Emily Daignault: Tips for Buying at the Track

Emily Daignault was a finalist in the 2012 EN Blogger Contest and is part of a Facebook group called OTTB Connect. With many years in the racehorse business combined with her eventing experience and success on the Thoroughbred show circuit, Emily can speak to both sides of the equation in the OTTB market. Looking for your next sport horse off the track?  Here are some shopping tips to keep in mind. Many thanks to Emily for writing, and thank you for reading.

Photo by Emily Daignault

From Emily:

So it occurs to me that maybe I should discuss what can be very bad moves for the average horse owner, especially those buying off the track. Let’s discuss how to acquire your future horse so that it’s a win win for all.

First off….I know it’s tempting when you see the drool-worthy horse that falls inside your price point to run to the track and be the first trailer there with a fistful of cash and you feel like “I Won!!” But this isn’t a wise move a lot of times. There’s a reason that folks like me preach to have a vetting of some type done. There are issues you may not see on the surface that can destroy your future goals with a horse of your dreams. Even if you just pay a vet $50 to make sure his heart, eyes, lungs and legs all work in the right ways… it could save you from a lifetime of heartache, not to mention the abuse your wallet could take.

Second….”But Emily If I don’t buy Dobbin RIGHT AWAY someone else will get him!! And I want him”

This is VERY common. This also can lead to disaster. I get that we all WANT a pretty and nice horse to love on. But sometimes it’s best to remember to think with your mind, not your heart. Is this horse a good match? Are you truly ready and able to take a TB off the track? Do you know what all is involved in the retraining process? Do you know what Racehorse crashing looks like? Do you have a vet who is able to help the animal with his transition if meds are needed? Do you have a trainer who can help you navigate this process? Do you have a farrier skilled in helping a racehorses feet get put on track for the optimal results and health? Do you have a barn to keep the horse at the has people experienced in handling horses that could become high strung or may need reinforcement of the basic ground manners?

All of these need to be a yes. Not some. All.

Now here’s why this is important. Take a look on any Craiglist site near a track and look how many ads there are for horses off the track 3-18 months with an owner that can’t ride it or deal with it anymore. This btw for those of us looking for nice horses dirt cheap is where I tend to wade around. Because someone who is ill suited for a TB will figure it out and want that horse gone and people like me know how to get it back on track. That said… don’t be the person to buy it and have a bad time, lose a years worth of board on a horse you don’t get along with and who made you miserable because your reality with it was not that of National Velvet, Black Beauty, or Phar Lap. (See Wikipedia if you don’t get that reference.)

Now the Do’s:

1.) Do the research. READ their ENTIRE race history.

2.) Where possible watch Videos of their races.

3.) Ask any friendly more knowledgeable Thoroughbred person to look at their records with you and help translate what you don’t understand.

4.) Ask the trainer logical TB questions. Do not embellish into Show questions.

Example: Track Question: “Has this horse been sound for you the entire time you’ve had it? If not, why not?
Show Question…”What kind of a mover is he?” (The answer will always be good. LOL)

Track Question: “Can I talk to his exercise rider to discuss how he goes in the mornings?”

Show Question: “How fast do you make him go?” (This is usually where the trainer starts counting how many toenails he could pull out and how it would hurt far less.)

5.) Vet the horse. (Yes even the freebies.) If it works for you, Buy the horse.

6.) Do not worry about papers. In the grand scheme of things they mean nothing and while it’s a nice novelty to have, you having the papers means to the trainer that the horse could end up back on the track, which they don’t want. As a compromise, ask for a photocopy of the papers, so you have it for your records and so they know the horse will never run again.

(Sidenote: Writing “Horse not to run again” or whatever on the papers doesn’t work to keep them from running. The actual reality is that by “defacing” the papers this way you have in fact created a situation where the Jockey Club will issue new papers [for the horse to run] because the old papers were considered defaced. IE, not usable. Horse keeps running and all you did was waste some ink.)

7.) Don’t be afraid to say no. To the price, to the purchase, to anything. If your body is telling you “uhhhh I don’t know about this…” LISTEN to it and walk. As we all know sadly there are always more horses coming down the pike.

IF you have questions… feel free to ask. I will do my best to answer.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments