anyone ever had a race horse or been in a synd, page-6

Nice stories there Nathan.

I have been part of a large syndicate-West Coast racing syndicate, I think there were 1500 members and we had quite a few horses, over a dozen at one stage. One of our horses won the Karrakata Plate, Climb The Vine, plus a few others had metro wins. NEVER saw a dime, although it was a one only start up fee.They just kept buying other horses etc until it collapsed. Only great benefit was I got tickets for tentland on Perth Cup day for a couple of years and those memories still live on. So I guess be careful with the numbers in the syndicate, the charges and how winnings are used.

Next foray was a third share in racehorse with trainer 2/3rd's. Always a good partnership where trainer has a share. Trainer was Frank Maynard Jnr. This one never made it to track, fell during a trial and didn't recover, and cost me all up about 7.5K.

Next I owned a racehorse all on my own. This was through talking to some people in industry pointing me to the right people for help. I would recommend going through some bloodstock agent for advice and horse selection. I was talking with Murray Tillet from Magic Millions, a good place to sometimes pick up a bargain. I went to sale and basically chose and bid on my own! Horse was quite cheap(7.5k) as unproven sire,but close relations had performed well, always a good point to start but inherently riskier. Found out after I bought it it had a turned in off fore (so employ a good Vet) but even the mighty Northerly had wonky legs so all wasn't lost. Won a trial, surprised many, and things looked promising ran 5th at Belmont in first race start behind a future very good galloper. Then again injury struck. Still I persevered and changed trainers, year in the paddock, and numerous race starts never again showed the same promise. This one cost 60k over the 3-4 years! That money is gone so be very careful with your decisions.Purchase price can be the least of your worries or expenses and when only about 10% of horses make it to the track and even less win, you need a large amount of luck if you don't have a large amount of money.

Moral of the story: I will probably try again one day :(
Once it's in the blood it's there to stay. Could say it is on my bucket list to own a very good horse, one day, who can win a good race.

Good luck to you.