned by The Jockey Club to start Thoroughbred OwnerView. The website, www.ownerview.com, which launched in May of 2012, offers detailed
Adena Springs held a welcome reception for 2014 conference attendees 78
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information about more than a dozen aspects of Thoroughbred ownership including trainers, syndicates, stallion farms, breaking/ training, licensing, vets, publications, and aftercare. Even experienced owners, fans, and media will find useful, comprehensive material presented in an easy-to-use format. “Phase one was the website,” Falter said. “Phase two is this conference, this information that was missing. Penny Chenery said she wished she had access to that information when she started out and needed it.” Chenery, the owner of Secretariat and Riva Ridge, was just one of the celebrities who put substantial sizzle into the first conference. The keynote speaker was Gary Player, one of the world’s greatest golfers and a Thoroughbred owner and breeder for decades in his native South Africa. Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron was another. Tom Durkin, too. “Basically, it was the Hall of Fame,” George Bolton, co-owner of Curlin, said. “People loved it. There was electricity in the air all the time. If you’re from Iowa and you’re 10 feet away from these kind of people, it’s exactly what we need to be doing. A lot of people questioned whether or not this should happen. You had a lot of people taking a risk. Is it going to work? I think this conference proved to be a success. It should be done on an annual basis. I will definitely go to Gulfstream. I’m trying to get my peers involved.” Many of them were at the first conference. Pete Bradley of Bradley Thoroughbreds in Lexington, Kentucky, was one of the panelists speaking about purchasing horses. Bradley, who pinhooked the undefeated Lady Eli, was blown away by the quality of the conference. “I thought they did an exceptional job,” he said. “Most of the time, conferences are wellmeaning and get good people to speak, but all they conjure is fans, not people who want to become owners.” The cost of the three-day conference was $750, which remains the cost for the second conference in January with an option of buying a $350 ticket for the social events only. Many attendees came a good way to be at the first one. “You don’t go that distance and spend that amount of money for nothing,” Bradley said. “I think they attracted as good a group of people who were truly interested