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Early Retirement: Who Really Profits?
03/30/2009
Everyone knows when it comes to race horses, horse breeding is big business. A winning race horse costs at least a quarter of a million dollars—sometimes more. Horse breeding is a way of ensuring that a race horse owner gets a good return on his investmen
Everyone knows when it comes to race horses, horse breeding is big business. A winning race horse costs at least a quarter of a million dollars—sometimes more. Horse breeding is a way of ensuring that a race horse owner gets a good return on his investment. If the parents were champion race horses, the logic goes, their offspring will inherit these skills. But in order to gain the competitive edge, race horse owners are becoming increasingly aggressive about the lengths they will go to guarantee champion race horse breeding.
Many owners are pushing their horses into early retirement as a way of extending their horse breeding life. A champion mare can only produce at most a foal a year over the course of her life, which in terms of horse breeding means that the longer she is retired, the more foals she can produce. And at over $1,000,000 a foal for a champion mare ($200,000 for a stakes-winning mare), this means real money for the owner.
In his article “Racehorses Reap Big Profits by Taking Early Retirement,” Steven Crist asks the question: when horse breeding takes precedent over horse racing, who profits? Certainly not the fans. Crist brings up the case of Devil’s Bag, a Thoroughbred who was favored to win the Triple Crown, but was forcibly retired when an X-ray revealed a bone chip in his knee. Devil’s Bag could make a lot of money horse breeding, sure, but racing fans would never be able to see if he could make good on his early promise.
Indeed, by putting horse breeding before horse racing, Devil’s Bag’s owner was also being dishonest. Because Devil’s Bag was a colt, the length of time he had to be used for horse breeding would not be affected. Unlike mares, which can only foal after retirement, a stallion can start horse breeding in the off-season. So why force Devil’s Bag into early retirement? Because the owner knew there was a possibility Devil’s Bag would never become a champion racehorse with a hurt knee. As a potential champion, Devil’s Bag could be worth $4,000 for each horse breeding session. As a proven loser, that price drops down to $1,000 or lower.
But financial greediness aside, could forced retirement for horse breeding be the thing that saves a horse like Devil’s Bag? Say a horse does heal after a leg injury—even if he’s a colt, and the injury heals fast, that leg will always be weak. With an increased chance of a serious injury, the owner could be putting the horse’s life at risk. And if the horse had such a serious injury it had to be put down, there would be no chance of horse breeding whatsoever. Would racing fans really benefit from the loss of future generations of champion runners?
Without a doubt, racing horse owners have something to gain through early horse breeding. And it could be argued that fans, to, have something to be gained with early retirement—early retirement for horse breeding makes for faster horses, more thrilling shows, and less injury. But regardless of whose side profits more, one winner is clear: the horses themselves. Early retirement for horse breeding means a lifetime of safety, pampering, and leisure for a horse. And isn’t celebrating the beauty of a horse what horse racing is supposed to be about anyway?
