The final accounting has been done and we reached 178 members this season! A really nice increase over last season and that means our coffers have $44,500 from our members plus our licensed owner Curt Sampson’s $5,000, gives us $49,500 to start the season with.
I have already been in touch with Clay Brinson and we are actively looking for horses in the $7500 – $10,000 range. We will be looking for two to start and then perhaps even a third depending upon how things go. I like to have a nice reserve in the bank and make sure that several months of bills are in storage before we go forward to buy another horse.
One of the earliest – and most expensive – lessons that new owners learn is how expenses can mount up and how quickly reserves can be exhausted if you’re not careful. It’s important not to overextend. While this is a game supported by wagering and we do make a gamble when we claim a horse, finances are an area where gambling should be kept to a minimum.
So the next step is to get us a couple of swift runners that can carry us to the Mystic Lake Winners’ Circle. As I believe I mentioned in a past post, we like to claim in a range where there is some room to drop in class if we have to in order to keep the horse competitive. If you claim at the bottom, there is no room to drop if you realize that the speed isn’t there and then you have a problem. I also like to see some consistency – not a lot of long layoffs as well as a horse that is nearly always in the hunt. I like to agree with our trainer! If Clay doesn’t like a horse, for whatever the reason, I will nearly always defer. The horse is in his care, will be in his barn and he is the professional we entrust to train and evaluate the talent of our runners. If I could do THAT part of the business, I’d be a trainer – obviously I am not. And finally I’d like to see a recent 30-day break – or at least a horse that hasn’t been over-raced – which indicates to me that the horse won’t need freshening during our relatively short meet here at Canterbury.
This was a record breaking year for membership and each and every year the Club has been in existence it has grown. Here’s hoping we break some wins and earnings records as well!
Canterbury Racing Club 
178 – That’s great! Can’t wait for the season to start!
Clay has been phenomenal working for us and I would trust him also. It will be nice starting with slightly higher level horses. I like your thinking behind what to look for in horses for the Club.
Thank you to Curt Sampson for being our licensed owner and putting up the $5000. We couldn’t do this without him.
Counting the days…..
Will we have a horse race to race on opening week-end ?
That depends, Ann. We should be able to claim a horse or two between now and opening day to get started but will there be a race for that horse opening weekend? Depending on how close we are to opening weekend when we claim the horse(s), will the horse be able to run back that quickly? If there is a race for our horse opening weekend, will we get into the race or will that particular race fill with enough entrants to run? So there are a lot of variables involved in whether or not we will be ready to race on a specific date. We are, however, actively engaged in looking for horses right now and would like to be ready for the entire meet from beginning to end.
I dropped out of accounting for several reasons…… there are actually 179 members plus Mr. Sampson……
in accounting close enough did not cut it…..in PR you can make some things up as you go.
jm
With about a month until live racing, where are we looking to claim? Are we mostly looking in chicago? Is tampa still an option?
We are only looking to actively claim in Chicago right now.
Will we look at claiming a horse from Prairie Meadows now that their season is underway?
Probably not and I will cover claiming in a post shortly since there are a lot of rules and they can vary considerably from track to track.
Certainly looks some good claiming candidates in the 5th race next Friday Hawthorne. Seem to fit the bill for some consistent runners who have had some recent time off. Some of these have some good back race history too.
Thanks, Curt.
I see that Clay claimed Ask Eddy today out of the 7th race at Hawthorne. Do we have a horse?
Quick answer is yes. Long answer to come later today/early tomorrow in this space.
Hmmm….”Long answer to come later…” doesn’t sound real upbeat 🙂
Not at all. I just didn’t want to answer with an entire blog post. So “yes, he is in the barn” but all the details will follow in a more complete blog post about the horse.
Looking forward to the Blog post….just worried after Ask Eddy finished last in the race after starting strong….thought something may have happened to him….no need to reply….I’ll wait for the blogpost later. Thanks!
Now that the Hawthorne’s meet has ended, what is the next step in finding some horses for the Club. Looking forward to this season!
Look for a new blog post in the next day or so, but we will be active at Canterbury as well.