Courtesy of txracehorse.com
Decades ago, Eddie Chiles’ Western Company of North America urged viewers on television and drivers on thoroughfares (think bumper stickers) that, “If you don’t have an oil well, get one!”
Meaning that there were ways that you, too, despite the costs involved in drilling and maintaining a drill site, can get in the oil business.
There’s an adage that has made the rounds that if you want to be a millionaire in the horse business, you better start as a billionaire. And, certainly, like any other endeavor, billionaire status is very helpful in the horse business.
To say the least.
However, that doesn’t mean you have to be a crown prince of an oil-rich constitutional monarchy to be in the horse game. The Texas Thoroughbred Association today is using similar language to Eddie Chiles’: If you don’t have a thoroughbred racehorse, get one!
Sam Houston Race Park in Houston is hosting a seminar on how to own and race a Texas-bred horse in conjunction with the race track’s opening day on Thursday. The event will be hosted by handicapper Fred Faour and Mike Renfro, the Fort Worth native who played football at TCU and then professionally in the NFL for the Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys. Time is short, but go here to see about reserving a place for it. There's a lot of information on the site, if you can't make it. And additional seminars are planned for Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie in the spring, organizers say.
There are reasons more are wanting to get in the action after a years-long stagnation in purses in Texas racing. The Horse Industry Escrow Account passed by the Texas Legislature -- which hasn't always been the best friend of the industry -- that kicked in in 2020 has had an impact.
In 2019, before the escrow account, which is accrued through a sales tax on purchases of horse-related items (such as feed and tack), thoroughbred horse purses reached only $13.4 million, according to available data. In 2020, a year full of Covid distractions and interruptions, thoroughbred purses jumped to $17 million, and in 2021, those numbers scaled heights, climbing to $26.5 million, a 100% increase over 2019.
That's data that will get the attention of a businessman or a businesswoman.
Renfro was bitten by the horse bug more than 30 years ago as his football career was winding down. He seems to like horse racing more than he ever liked football. And he loved football.
Renfro bought his first horse, Dr. Death, in 1988. He was on the Cowboys’ injured reserve list. I’ll let him tell the story.
“You had to attend practice,” says Renfro, today 66 years old. “But on game day, you were kind of free to go [since he wasn’t playing]. A lot of guys hang around for the game on the sidelines. It was hard for me to do that at that point. I wanted to be away. So, I caught myself going to the racetrack in Shreveport.”
Renfro had already fallen for the horses, having visited Kentucky on Derby Day and seeing all the goings-on on the backside. There, spectators see all the inside things, like what the horse is doing to prepare for the race.
He bought in half on Dr. Death against the advice of his wife and business agent, he says.
“I did it anyway,” he says, “but the catch was that the day after I bought him he was a 2-to-1 favorite. I get just about all my money back in one day if he wins.
He tells the story of that day a way a child might of Santa’s recent visit. He was with a couple of teammates and another buddy or two. Dr. Death turns the corner for the stretch … .
“I’ve scored touchdowns all my life since I was 9 years old,” Renfro says. “Here I am 33 … I’ve seen TDs, never played in a Super Bowl unfortunately, but played in everything else. I don’t know if it was this new thrill but watching this horse battle down the stretch and stick his nose up at the wire to win was exhilarating. I’ve really never looked back.”
Dr. Death won almost $400,000 in his career.
There are lots of ways to go about owning and racing a thoroughbred. Doing it yourself, of course, can get expensive.
Feeding and training the steed, veterinarian costs, paying a blacksmith for shoes, and travel expenses, among others, can run upwards of $40,000 a year, says Renfro and Steve Asmussen, the Hall of Fame trainer. Many owners have three or four horses going, so that math escalates quickly.
But you don’t have to be in on it by yourself.
Horse syndicates are a group of people who buy into the syndication and become co-owners of fractional interests in a racehorse (or horses) or perhaps a stallion for breeding. Pooling resources translates to more purchasing power. One guy might not be able to afford a $200,000 horse, but 10 friends together might be able to afford $20,000 each.
The syndicate also shares the ongoing expenses.
Horses are bought through claiming races, sales (public auction), and private purchase.
You can buy into a horse for as little as $2,000, Renfro estimates. There is also the relatively new phenomenon in horse racing, the micro share. Horse racing fans can go to myracehorse.com and buy a .01% share for a low as $80.
It’s a fun way to get involved.
“The first step is good sound advice,” Renfro says of buying a horse. “Do some homework, understand who the successful people are, try to attach yourself with those people — verify that they are completely honest — there’s a lot of people who get in it, and if they’re in with the wrong people they’ll end up not having a good experience, to say the least, and invest more money than they probably needed to. There’s a lot of inexpensive opportunities today, especially today.”
And many of the good, successful people in racing are actually accessible, Renfro says. It’s not like trying to go to Tiger Woods for advice on a 3-iron. Asmussen, North America's all-time leader in training wins with more than 9,445, is one of those.
“He trains for the richest people in the world, but he also trains for those who don’t have a lot of money,” says Renfro, who works for CJ Thoroughbreds. “He just wants to win. He loves to win at all levels.”
The most important part of the game is the genetics. That’s where the game is played.
Bloodlines are everything in horse racing.
“You don’t get cats from dogs,” Asmussen jokes.