Forbes
APR 29, 2016 @ 06:45 AM
So
You Want To Own A Racehorse? Churchill Downs Launches
Racing Club With $500 Buy-In
Just in time for the Kentucky Derby, Churchill
Downs is offering the chance to become involved in Thoroughbred ownership,
ordinarily a pricey endeavor, for the low, low price of $500.
Churchill announced
last week the creation of the Churchill Downs Racing Club, a partnership in which 200 people
would become members—not owners—for a one-time fee of $500. The club itself,
registered as a 501(c)7 Not for Profit Social Club, will own the horse.
According to Mike Ziegler, the
executive director of racing for Churchill Downs Incorporated, the idea was so
popular that the 200 spaces allotted for the membership had sold out in less
than two days.
So, even though we haven’t publicized it much, we decided to offer another membership, and that one already
has 100 members,” he said.
Conceived as a way to increase the
number of people owning Thoroughbreds, particularly in the Louisville area, the
Churchill Downs concept takes as its model successful programs at smaller
racetracks like Emerald Downs in Washington; Canterbury Park in Minnesota; and
Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver.
The $100,000 in membership fees for
each individual club will be used to purchase a horse, selected and trained by
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who was, said Ziegler, “all in” when
approached to be a part of the program.
Members of the club will not strictly
be considered owners of the horse, but nor will they be responsible for
training and the other fees that accompany Thoroughbred ownership. They will be
charged nothing beyond the $500 membership fee.
For that, they will receive regular
updates on the horse, free admission for two people to Churchill throughout
2016, an owners’ parking pass, and invitations to Churchill Downs Racing Club
events. They will also be able to visit the track in the morning to see the
horse train.
To cultivate club members as potential
long-term owners, Churchill will offer seminars at which trainers and
already-established ownership partnerships will talk to members about owning
Thoroughbreds, on their own or with invested partners.
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