( Continued from page 78 )
" ' What does it . cost ? ' ' Dang what it costs ? I ’ m as good as Mr . Jones .’ " High prices place an inordinate pressure upon the syndicated stallion to succeed at stud , in Mr . B ’ s view .
' At that price his foals have got to win . They can ’ t afford to lose .
' Well , maybe some men can pick stallions , but 1 can ’ t . The law of averages is going to make some of them fail .
' You only get 65 ". live foals , anyway ,’ he adds .
" When a mare turns up barren , the breeder is out her keep and depreciation for that year with nothing to show for those expenses , regardless of whether she was bred to a syndicated or a privately owned stallion .
" If she were bred to a privately owned stallion , though , the owner at least gets the stud fee back if the horse stands on a live-foal basis : or receives a free breeding privilege for the next season , if he stands under return conditions . Thus the breeder breaks even on the stallion side of the investment , even though the mare be barren .
" However , in the case of a syndicated horse in which he owns a share , the breeder also has nothing to show ' for his portion of the expense of maintaining the stallion for that year , and for the seasonal depreciation of his investment in the original purchase .
" As is Mr . B ., Mr . A . is concerned about the virtual necessity for syndicated stallions to succeed , but for a different reason . He feels that syndication limits the stud opportunities received by horses of modest credentials . " ' The present syndication system is not developing our future replacements ,’ he declares .
What good stud horses have been developed by syndication ? Name me one .
" ' Go down the list of top sires . Every one of them now syndicated started out privately at some low fee - S250 , S300 , S500 , rarely S 1,000 . You can hardly syndicate that kind of horse today . Few small breeders will get out and hustle for them , either . They ’ re all in these syndicates . " ' So where are our future stallions coming from ?’ " In answer to the challenge to name one good stud horse developed under syndication , two might be mentioned : SHANNON II and NIRGAL : both were among the twenty leading sires last season ( 1960 ), and both spent their entire stud careers in the syndicate ranks . " Moreover , syndication of horses off the race track , as contrasted with that of already established stallions , has been an important factor in the breeding picture for only a few ' years , and many such sires and prospective sires are still much too young for any judgment to be made concerning their degree of stud success .
" Most of the accepted factors in attaining that success , though , seem to be in favor of the syndicated horse , as Mr . Ebelhardt points out : ' A syndicated horse represents a concensus of opinion as to his quality , is usually under top management , and is owned generally by leading breeders who are likely to be careful of the type of mares sent to him . So many prominent breeders are represented as syndicate shareholders , that it obviously is the opinion of many that syndication is " the thing ." ’
" Mr . B ., however , believes that whether syndication helps ’ or hinders a horse depends upon the price
level of the syndicate , its membership and its management . ' Probably in the highest price group syndication will help a horse ,’ he says . ' When I send a mare to a leading stallion , I mean for that mare to get in foal : and I ’ m going to make pretty darn sure
she ’ s one that will get in foal .
" ' But when I ’ ve got a mare that may not get in foal . I ’ ll look around for some nice , cheap horse ; or one ’ I can con a friend into letting me to . That ’ s only
human nature .
" ' Some horses , though , may be hurt by syndication , if the manager is not hustling and ambitious , and not on commission for the seasons he sells .
" ' Of course , there are a few horses that don ’ t care what mare is bred to them . They ’ ll breed well to anything . But the average horse takes mare selection .’
" However , Ivor Balding , manager of C . V . Whitney ’ s farm , Lexington , Ky ., takes the opposite stand , believing that mare selection gives a slight edge to the privately owned stallion .
"' If they ’ re syndicated ,’ he points out , ' they get only syndicate mares , whereas if they ’ re not syndicated , someone may send a mare they think is particularly suitable .’
" But Mr . Doherty dislikes the idea of requiring mares to be approved . ' No one man is in a position to judge what kind of mares a horse should get ,’ he avers . ' We ’ re not God , we ’ re only human . Any one man approving mares makes it hard on his horse .
" ' With a syndicate horse you get a concensus of opinion of horsemen and breeders as to what suits the horse . There is no control over a syndicate book , except for matters of health . The guy who owns a share can darn well breed what he likes . This wide choice of mares gives the horse a chance to show what he likes in the various types and bloodlines .’
" Mr . Doherty also thinks that syndication is more of an advantage to the horse of medium merits than to the top sire prospect . ' The moderate horse of doubtful parentage ’ - he means ' doubtful ’ in the sense of being of questionable popularity - ' and reasonable attractiveness has a chance under syndication to keep his book full , at least until his first crops have shown . If he turns out to be a lemon then , the owners will either give their shares away or not use them .’ " Mr . Hancock likewise believes an assured full book to be an important advantage to the syndicated stallion , particularly a young horse . ' If you syndicate a young horse ,’ he explains , ' it assures him of getting mares for several seasons .’
" Mr . Combs , though , thinks that the advantage of a full book extends beyond the first few stud seasons for a syndicated stallion . ' The people own shares in him ,’ he elucidates . ' Even if he has a bad season , they have to breed to him , whereas if they were paying a fee they probably wouldn ’ t .’
" On the other hand , Mr . A . contends that the syndicate pressure for success creates a harmful degree of impatience on the part of their members . ' Syndicates concentrate on too few horses , and give up on them too soon . Stallions have been known to fail under one management , then be sold and succeed under another . That never happens with syndicated horses - practically never . They tend to stand where they are until they die a natural death .’
( Continued on page 102 )
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