Well actually just 1/10th of one percent.
On a whim I decided to participate in one these increasingly common "anyone can afford" syndicates. For $210 I own a share. This is completely different from the racing partnership I was part of twenty years ago. That was a general partnership where we all had a voice, as well as income and expenses, equal to the portion of the horse we owned. This is a passive investment that's more like owning a stock. The good news is that owners shouldn't ever have to pay additional money, no matter how poorly the horse does, because future expenses are included in the share price.
Vertical Threat was a $100,000 purchase from a 2yos-in-training auction in Florida a few months ago. He had his first workout, just going two furlongs, yesterday and he was the fastest of the seven youngsters who worked that distance that morning. (In theory, had all seven been in a race together, Vertical Threat would have won by two lengths.) He's with a southern Cal trainer who expects him to debut around Labor Day. The current Del Mar meet, near San Diego, ends that day. After that, the circuit moves to Santa Anita outside Pasadena.
The same outfit has a few other youngsters available and it was tempting to get a share in each, but I resisted. I did, after the fact, ask Em, who runs my racing game, about the syndicate group, because she's a journalist and photographer in the industry, with a focus on southern California where she lives. She doesn't know anything about the people behind the syndicate group, but did say that the most expensive youngster they offer, at $320 for a .1% share, is "rumoured to be a star". Well, contrarian that I am, I'll just stick with my underdog boy. Em said that when Vertical Threat moves from the San Luis Rey training center to the track that she'll try to get some photos of him. She wondered if I was going to visit when he races... uh, that's not in my plans. At least, not at this point.
Vertical Threat is indeed "all boy". As one can see from the photo, he pretty much exposes himself whenever he's at rest. In the vid from the auction, after he was purchased, he's whinnying constantly, wanting any girl horses to know that he's a big boy with all the right parts. That's why a lot of riding stables don't allow uncastrated colts on the grounds -- they're so obnoxious. I won't be surprised if Vertical Threat is gelded before long, but so far no mention of that.
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