LP: Tell me about your involvement in racing.

FH: I have been involved in the thoroughbred business for somewhere in the 15 to 20-year range. I got into it originally with a partner and we got into it to be in the breeding business. We had been in the standard-bred business for years. Then we decided that we would group together and I was fortunate enough to buy a farm down in Paris, Kentucky. I didn’t realise it was kind of a down market when I got in, which was good because I was able to buy some inventory that we liquidated later and did very well on.

So as most of us know in this business it’s much more important to be lucky than good. I have been very fortunate. As you progress in any industry you say ‘how can I give back’? We’ve always tried to give back. Somebody asked me one day would I be interested in running for a Member post at the Breeders’ Cup and I said yes, I’d be honoured.

Probably two and a half or three years later I was asked if I would be interested in getting on the small board that works with the management team and constantly looks to improve what the Breeders’ Cup is and what it represents.

LP: The Breeders’ Cup is called the world championships. Do you think it lives up to its billing?

FH: I think when you look at the champions that have come out of that programme, they are the world champions. That was the vision of the founders that it would be the world championships. I mean Coolmore believes it is now. We hope we get Mendelssohn back this year because in the end we believe he is championship calibre and if he can come over and beat the field he is a world champion.

LP: The Breeders’ Cup has expanded to two days, introducing new races. Do you still think there are other races needed?

FH: I think we always have to listen to our nominators, and when the nominators tell us we have a void, we need to fill the void. So that’s how this [Juvenile] Sprint came about.

We’ve got international representation on the board and Clem [Murphy] always has his finger on what’s going on, where the voids are.

LP: There is a view that the second day’s racing overshadows the first day. Is there a plan to even out the days?

FH: Well here’s the new plan. We are going to run all juvenile races on Friday, and it will be called Future Stars Friday. The vision with that is that if we run the best juveniles in the world, we are previewing them for the three-year-old races.

We think we are going to build a group of horses that people have heard the name and will be their heroes of the next year.

So we think it’s going to make that day a very exciting day.

LP: Is there a desire to grow the European challenge even more?

FH: I think we saw it right here at Royal Ascot. We put four ‘Win and You’re In’ races on the programme. We need those champions to come and participate. Now 40% of ‘Win and You’re In’ races are international. We’ll have as many as 33 this year; five in Ireland.

We find that turf racing is becoming more popular in North America than it has been. There is a concentration now on developing that by the new race tracks. We see Woodbine in Toronto putting in a second turf track, and the major stallion stations in Kentucky all have a turf stallion whereas maybe five to 10 years ago they didn’t. I think you’ll see more push towards that.

LP: How close are we to drug-free racing?

FH: As an organisation we have been involved in that push. What is maybe not understood worldwide is that 38 states out of our 50 states have their own legislation process and rules. So we don’t have a Tsar over the entire industry that can say ‘these are the rules’. Owners and breeders, as a group, I would say 90% of them are in favour of a drug-free environment. Veterinarians - they are probably 90% not in favour of it. Then the trainers are probably split. Some think Lasix is an important thing. I think we are getting closer to a universal set of rules.

LP: How vital has the support of Coolmore and Ballydoyle been to the Breeders’ Cup?

FH: I would tell you that their support is unwavering and they are one of the most valuable partners we have. Also, it’s much appreciated that we get the feedback from them which is very important, as we do from most of our other nominators. If we didn’t get that it would be more difficult to be better.

The Fred Hertrich-bred Shamardal at Kildangan Stud. Photo carolinenorris.ie

LP: The Breeders’ Cup has been held in Canada. Could it be held outside North America?

FH: We try to plan three to four years out, and the criteria is we send invitations to bid to anyone that may be interested. So the thing that we have to look at firstly is the economics. Two is weather.

When I say economics that means we’ve got to have enough premium seating for people. So it’s more about the entire venue and does it fit our brand. Yes, we were in Canada. Would we go back? The weather would be a huge consideration because as the turf races grow what would conditions be like in November in Toronto?

LP: Is it less likely to come to Europe because of the development of the big race days in each of the main European countries?

FH: That’s the interesting conflict. We’ve got to be careful and respectful of conflicts that could develop anywhere in the world because we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. And we hope that nobody wants to step on our toes because it’s great to have quality racing all year round.

LP: Does the introduction of something like the $12 million Pegasus race put pressure on your prize money structure?

FH: We are always evaluating and considering our international participants. Let’s face it, it costs money to travel. So certainly there has to be competitive prize money. I don’t think prize money is everything. If owners think they’ve got the best horse in the world and their neighbour thinks the same, they’ll go out on Sunday afternoon and race them for no money because bragging rights are important.

Our obligation is to make sure the money we generate is being put to proper use and the proper promotion of the industry itself. We did go through some purse increases; the Classic was raised from five to six million a couple of years ago and the Turf went to four million. We’ve increased 25% in total purses since I’ve been on the board.

LP: Have you one overriding wish for the Breeders’ Cup during your term as chairman?

FH: Everyone that comes on board, everybody that gets hired into the Breeders’ Cup as an employee, the big thing that we tell everybody is help us make it better. I can’t tell you what that is. Some say it’s more prize money that would make it better.

We have to look at it globally and ask how are we going to enhance the entire industry? We do view ourselves as the world championships and we have a responsibility to make sure we are the world championships. I want the best European horses to come, and hopefully we will attract a good 80 to 90% of the best horses in the world to come and participate.

LP: A final question. I was surprised to discover that your term as chairman is two years. Is it too short to get in and make your mark?

FH: I can be re-elected so I can serve two terms, a total of four years. Sometimes when people are in a chair too long things stagnate. A new chairman will maybe do things a little differently or bring something new to the table.

The other thing is, if I don’t do a good job they can get me out of there in two years!