THE latest chapter in a now sorry tale was written this week when Supreme Racing Club, for years known as one of the most successful syndicates ever run in Ireland, was voided by Horse Racing Ireland.
The Supreme scandal directly affected Willie Mullins, his affiliated jockeys and the horses involved, but most of all the owners, who in the case of Gold Cup favourite Kemboy, have potentially been literally robbed of a dream.
The hope is that a solution can come to pass that allows Kemboy’s owners, and every other owner of horses involved with Supreme, to continue on.
On a broader scale, this case threatens to derail the positive surge in popularity of syndicates and racing clubs in recent times. Last year saw an 8.7% increase in active syndicates and clubs in Ireland with a total of 651 registered.
Syndicates and racing clubs have become a significant in providing an affordable way for people into ownership and HRI’s ownership department should be commended for pushing them forward.
In this feature, we attempt to explain how both syndicates and racing clubs work, the difference between the two and provide some case study advice for people wishing to get involved.
As each club and syndicate has its own structure, the Code of Conduct outlines how it will be managed and run. It includes the responsibilities and duties of the agent as well as a general outline of the experience, exit policy, ownership rights, costs, and when prize money will be paid.
The document lets members know exactly what they are signing up to and makes clear what will be expected of the agents. It is believed that HRI introduced the new safeguards following the case of Labaik. The 2017 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner was seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau after they identified convicted criminal John Boylan as a part-owner, despite his name not being registered with HRI.
New requirements
The new registration requirements, along with complaints from Supreme Horse Racing members, led to HRI freezing the Supreme account last month following the failure of the group’s agents to provide the necessary information.
With the Supreme case, you could say the horse has already bolted but at the very least the stable door has been fixed. The new rules are good for Irish racing in this regard.
However, it has to be stressed that the majority of syndicates and racing clubs in Ireland are well-run, fair and provide a lot of enjoyment for those getting involved.
The main difference between a syndicate and a racing club is the number of people involved. A syndicate can only have between five and 20 people while a racing club can have an unlimited number.
Syndicates are usually set up by people who know one another. Syndicate members can have different shares but the members would be getting a return on investment with regards to the prize money.
Clubs are largely groups of people getting together with a general interest. The club models differ, which generally reflect the subscription price. A club may charge a small fee for membership but you may not get any of the prize money or another club may charge you more to get involved initially to buy horses and in that case the prize money or sales price, should the horse be sold, would come to you.
Caroline Townend, an ownership executive in HRI, fields enquiries about syndicates and clubs every day. “The first thing I tell people to look at is their budget,” she says. “All clubs and syndicates differ in structure and offer a variety of payment options to suit.
“In some cases members can join knowing in advance what exactly their annual spend will be for the year with “all in” fees making it very attractive.
“While some club memberships include involvement in multiple horses (e.g. Irish National Stud Racing) so this provides more opportunities to get to the races.
“Location should also be considered if yard visits or members trips are important to you. Many clubs and syndicates offer their members much more than just the race day experience – yard visits, the build up to the day of the race.”
Syndicates and clubs have become an important tool in more than one way for Irish racing. Not only do they provide a gateway for the man on the street, they can also serve as a toe-dipping exercise for a prospective sole owner while they’ve also successfully been used to being well known sports celebrities from other sports into racing, which is a significant marketing tool. The hope is that they can continue to prosper.
SHAMROCK Thoroughbreds was originally set up as a syndicate by Stephen Thorne but, following initial success, Stephen – assistant trainer to Ado McGuinness – changed its official status to a racing club.
“As we added more horses, HRI insisted we would have to register each syndicate separately, as Shamrock 1, Shamrock 2, and so on. It would have meant a lot more paperwork, so we switched to a racing club but I was still syndicating horses in the normal way.”
New rules brought in last summer meant that Shamrock has had to revert to syndicate status but HRI has allowed them to keep the same Shamrock Thoroughbreds name and colours for all their horses.
“We have 10 people in each horse, usually with equal shares, though individual shareholders can sub-divide their shares among family and friends if they wish. That’s their own business – only the main shareholders are registered with me and HRI.”
A Godolphin Flying Start graduate and Stable Staff award winner, Stephen picked up a lot of syndication advice on his travels around the world.
“We have a brochure which explains all the costs very clearly. If everyone is happy they sign a four-page syndicate agreement which I picked up from other syndicate managers abroad. There are no grey areas.”
Stephen says the most important area to get right is the costs. “I like the initial investment to cover 12 months’ training fees. Then at the end of the year, shareholders vote on whether to keep or sell the horse. Majority rules but almost always everyone agrees.”
Shamrock Thoroughbreds is best known for all-weather campaigners such as Master Speaker, Royal Admiral and Gregorian Bay, but they are moving up the food chain.
Stephen explained: “Shamrock owns 30% of Current Option, who won a premier handicap on Irish Champions Weekend. They will also own a share in Laugh A Minute, our most expensive purchase at 100,000gns last month.”
SYNDICATE ownership gets the thumbs up from Dave O’Sullivan who heads up the Laois Limerick Syndicate who enjoyed success this week with Matthew Smith-trained Ronald Pump in Fairyhouse.
Dave and fellow Laoismen, Joe Dunne and Shane Conroy, along with Michael Hickey from Limerick gave the syndicate its name.
“I had a horse with Matthew many years ago and met him in Kilbeggan two years ago I asked him if he had anything. I called up and picked out Ronald Pump and I told him if I could get a few reliable lads together I’d buy him,” Dave explained how it came about.
“I was the one who would be going chasing so that’s why I was selective in who I went for. They were guys that I knew and guys who had an interest in horses. Everyone wants to come in at the start but the novelty could wear off pretty quick.
“I handle the account and it’s an equal share with prize money. If anybody wants anything out, I get it for them. I just drew up a few lines, so that everyone has to be in agreement when it comes to a decision down the line. It could get awkward if the horse does very well and only one person wants to sell or walk away.
“My advice would be to be sure of who you are going in with – it’s important that the guys have an interest in racing and enjoy it, or they will get fed up.
“He’s a good horse, we’ve been lucky, Matthew’s done a good job with him. We were a year and a half into to it before the horse showed anything, it’s important that whoever you have with you has patience.”
Getting going was quick and easy: “I went to HRI and they told me what I needed. We lodged a few quid and we were off.
“If I was to go down the road again, I’d stick with four people, five at a max. If you are lucky enough to have a horse that’s going to do well, there is a nice few quid coming back to you. It’s just messy collecting anymore money off five or six.
“It’s been unreal for us – better than the lottery so far!”
Racing club: Blue Blood Racing
In conversation with James Fenton, manager of Blue Blood Racing Club
How do you run your club?
Club membership is for the year, you can pay weekly or monthly. Everyone in the club is involved with all the horses. You can buy more than one share if you wish.
What do members receive?
The fun and passion of being a racehorse owner, days out at the races with friends and family, regular updates on the horses’ progress and opportunities for stable visits to the club’s trainer Willie Mullins.
The Blue Blood Racing Club’s members have served in An Garda Síochána. We have had 66 runners since starting in 2015 with 19 winners and over 20 horses placed and in the prize money.
Our model is that we don’t own but lease fillies from top breeders such as Ken Parkhill and Frank Motherway. Our aim is to upgrade the filly for her breeder as well as having a great day out and we have availed of six bonuses through the ITBA schemes between the Blue Blood Racing Club and the Lions Mouth Racing Club.
If we were trying to buy that kind of stock at the sales, you could be looking at an outlay of €50-100,000, out of our budget, and then you have all the worry if your horse is going to pick up an injury and be off the track. People can lose interest and it can be hard to replace them.
How do you ensure transparency and fairness?
We have two accounts – one shows all the members and their subs coming in. The other account shows all the outlays – the trainer’s fees, vets’ fees, entries, transport, etc. We even list the price of the photo frames for the presentation picture given to the breeder!
All prize money won goes into the HRI account in the name of the club. We leave it in the pot to keep the ball rolling with a float and finance the next runners we have.
If you decide to leave the club you get a share of all the prize money won by ‘your’ horses. We have an AGM every year and transparent accounts are presented to members.
What advice would you give someone who is considering joining a club or syndicate? What questions should they ask the organiser?
The essential requirement when running a club or syndicate is to have absolutely top-notch communication.
If you want to set up a club or syndicate, go to someone you trust and find out how they manage theirs. I assist with the Lions Mouth Racing Club and the Closutton Racing Club. I like to give members as much information as possible about our runners, asking the breeders about their stock, and we have an open day at the pre-training yard where we can see our mares before they even get to Willie’s.
If we have a winner at Sligo or say Cork then the members from that part of the country get to lead in – that’s massive for them.