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Originally Posted by Messenger
I don't think that its the number of foals that is critical even though we can't race without them. It has become obvious that there just isn't anyone wanting to buy them. Especially if they are by a second trier sire.
I put a lot of this down to the fact that the top professional trainers are reaching every track in their state bar the most isolated & therefore a second tier horse is of no value. I don't know how they are going to address it.
Kevin, go & see the ship that never was while in Strahan........its really good.
I heard the presentation of the yearlings wasn't very good at the Brisbane sale. It also seem a bit amateurish to me compared to the other APG sales watching it live. Mr Feelgood had a stack there but I don't think they achieved the prices the breeders wanted, a few did sell for a good price though. Some of the dams had unenviable track /breeding records which does not help. This will be an ongoing problem because buyers are getting fussy about the dams breeding ability and rightfully so , why throw your money away?
Some of the sires at the Brisbane/Bathurst sale weren't household names which does not help. Lone star legend would be one example.
One good thing is that purchasers can get a second dip at any of the unwanted horses at any of the after-sales and may be able to bargain into a good position. This will be a win /win for breeder and buyer.
I am not sure if Trish's figures have taken into account any after- sales.I know there has been a few sold from all of the APG sales.
Bathurst has alway's been a bread and butter sale. There is only about 5 or 6 sires at the sale not counting new Sires that haven't been in the top 20 sires lists here. The second tier sires and lower are the one's that keep our game going and without them we have no industry. Most seller's realise they aren't going to get top dollar at Bathurst and have to sell and hope to get a return buyer next time if the horse show's some ability as the next lot is ready to wean and need the room.
Melbourne Autumn Sale..... IMO if the sales keep going like this they will be scratching for numbers for the sales in the future. And I need to ask is HRA worried about the terrible results for the majority of breeders (smaller folk) . I wonder if everyone appreciates
the time, effort & money that goes into getting these yearling ready for the sales, so many breeders have lost money this year & if they were running it as a business it would send them broke.
58 for sale.......23 passed in .......10 over $10........the rest under $10.......that's crap, really feel for the small breeder.
http://www.harness.org.au/news-artic...?news_id=33111
Is there anyone out there who could make a profit breeding a foal & selling it at the yearling sales for $8800 considering the 11% you have to pay for the sale of your horse??????
There couldn't too be many Trish for yearlings by stallions of +3k service fees. Especially if you consider any sunk costs from dead foals, missed years etc.
However, APG seem to have improved the prices for this sale which is positive.
How much different were prices back when the owners of these yearlings were making their breeding decisions?
Should the industry prop up the breeding of yearlings at this price point or let it naturally phase out?
I think that it depends on which industry strategy we think is priority and wish to support.
From the article, the quote from APG General Manager David Boydell "As far as the sale goes, probably the biggest disappointment was that we didn't see as many of the smaller hobby trainers in attendance as I would have liked".Quote:
Originally Posted by trish
Answer???
The Hobby Trainers were the lifeblood of the industry, they sustained it, provided the numbers, bred their own, occasionly bought a few at the sales, but in effect kept the industry strong. They have been phased out through some pretty poor decision making at the top which took an "american" view of how the industry should be run. It is cost prohibitive for someone to enter the industry now without some sort of base. Some of the race carts are now around $10k, you need to have pretty deep pockets to be able to dabble in the game as a hobby when 30-40 years ago everyone did it. I did a quick set of sums of all the trainers that formerly trained in the Terang region versus what is left. I got to 35-40 individual trainers, now there are less than 10 spread a lot further.Quote:
Originally Posted by arlington
Personally, I think that the hobbyists are virtually gone from both codes. Syndicates are the go but perhaps we should explore the amatuer driving route as done in NZ. Standardbreds are a much more kinder animal to handle than their Thoroughbred cousins, the trick is to allow people to get to know them, but with current OH&S and Insurance regulations, there are barriers preventing that connection.
It's not a bright outlook, but that's nothing new, and we must remember that "Give Up" never won a race so we have to keep looking for new ways to market the industry to the general population. We used to get dedicated press in news papers but that ceased years ago. Social Media is great but we need to hit the mainstream with good stories if we can.
Stu has hit the nail right on the head, your plight down there is being played out in many other areas including NSW. The only thing I can add to that is that, with the professional trainers making weekly runs to most tracks in NSW, the hobbyist is going out as cannon fodder. I personally love it when they win. The country clubs need to program more races for the people that made them, the locals.
Every time that a drug cheat or race fixer gets their case adjourned , and adjourned & adjourned, more hobbyist throw their hands up, put their broodmares up for sale & sell there gear. The simple reason for this is that they don't have to put up with it. They can walk away whenever they want and from all of the hobbyist we know they are, at the very least talking about it & planning it.