Thoroughbred racing is a multibillion-dollar international horse sport, the largest horse industry in the world. And racing’s leaders have recognized for years that two groups of people are absolutely fundamental to its prosperity and existence. These two groups are horse owners and horse breeders.
In every racing magazine, before and after every major race, the owners and breeders are recognized and referred to prominently in all the featured articles. Owners, especially, be-come almost synonymous with the deeds of their famous horses. We think of Penny Chenery’s Secretariat, Allen Paulson’s Cigar, Samuel Riddle’s Man o’War, Jack Price’s Carry Back. In Thoroughbred racing, the owner is king.
In the results of every race, the owner’s name, not the jockey’s or the trainer’s, is most prominently displayed. The breeder also gets credit in the results of every stakes race listed in industry magazines like The Blood-Horse and The Thoroughbred Times.
Post-race photographs often show the owner leading his or her horse to the winner’s circle, and the winner’s circle photographs show the winning owner surrounded by beaming family and friends, receiving the trophy.
Now contrast this happy scene with what happens to the typical owner of the typical show or event horse. What does this owner usually receive? You guessed right. The bills! That’s it. Great incentive, don’t you think, to keep owners forking over fistfuls of money so that other people get all the recognition?
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Obviously in the more “hands-on” horse sports, many of the riders and drivers are also the owners, so the recognition they receive as the contestant glosses over the fact that their ownership of the horse is usually ignored. As horses become increasingly expensive, though, more and more competitors are riding horses owned by other people.
In most of the horse sports, excluding racing, any recognition coming to the owner or, very rarely, to the breeder, has to come from the person riding or driving the horse. Many of our athletes understand this well, and are extremely appreciative of the opportunities given them by others. They keep in close touch by phone, e-mail and regular mail, and they make owners a real part of the team. This may be reward enough for many owners, especially those owners who are also the parents of the athletes involved.
I can’t help thinking, though, that Thoroughbred racing knows something very basic about human nature that we in the other horse sports haven’t yet grasped. People, in general, appreciate recognition for what they contribute.
The very occasional owner or breeder of a particularly famous horse might be the subject of an article once in a blue moon, and sometimes we’ll see a reference to “John Smith riding Sally Johnson’s Keepsake,” but this is rare. In the sport horse magazines, the huge emphasis is first on the rider or driver, then on the horse, then on the trainer or coach. Way down the list, the owner may get a cursory mention. The breeder is invariably ignored, although that’s often because no one knows who the breeder is.
So far, our sports have gotten away with this attitude, proof that P. T. Barnum was right. As he said, “There’s a sucker born every minute!” I’m only half joking when I say that you have to be something of a sucker to support sports that act as if you don’t exist.
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Why can’t we begin to institute a few of the kinds of recognition that racing employs so wisely. The winner’s circle, and winner’s circle photographs, are reasonably easy places to start. I’ve been in some of the most unlikely places on earth, like garages and diners, and seen old winner’s circle photographs, either of Thorough-breds or Standardbreds, hanging on the wall. You know that the people who owned these horses didn’t really make any money. They owned horses for the fun of it and perhaps even for that bright little moment of transient glory. That’s human nature, and it’s nothing to be cynical about.
I think the managers and organizers of bigger shows and bigger events should seriously consider instituting some kind of winner’s circle, like the organizers of the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** have done for the last few years. Bring in the owner, family and friends, take the photographs’what can it hurt? We’re constantly trying to get economic support for our various sports, so why don’t we show more recognition and appreciation for those who already are supporters?
Perhaps the prominent horse journals could begin to refer to the winning horses in conjunction with the names of the owners, again, if only in the more significant classes and competitions. I’m aware this causes more work for the beleaguered show secretaries to put together a program or, at least, list of entries with the owners’ names, and it requires more space in the magazines. But when balanced against the positive gains, it’s probably a small price to pay.
Racing magazines frequently list the leading owners usually in terms of money won. Perhaps this could become a staple of sport horse magazines, if not in dollars won, then in points accrued.
There is an old, cynical saying about treating owners like mushrooms: “Keep them in the dark and feed them lots of horse manure.”
But most horse owners aren’t that naïve. Most of them didn’t get to the point where they’re capable of supporting an expensive animal like a horse by being stupid. Owners and breeders are so fundamental to our various horse sports that it’s time we take a page from racing’s book and start to accord them the appreciation, recognition and respect they deserve.