by Trey Nosrac

Chauffeuring my employer through rush hour traffic toJuan in a Million Mexican restaurant, I opined, “I’m beginning to learn that standing a stallion that is not the cream of the crop is a rough road.”

My passenger said, “You are looking at very few available customers with plenty of competition.”

“Exactly. Subtract all the people who don’t own a broodmare, eliminate all the owners who have their minds made up about booking their broodmares, and then you end up trying to sell a stallion breeding to a tiny sliver of people. It’s like fishing in an empty sardine can. Therefore, Trey thinks he should be looking at potential customers who do not own a broodmare.”

“Interesting plan. However, finding a customer willing to purchase and receive frozen horse semen in an apartment in Queens, New York, is, shall we say, problematic. There might even be laws against this type of transaction. I hope you have more to support your latest idea.”

“I do. Follow me down this path of unleashed persistence and psychosis.”

He opened his hands as if catching rain, “Lead on.”

“Let’s say I own a new trotting stallion named Prospective Gold, who stands at beautiful Rolling Acres Farm in New Jersey. He is trying to make his bones in the breeding game. The competition is fierce. A couple of hugely popular stallions will soak up the top mares.”

“New Jersey?”

“Yeah, why not? I’ve never been there, but they have the Meadowlands, and the state racing is improving.”

“So, what’s your latest scheme?”

I said, “I would need to work with a farm for this one. This concept would be a joint venture between Rolling Acres Farm, the owner of Prospective Gold, and me, the innovating salesman.”

He scrunched up his face as if he just chomped on a lemon, “No doubt, people will be thrilled to partner with you.”

“Do I detect sarcasm?”

“Sorry, please don’t hold me responsible for my facial expressions when you speak.”

I continued. “My first big move would be to purchase a small herd of two to six, inexpensive, young, barren broodmares. Step two would be to attempt to get them in foal to Prospective Gold and wait till next year.”

“Aha,” he said, “A long term plan, which is an interesting concept from a man without insurance who nightly gambles on horse racing.”

“Desperate times. Anyway, early next year, my market would open. My product is no longer a search for the .005 per cent of owners with available broodmares. Suddenly, my intended market share of potential customers increases dramatically. Now I have members of the general harness racing crowd and people new to the sport.

Starter Kit

Have you ever thought about owning a trotting racehorse but the complexity, expense, and hassle intimidate you?

Have you ever considered raising your own harness racing horses, however the who, the when and the how kept you on the sidelines?

Would you like to find a few friends and go on an adventure?

Consider this opportunity –

In (insert month) of 2021, (insert broodmare name) will give birth to an offspring father by the excellent new trotting stallion, Prospective Gold. This newborn can be yours. This baby will have a fine home at beautiful Rolling Acres Farm.

A second breeding to your mare is included after the birth of your first foal, and a third breeding after the birth of the second foal. The farm and the stallion owner will walk you through every step of the process. You can visit often to check on the progress of mom and baby.

Call for Details

He said, “You are attempting to widen and deepen the pool of possible customers.”

“That’s my plan. This initiative would not be a huge risk for a farm and stallion owner. Even if they don’t sell these mares in foal, what’s the big deal? They can liquidate any at any time. The big thing is, those in-foal mares offer a salesman a much large audience. As a businessman, I’m fishing in new waters.”

He said, “You’ve had worse ideas. But then again, you’ve had so many bad ideas to choose from.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Backhanded. I try not to encourage you.”

“Trey does have an amazing array of bad ideas. None of them made money, but some led to good times.”

He responded, “And to double-wides and courthouses.”

“Details, details. The key idea in my latest spasm of madness is a method of making a spin through the breeding game easier for people who are not up to their eyeballs in this business. I am looking for a method of creating NEW customers. New for the breeding game, new for the sponsoring farm, and new for the sport.”

He said, “New customers are always good.”

I gave him my recap, “My math, as usual, is shaky, and some tweaking is in order. However, the owner will sell three breedings embedded in each starter kit. The farm will sell the services they offer. The buyer will purchase a long-term investment for fun and enjoyment that holds the potential for profit.”

“And then Trey will be off to another wild idea.”

I smiled, “Oh yeah, next week will make this one look sane.”

Complete with –

One Broodmare

Three Breedings

Three Live Foals

Maintenance and boarding of foals until sale or racing

Boarding for broodmare

Plenty of free advice, visiting and fun

Total cost $60,000 (that can be shared among friends)