Show me the money
by Trey Nosrac
Every reimagination of new concepts for harness racing starts with the same question: Where does the money come from?
Early ideas for potential new ways to play our sport aren’t blueprints; they’re flexible templates with countless variations. Any attempt to put a plan into action would require cost analysis and decisions such as ownership models, geographic location, season length, scheduling, staffing, and scale, to name a few.
That’s a lot to consider. But the economics must make emotional sense to the people who participate, create, or invest. We can debate purity, tradition, and ideals all day, but most of us can agree on three principles:
• Participants need a chance to win money.
• Investors need to believe they’re parking their assets in a sound business.
• Passion alone does not pay bills.
If we are attempting to emulate stakes racing, the starting point should be a blunt question: what percentage of yearlings actually return a profit to their owners?
The answer is sobering. Based on purchase prices, training costs, veterinary expenses, and staking fees, roughly 5-10 per cent of 2024 yearlings finished their careers economically ahead. If we tighten the definition to meaningful profit, money left over after all realistic expenses, the number shrinks further. A more honest estimate is 3-7 per cent. The remaining 90+ per cent aren’t “failures,” they are simply participants in a challenging system.
These are the numbers we must match or exceed if we hope to create a sport that is a second cousin to a game we enjoy.
In a proposed League of Our Own model, participating horses should require roughly 3-7 per cent to return an actual profit to their owners. The model is similar to stakes racing, but it comes with trade-offs. Owners will find a more intimate, comfortable arena. However, in most of these models, participants are not going to stumble into ownership of a world champion horse, compete in upper-tier stakes, or run in Grand Circuit racing. Wealthy individuals are encouraged, but their edge over middle-tier players will shrink because, in this model, losses are capped, transparent, and survivable.
This particular model is a hybrid. While owners of the best individual horses in this pool will earn points that convert into money, owners will also be members of 10-horse teams aligned with barns that compete for season-long points. All members of the top-performing teams receive recognition and financial offsets that mitigate expenses. Winning becomes communal.
And in this proposal, we should put the word *purse* out to pasture.
What this league distributes is better described as a **Rewards for Maintenance and Participation Fund (RMPF)**. Rewards are paid at the end of the season, drawn from multiple revenue streams; some generated directly by participants, others by auxiliary businesses connected to the facility.
Imagine a country club built around golf, polo, skiing, or tennis. Members pay initiation fees and dues, but the club doesn’t survive on members alone. There is a restaurant, a banquet room, an event room, a pro shop, a housing development, a swimming pool, entertainment, and sponsorships. Each of these auxiliary businesses contributes back to the passion that made them viable in the first place.
In that sense, this concept is also a real estate project: land away from suburbs and cities is cheaper, and remoteness can work in our favor. A self-contained community where racing horses is the only game in town; a refuge from the hurly-burly world. Historically, we’ve depended on purses, attendance, and gambling to do all the work. The existing structure is struggling.
Why not open the funnel?
This proposed facility isn’t merely a place where horses train and race. It’s a destination for people who are deeply attached to the sport, and an exotic open door for people who don’t know a trotting colt from a torpedo ship. Restaurants, hotels, entertainment, educational programming, sponsorships, and special events all contribute to the ecosystem.
Like-minded people tend to congregate, and where they gather, businesses can prosper. These dynamics create yacht clubs, polo communities, equestrian communities, lakefront communities, skiing communities, and vineyards. They all have members who are passionate about the lifestyle, visit, and who often retire or build winter homes.
Harness racing in such an area doesn’t promise riches (at least not in this model). It does suggest something fun – something to race “toward.” A system that lets members win some money with less stress is far more marketable. This league does not replace stakes racing and will not step on existing toes. Think of it as a second cousin who lives in a very cool place, and you can visit any time you want.
Next week, we’ll turn to horse procurement; one of the significant expenses in the current racing business. We’ll look at how acquiring 110 young horses can reduce risk, stabilize expenses, turn an immediate profit, and help owners have more fun competing.
