They're only in it for the money?

Question

So I've been seeing this comment thrown all about since Eight Belle's rather tragic death. Not specifically targeting Eight Belle's connections, what is your take on this comment?

Answer 1

Tragically, most race horse owners and breeders ARE in it solely for the money- and the animals they produce are not even seen as living things by most of them. Young racehorses are viewed as "investments" and as "commodities" by those who own and breed them, and with good reason, considering what it can sometimes cost to even get a foal on the ground, never mind raise it until it's old enough to run. There are exceptions to this, such as the Jacksons, who owned Barbaro, and that colt's trainer, Michael Matz. This couple was an exceedlingly RARE example of people who were in the business because they loved their horse, not because of his potential as a stud- they made it clear from the outset that their attempts to save Barbaro's life were motivated by LOVE, NOT MONEY. The trainer, Matz, had and has a similar story in his background, and he responded in much the same way they did. In his case, he's a rare example of someone who came from VERY humble beginnings, and rose to the top of his profession as a result of his own hard work and perseverence. Matz didn't even start RIDING HIMSELF until he was 11 YEARS OLD- and his parents weren't even horse people. He was the son of a plumber and a schoolteacher- which is hardly the pedigree of a major celebrity. The only reason he started riding where and when he did was because his parents happened to live down the road from someone who owned some horses and gave him a job cleaning stalls and that sort of stuff. No one ever expected Matz to go as far as he did, or to do what he has- and certainly, no one ever expected that he would face death in a plane crash and come back from it to win an Olympic medal  in show jumping 3 years later. So when it came time for the Jacksons to pick a trainer for their colt, Matz was a natural choice- because he was just like they themselves were, and shared many of their beliefs and values.

I like Larry Jones- he's a lot like Matz is. He cares about his horses, and there is no way to fake the kind of emotion he was displaying when Eight Belles died so tragically. He was SOBBING on national TV, in an age when it's considered cowardly for ANY man to show emotion or pain, and especially tears. That says something to me about what his true feelings were. Do you know that Matz behaved in a similar way, not long before Barbaro died? There was a story around in one of the papers and online, shortly before the Breeder's Cup that year, when apparently one of the reporters asked Matz to contemplate what might have happened had Barbaro not gotten hurt and sick. Matz was working with the filly Round Pond at the time, and the story went that he had to stop what he was doing and wipe away tears before he could answer the reporter's question. Now, if someone like this can show emotion like that in such a public place, with half the country looking on and watching his every move, they must have at LEAST SOME compassion for the animals they work with, don't you think? Jones did this when his filly died- and he's been wonderfully supportive of the jockey, and has done all in his power to keep this poor 19 year old kid from Panama from being blamed for something which was in no way his fault.

No, I don't believe that Larry Jones was only in this for the money, nor do I believe that the filly's owner was either. Eight Belles was the victim of a lot of different forces coming together, none of which were really the fault of any specific person. If I have to blame something or someone, I would place the blame squarely on the ENTIRE SYSTEM which produced the filly in the first place and demanded that she race under such conditions before she was physically mature and able to handle such work. That's where the blame for her death belongs, if you ask me. Making a public scapegoat out of the trainer or jockey will accomplish NOTHING- and it will do the sport more harm than good.

Interesting question !!

Answer 2

Most are in it for the money. It's a job to a lot for people. Just like anything else. It's ok to work for money, last time I heard.

Answer 3

One can hardly deny that the thoroughbred racing industry is big business and I expect Churchill Downs Incorporated and Magna Entertainment Corporation are the biggest of the businesses leading the industry and one cannot deny that businesses like those are motivated by money. But whether it is for love of the horse and the sport or love of money, one can also not deny that the vast majority of thoroughbred horse owners have strong non-financial motivations and are in it for love of the horse and the sport, that being evidenced by the fact that competing in thoroughbred racing is a huge expense and since only the fastest horses finish in the money, the owners of the rest get no return on the investment in their horse. And as for horses injured on the track, I'm sure one can rightly assume that horses injured at farm stables and in pastures are immensely greater in number than those at race tracks.

Answer 4

no.. not just the money .. since many race horses fail to make money.. in fact less than 10 % make money.. most cost more than they make.. we only see the ones who make money on TV.. but if you go to a track you will see races with lower quality horses.. especially at the small tracks

most of the times they are in it for the PRESTIGUE (spelling?) of owning a race horse... the thrill.. etc..

here is a link I wrote.. I was involved with horses for many years...

http://www.sportales.com/Equestrian/Is-H...

you will note that the accident was "freak" but there are contributing factors to it.. and why we see more accidents like this in North America than happen in the UK.

Answer 5

It was a freak accident that happened to her. The breeding these days makes horses have thin bones witch cause easy breakage.

Answer 6

Anytime you have an indefinite (They're) and a definite(only) in the same sentence, the answer is obvious.  If you look at all thoroughbred owners, the answer is simply no.  Most thoroughbred owners lose money on thier horses.  With costs to keep a horse in training as high as $30K per month, it is hard to turn a profit in horse racing.  See the website www.toba.com for the details of what it costs to own a race horse.  If they are talking about breeders..Well in the breeding of thoroughbreds(I breed and race thoroughbreds), there is a great saying...If you want to become a millionare....the easiest way to do it is....To start out a billionare and then get into the horse breeding business!!  To breed a mare to a good Stallion typically costs over $50K and can go as high as $500K (Storm Cat, just pensioned).  That is a lot of money to try to recoup, on top of the costs of breaking, training, vet and ferrier bills!  The horse business is not a great investment.  In the business we call a great horse a homerun horse.  But even owning a homerun horse does not guarantee a profit.  Fuschai Pegasus won the Kentucky Derby but did not ever earn enough money($1.9 million) to cover the price his owner paid for him at auction ($4 million). Or worse yet, The Green Monkey's owners paid $16 million to have him only win a little over $10K.   In short nobody is in it for the money, it is much too risky and more people lose money than make money! They are in it for the sport, the thrill of the game and if they make a buck, that's even better!

Answer 7

It depends on who we're talking about.  The Porters who lost Eight Belles and the Jacksons who lost Barbaro are not in it only for the money.  Those people have been involved with animals for a long time and they care about their animals, including their racehorses.  Gretchen Jackson went and fed Barbaro bags of grass that she picked at her farm in the mornings.  I've seen Porter on TV recently and he's still very sad about Eight Belles.

There are undoubtedly owners in it just for the money.  I really don't like that Ivarone guy who owns Big Brown because you always see him in a suit and you never see him actually doing anything with his horse.  He created IEAH to make money, not for the horses.  They buy horses for the IEAH group so that the horses make money for the IEAH ownership group.  The impression that I got from him might be wrong... he might care about the horse a great deal... but from the outward appearance, he couldn't care less about the animal, just the money.

Unfortunately the accidents happen to the good owners like the Jacksons :o(