We focus on fillies, because they generally have more residual value than colts. The top 10ish colts every year become stallions, while there are thousands of fillies that are worth something at the end of the day. Focusing on fillies also allows us to manage our downside risk. If we buy a share in a filly for $200,000, but that filly is already a Grade 2 winner, that share in the filly might be worth $125,000 - $150,000 even if she never wins another race. If that filly were a colt, that share would likely be worth $0.
How do you decide which horses to buy?
We are looking at racing across the globe every day to try and find the right opportunities. We have had success importing horses from Ireland (or leaving them there on a much smaller scale). Typically, Irish owners are more willing sellers, which creates more value than American horses. We evaluate each horse to see the potential financial upside, as well as the type of experience that a given horse can provide to our partners.
Approximately what % ownership does $50k get you for a top tier thoroughbred?
On average we will own 25% of each horse, so your $50,000 buy-in will be roughly 0.7% of each horse. What we provide is the opportunity to get into a stable of top tier thoroughbreds that are training with top tier trainers. Our model caps the outlay at $50,000, while providing you an opportunity to own shares of horses that would cost millions to do on your own.
Our partners have an equity position in every horse. They are entitled to purse money and any sales price, net after expenses. Typically, we only issue a distribution at the end of the partnership, or at the end of year 2, if we were to extend it to a third year. Our primary goal is to provide our owners with an Exclusive Ownership Opportunity at the Highest Levels of Thoroughbred Racing. Our secondary goal is to manage the horses as well as we can to allow the partnership to perform as well as it can financially. Over the course of time, owning racehorses is not a money-making venture.
Can you explain the partner experience?
We use an App called Racing Manager. We post videos, race previews, race analysis, purchase rationales, and are continually working to expand the content we provide to our partners to help them learn and get the most out of their ownership in Medallion. We provide concierge services for all of our partners who wish to attend the races. Each cycle is different, but we typically have one of our horses run in about 30 races per year located all over the US and potentially in Europe. We can help all of our partners get tickets to race day, as well as the opportunity for paddock and winners circle access. If partners are attending races, at least one of the members of the team try to attend to make sure everything goes smoothly, and our partners get the most out of the experience. We also help organize trips to the backside to see all of our horses in person. We host a KY Derby Handi-capping Event in Lexington every year. Our partners get first priority to tickets which have sold out almost every year we have put on the event. We have Jonathon Kinchen from Fox Sports 1, along with a few other hosts to go through the Oaks and Derby Card. Our team organizes an international trip every year for our partners. This is an opportunity to travel to iconic horse destination and have once in a lifetime experience while we do all of the leg work. In the past few years, we taken groups to Ireland & London/Royal Ascot. Our most recent trip was a week in Ireland that was broken into two parts. The first part of the week we stayed just outside of Dublin at The K Club and spent two days at The Curragh during the running of the Irish Derby. During the second part of our trip, we traveled to Tipperary to visit Coolmore and two training yards and got to visit our recently crowned Royal Ascot winner, Porta Fortuna! We work with The Green Group to provide all financial documents to our partners and host yearly webinars with the head of the The Green Group for all new and returning partners, to help them maximize their investment from a tax perspective.
Can you explain the partner experience?
Scheduled farm visits with mares, foals, and yearlings with me or another coworker when a time is convenient for you. Monthly reports on each horse in the partnership that includes updated photos. Weekly Graded Stakes Racing e-mails with horses that are running that weekend and have a connection to our current roster. We work with The Green Group to provide all financial documents to our partners and host yearly webinars with the head of the The Green Group for all new and returning partners, to help them maximize their investment from a tax perspective. Access to Keeneland Clubhouse tickets during both Spring & Fall meet.