PRESS RELEASE

The seventh installment in the 2024 OwnerView webinar series was held on Sept. 3 and discussed the pros and cons that come with buying and racing on an international stage.

The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Stoll Keenon Ogden and The Green Group. The panel was sponsored by Centennial Farms and Coolmore America. 

A Q&A was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds and attendees were able to ask questions through a Q&A link, which were then answered at the end of the webinar. 

Among the panelist were Garrett O’Rourke, general manager of Juddmonte Farms; Peter Bradley, founder of Bradley Thoroughbreds LLC; and Phillip Shelton, racing manager of Medallion Racing. Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, was the moderator.

The webinar began with a discussion of the similarities and differences between racing in the United States and abroad with respect to topics such as facilities, weather and prestige. O’Rourke pointed out that internationally the standard is the same, but the style can vary depending on these factors. 

O’Rourke was asked about Juddmonte’s process when it comes to where they race their horses and how they decide to keep their horses racing either abroad or in the United States.

“It used to be, years ago, sometimes when Lasix was allowed over here [the United States], we would bring a horse that maybe needed Lasix, but that’s not an issue anymore,” O’Rourke responded. He also noted that the playing field is more level around the world now. 

Falter asked Bradley, who has had great success in France with Metropolitan, how he has bought horses through international sources and had such successes. Bradley commented that it’s a combination of hard work and luck. 

Next, Falter discussed how American owners can own an overseas horse. 

“I think the biggest thing is that in Europe, because the purse money is the way it is, you have a lot more people that are willing to sell,” Shelton said. “In Europe, the price point’s a lot different, the opportunities are a lot different and potentially, the upside can be there.”

“Each country has a concierge service in Europe that is funded by the government, you know, and/or the racetracks,” Bradley said in addressing bringing overseas owners to the North America market. “Here, we still have each racetrack as a fiefdom.”

A centralized marketing system was highlighted by Bradley as well. 

The panel agreed that focusing on international affairs, asking questions and looking into partnerships with groups that are already familiar with the process are key.

The replay of Tuesday’s Thoroughbred Owner Conference panel is available at bit.ly/OVVideos.

Three additional Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panels are scheduled for 2024. 

The next session, “Agents & Advisors,” will be held Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. EDT. A full schedule can be found here: bit.ly/OVSchedule.

There is no registration fee for the 2024 virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference series, including the schedule of panels and registration, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com. 

Return to the September 6 issue of Wire to Wire