Lessons Learned

by Jay Fitzpatrick

My wife Linda and I retired about six years ago. I was a high school teacher and coach for 31 years, while Linda was working for the United States Postal Service. We moved from the shores of New Jersey to the mountains of western North Carolina, bought a piece of property and built a house.

It took a little over a year before our new home was ready to move into. After about two years of living there and doing all the things, inside and out, that need to be done when you occupy a brand new house, we decided to invest some money in Thoroughbred horses.

When I first started teaching, my parents and I bought a New Jersey-bred yearling filly. We had a lot of fun with her and pretty much broke even on our investment. We sold the filly privately to someone who took her up to Green Mountain racetrack after laying her up for a while and he promptly won four or five races in a row with her.

Our next purchase was a yearling colt. He injured himself in a race and we sold him rather than go through the expense needed to get him back to the races. We lost money on this one, but I loved the excitement that racing provided. I was hooked!

My first two horses were both claimers and during my rookie years as an owner, I learned an important lesson: Claiming horses cost as much to train as stakes horses, but they run for a lot less purse money.

I knew I would much rather have a stakes horse than a claimer but the reality of it was that school teachers (even retired ones) cannot usually afford to buy stakes caliber horses.

Remembering the lessons learned long ago, Linda and I decided to look into partnerships. Not only had the cost of buying a horse gone up a great deal in the past 30 years, but the cost of upkeep had risen between 400% and 700%. We knew there was no way we could afford to buy ANY kind of horse now, be able to pay the training bill and still lead a normal life. A partnership was the only way to go.

Although we both love horses and all the excitement that goes along with the races, we also wanted some kind of shot at actually making money. We also wanted to limit our risk as much as possible. We did some research, spent a lot of time making inquiries and tried to absorb all the information we could before we actually invested our money. It was time well spent.

After contacting several partnerships over the internet, we narrowed our choices to three. Looking to get the most bang for our buck, one partnership stood out like a candle in the night – M375 Thoroughbreds.

There were several factors that helped to make our decision.

1. There were no hidden costs.
2. The management fees were very reasonable.
3. We received videos of the horse.
4. We went to see the horse and met some of the people involved in the operation.
5. The track record of previous partnerships was disclosed to us.
6. There were only 4 shares of the horse available and the managing partner always purchases one share in every partnership.
7. The amount of money that we paid for a 25% share of the horse would have only purchased a fractional percentage in a larger partnership.

If you are going into a racing partnership just for the fun of it or for tax reasons, then there are many partnerships that you could join and have a great deal of fun and excitement. For us, having a realistic chance of making a decent profit, meant purchasing a meaningful percentage of the horse.

Enter M375. The horse offered in Partnership Eight was a yearling filly by Cozzene, out of a stakes-placed Wavering Monarch mare. Having spent many an afternoon at Monmouth Park, one of my favorite places to be during the summer,I developed an affection for Cozzene, a handsome gray turf horse. Not only did I like his gritty determination on the track, I also made a lot of money betting on him.

After seeing the filly up close and checking the results of soundness tests (X-rays, etc.) that the veterinarian performed on her, we decided to invest our money in Partnership Eight of M375. It was the best business decision that we have ever made!

Rob Murphy, a person of the highest integrity, is the managing general partner of M375. Working with Rob and getting to know his family over the past three years has been a very enjoyable experience for both my wife and myself. He has taught us a lot about Thoroughbreds and racing. He is always ready to listen and answer any questions that you might have. He makes sure that you are a hands-on owner and have input into all decisions that are made on behalf of the partnership.

The name of the filly that we invested in is Platinum Tiara. She started racing in July of her two-year-old year. Now a four-year-old, she has amassed earnings of almost $600,000. Her residual value as a broodmare is outstanding, so in a few years we will be in the breeding business as well.

She has won stakes in every season that she has raced, on the dirt and on the turf, but the biggest thrill that we have experienced was watching her pass horses with every stride, running down the stretch at Churchill Downs, coming up a half-length short while finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). You cannot imagine the thrill of owning a really good horse. It really doesn’t matter that you don’t own 100% of the horse, the feeling is just as intense.

We have had a lot of fun with our partners in Platinum Tiarra. Cliff and Marylou Raber are great people and we have enjoyed watching races with them in both Florida and Kentucky. Robb and Ann Darnell are great to associate with as well. Robb and I have watched Platinum Tiara run in Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, and New York. About a month after Platinum Tiara’s race in the Breeders’ Cup,Robb Darnell sent Linda and I two beautiful shirts in the colors of M375, emblazoned with Platinum Tiarra’s name. What a great present!

Every partnership does not make money, but if you invest in good horses, with intelligent, honest people, you limit your risk considerably. Rob Murphy had a proven track record of selecting quality racing prospects and managing them with integrity and character. We were able to purchase a substantial piece of a high quality horse, allowing us an opportunity to show a profit and we had excellent partners to make our ownership adventure pleasant and exciting.

M375 was a perfect fit for us. Maybe they will be for you too. Go Baby Go!

This entry was posted on Friday, January 11th, 2002 at 7:14 pm and is filed under Featured Articles. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.