anyone ever had a race horse or been in a synd, page-4

Yeah. Had a 2% share. Basically a syndicate within a syndicate. A group of 5 set up a syndicate and purchase a 10% share. We owned the horse, it made heaps on the track and was sold for a large profit at the end for breeding.

After that success we graduated to a 5% share. This time it was leased not owned. No upfront cost. Won just under $300K over a 3year career then we gave her back to the breeder. After training and race fees we made a very small profit. But lost by betting.

Next, greed took over even more. We bought a horse outright and ended up with 10%. She placed a few times. About $10k prizemoney over a couple years. Sold her for nothing. Lost a heap after all fees.

My advice is start small. Dont pick the horse let the trainer do it. Go for a filly. Colts are rowdy and if it was cheap then being a colt adds no value. A gelding has minimal use after racing other than show horse. But a filly can become a broodmare.

I'd say own a share rather than lease. Lease has no upfront cost (only monthly fees) but if you fluke a good one you have to give it up in 3years. Mind you, if it is a dud you can give it back early and not be respomsible for upkeep or finding a new home (knackery?). So their are some benefits.

I'd say dont buy into the spring carnival hype. Most will be overpriced. Many are now 'ready to race' but the good ones were all soldout months ago. You are buying the leftovers. But champions can come from anywhere.

Training of a city class horse is circa $25k/year. Plus race noms. Major races can cost $10k to enter. Paying one tenth makes sense.

Personally I'd go a cheapy. Some argue the training cost outweight the purchase price and better value spending big. But personally you need to make around $75k over 3years just to break even. So why add another $100k worth of purchase costs to that?

Dont forget first prize is usually only about 60% of the prizemoney. Trainer typically gets 10% and jockey 5%. You need a few wins to make money.

Agree with others. Check monthly invoices. Vet bills add up. Make sure it is reasonable. But the most important part is having an honest trainer. They will string you along for years with hope of a win. No wonder, they are earning 25k for the pleasure. Knowing when to pull the pin and sell/retire the horse is vital even if training keeps pushing for one more preparation.