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Before he pulled out of Saturday's start at Belmont , I'll Have Another and his handlers had much to rejoice aboutduring the past few months. They trained a great horse, stole asizable chunk of the nation's sporting spotlight, and made akilling in the process. The equine industry as a whole, however, hasn't shared their joy.Revenues across the sport are down, reports of brutality are on the rise, and owners can no longer demand the six-figurebreeding fees for some of their animals. Sadly, horse racing's onceunshakable luster is beginning to fade away. "It certainly is a different sport going back 10 to 20 years," saysBob Curran, vice president of corporate communications at TheJockey Club, a breed registry that works to support and improvethoroughbred breeding and racing. The equine industry's plight is both national and localized. In thefarmlands of Kentucky, where horse rearing and training is a way oflife, owners and breeders have taken the biggest hit. No longer arethey being courted by wealthy investors looking to make a fortuneoff of a colt. Instead, "for sale" signs are cropping up at oncelucrative stables and auctions are seeing fewer horses anddiminished prices. According to tax firm Dean Dorton Ford's 2009 Assessment of theequine industry, total horse auction sale revenue plummeted in 2009to a little above $600 million, drastically down from the $1.2billion that changed hands in 2006. Additionally, the average price at auction for these cherishedracers fell. Broodmares -- female horses used for breeding -- soldfor nearly $70,000 a horse in 2007. In 2009, they were auctionedfor nearly $45,000 a horse. Breeding prices, once a leading source of revenue for horse owners,have also fallen sharply. Blood Horse , which maintains a comprehensive sire database, listed Storm Cat'sstud fee (mating fee) as $500,000 in 2004. Currently, however, thehighest stud fee belongs to the horses Street Car and Bernardini,who each demand $150,000. Other fees on the database aresignificantly lower. Flower Alley, I'll Have Another's sire, hasan unlisted stud fee on the website, assumedly due to the horse'snewfound fame. Like the subprime mortgage crisis, the collapse of the equine tradewas caused by over-leveraged buyers speculating on fantasticalprices. Horses were overbred, qualified buyers became scant, andthose who purchased horses borrowed too heavily to do so. The disastrous economic effect on local owners quickly became astatewide problem. As prices dropped and patrons gambled less onthe horses, the state experienced a significant drop in the taxrevenue that it normally receives from the sport. Horse racing inKentucky, The New York Times reports, is responsible for over 100,000 jobs and holds a $4 billion economicimpact . With decreased betting wagers and auction prices, a spike inforeclosed farms, and lower breeding prices, those local economicfigures stand to diminish tremendously, maiming the livelihoods ofbreeders, farmhands, and trainers in the process. Nationally, the sport and its caretakers are also suffering.According to McKinsey&Company's 2011 review of the racingindustry on behalf of The Jockey Club, figures across the sport are experiencing a massive free fall . Handles -- the money bet on horse races -- were down 37 percentfrom 2000-2010 and attendance during the same period dropped 30percent. The way fans experience horse racing has also changed, according toCurran. "In the past if you wanted to participate you went to therace track," he says. "Now OTB's and simulcast have altered thepoint of sale." McKinsey found that not only was the racing fan base shrinking by 4percent every year, it increasingly held a negative view on thesports as a whole. If the industry doesn't shape up, the reportwarns, owners could experience a 50 percent loss in profits by2020. The industry has pledged to reform itself and rebound from itslosses, but you may want to think again if you plan on riding I'llHave Another's coattails to equine riches. Horses are never asurefire investment, and the turbulent equine economy isn't helpingmatters. "If you're going to invest in a horse, learn something about thesport and its financing first," recommends Curran. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Multi Touch Screen Monitor Manufacturer , Multi Touch Screens, and more. For more , please visit Electronic Interactive Whiteboard today!
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