Page 16 - May 2007 The Game

16 The Game, May 2007 Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper
Thoroughbred Niagara New Owners Seminar
Successful Trainer Barb Minshall had a riveting address for the prospective new owners
Photo Right -
James Blainey, Retiring Dofasco Worker Plans to Invest in Thoroughbreds
Photo Below -
The Board of Thoroughbred Niagara, April 14, 2007
More than 30 prospective new horse owners attended the Thoroughbred Niagara New Owners Seminar at the Fort Erie Holiday Inn on Saturday April 14. On top of a comforting buffet lunch, the attendees were given a wide-ranging breakdown of the time, money and disciplines required to own a racehorse.
Champion trainer Barbara Minshall was the guest speaker and gave a Stakes- quality address as she spoke frankly and passionately about the game for more than an hour while answering all questions.
“I was just trying to explain that race- horse ownership is a fun thing to get into,” she said. “You have to get into it with your eyes open. You need to realize all the costs and you need to pick your trainer before you pick your horse and you need to budget and you need to have communication between the trainer and the owners. You try and let everyone know what’s going on. An owner should know the entire cost of owning a race horse and know which level they want to get in before they jump in.”
Minshall’s free information was pure gold to 55 year old James Blainey, who came to the session determined to get into the racing game.
“I’m going to buy a horse,” he said with assurance. “I’m 55 and retiring this year from Dofasco and part of the money I’m getting from Dofasco is going to go into horse racing.”
Blainey listened closely to Barb Minshall and from her words, he has amended some of his thinking
“My initial price just went up,” he said with a laugh. “I know I’m going to spend more money than I thought I was at the
start. You have to know that going in. The idea she had about the $20,000 claimers at Woodbine being able to go down or up made a lot of sense to me. I’m thinking more of a $20,000 horse instead of a $10,000 horse.”
If Minshall had a cautionary note to the prospective new owners, she was also quite enthusiastic about the best parts of the sport.
“There’s nothing like winning even if it’s a cheap claiming race or a big huge Stakes race,” she said passionately. “There’s nothing more fun than seeing a horse that you maybe raised or a yearling that you bought or a two year old develop in to a positive athlete and winning races. You can make money in this business if it’s managed right, if your objectives are right and you stick to your plan of business. Just don’t let your imagination and your dreams run away from your pocketbook.”
Maureen Hewitt-Topp is one of the board members of Thoroughbred Niagara and even though she has been an owner for several years, she gleaned a lot from Minshall’s speech.
“I think this was really important,” she said, “When I started, there really wasn’t any place to find out how to get into racing. I remember when I wanted to get started, I had no idea who to approach. I learned a lot from Barbara today. Over the years, I’ve had a few Fort Erie class horses. The one I did the best with was with a gelding named J.R. Foxy that I claimed out of Charlestown two or three years ago and brought up here. Barb was talking about the low claimers and not being able to run any higher. I think I paid $3,500 American for him and he ran in
the $12,000’s up here. I sent him down to the states and he got claimed off me.”
Another board member, Shirley Wells, also felt better informed because of the guest speaker’s advice.
“I wanted to learn more from Barbara Minshall,” said Wells. “I’ve been an owner for six years. Some of the points she made were awesome and I wish I’d had this to come to before we actually did get into racing. It would have helped a lot.”
After a delightful
buffet lunch, the
attendees heard from
both Tim Orlando,
syndicate manager for
the Canadian
Thoroughbred Horse
Society and Nancy
Sullivan, a lawyer, vet tech and exercise rider.
Barbara Minshall, for one, was both impressed and gratified by the full room.
“It’s very nice to see so many people come out for this,” she said. “This area really needs a racetrack like Fort Erie and hopefully Fort Erie can continue to provide good racing. I came down to Fort Erie in 1995 with Kiridashi and was the first woman to win the Prince of Wales. Then I came back and won it again the
next year with Stephanotis. I love Fort Erie Racetrack. I think Ontario needs more than one racetrack. There’s a lot of interest in this area.”
On top of an informative session and a hearty meal, Thoroughbred Niagara held a silent auction meeting also conducted a silent auction of horse related paintings and paraphernalia that raised $170 for the LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society. - PG
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Alberta Groom School - Class of 2007
Class of 2007 - Certified Grooms Training Program, Olds College, Alberta Assistant instructor Nicole Pulu, Michelle Hamilton, Michelle McKinnon, Laura Crysler, Adrian Lee, Becky Kapush, Tennille Jordan, Jennifer Bayley, Christine Smith
and Head instructor Theresa Sealy. Missing is Lydia McClair.
The Olds College Groom program attracted students from across Canada as well as overseas: Adrian Lee is from The U.K., Laura Crysler is form Vancouver, B.C.,
Becky Kapush is form Thunder Bay, Ontario.and Lydia McClair is form Nova Scotia. The remainder of the class were from Alberta.
All of the graduating students have retained employment in the racing industry. - Nicole Pulu