TOC Panel 8: Clockwise top left: Gary Falter (moderator), Jeff Bloom, Braxton Lunch and Clark Shepherd.
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The Jockey Club Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky.—The eighth installment in the 2024 OwnerView webinar series was held on October 1 and discussed the benefits that come with owners having professional advisors and agents and the importance of having a business plan.
The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and The Green Group. The panel was sponsored by Walmac Farm.
A Q&A was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, and attendees were able to ask questions through a Q&A link, which were then answered at the end of the webinar.
The panel consisted of Braxton Lynch, co-founder and racing manager of BBN Racing; Clark Shepherd, founder of Shepherd Equine Advisers; and Jeffrey R. Bloom, founder of Bloom Racing. Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, was the moderator.
The webinar began with a discussion on what professional advisors can do for owners and why it’s important to have one. Braxton states that advisors can help in many ways, whether that be selling a horse at the end of its career, taking it to a barn for breeding, dealing with injuries, buying a horse initially, etc.
“We all have those key relationships and the unique benefit of having, you know, a wealth of knowledge as it relates to the years spent developing those relationships and understanding how to best maximize the potential of your client’s investment, protecting your client’s investment and also ensuring that the client can enjoy themselves.” Bloom says, “With an advisor slash agent, you’re helping to facilitate all of that as best as possible.”
All panel members think it’s important for owners to have a developed business plan when it comes to the industry. Bloom states that it is critical to the success of the operation as well as the owner to have some kind of vision, no matter how small or how large the owner is wanting to start. Understanding their expectations and budget, as well as other components, is key to the owner having a good experience.
Shepherd agrees, saying that being able to sit down and talk through the owner’s plan with them is crucial, allowing them to be on the same page. Going off of this, it is also important that the advisors make owners aware of any pitfalls that could happen in the industry.
“I think it’s paramount that you have those relationships, and the expectations are there. Again, you know, a lot of people can promise the upside but it’s those bottoms that are really, really hard and those phone calls at five in the morning that something’s gone wrong on the track.” Shepherd says, “Success is relative too, you know. It’s not easy to win any race, anywhere at any level, these days… If you can maintain, have fun, stay alive and not try to force the homeruns, because most of these big swingers that swing for the fences, they strike out a lot… The homeruns will generate themselves if you stay steady.”
Regarding considering a horse to purchase, some of the most important things owners should consider are not only pedigree and confirmation, that can both be taught to look out for, but unteachable things such as assigning value to a horse and not going over the budget that is set for themselves. Lynch says that having a plan, but also being able to adapt are good things to practice.
When buying privately, Bloom says that you have a broader market since owners don’t have to limit themselves to the U.S. and they can also test the horse’s soundness. Shepherd highlights the idea that there is less competition when buying privately.
Falter asked how one becomes an advisor. Although there is no official organization that provides oversight or certification to becoming an advisor, Lynch says, “I think a lot of people need to just put the miles in. Go out there and look at the horses. Follow those horses, the ones you like, follow them and see what they did. Go work for a trainer, work for a bloodstock agent. That’s how you build your knowledge base.”
Two additional Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panels are scheduled for 2024.
The next session, “State Incentive Programs,” will be held November 5 at 2 p.m. ET. A full schedule can be found here:bit.ly/OVSchedule.
There is no registration fee for the 2024 virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference series, including the schedule of panels and registration, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com.
OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.
