Current day rates Golden Gate/ So Cal

[ireneinwa]

Just checking What's the day rate right now at Golden Gate/ So CA ? From what I heard its come down a bit. Thanks

[Shergar]

Just checking What's the day rate right now at Golden Gate/ So CA ? From what I heard its come down a bit. Thanks

Probably not as much as the purses have come down.

For a decent trainer you are still going to pay 60+ a day.

Shergar

[tbrace]

Billy Morey, for example is $70 per day.

[Sysonby]

From what I can see, the response to the purse cut has not been a drop in day rate but less claiming which in turn is allowing owners to position their horses more aggressively to try to get bigger pieces of smaller purses.

[majxmom]

The day rate was supposed to come down when the Workman's Comp was adjusted, but I don't think that really happened anywhere. The trainers got relief but the owners didn't. I think $60 is the common rate for anybody not in the top 5 at GGF. The cheapest that I'm aware of is $45 but that guy wins about one race a year and the horses don't have much bedding. Somebody just told me that Doug O'Neill charges $75.

By the way, be sure to ask a second question after you ask the day rate: what's the average monthly bill? Because there are a lot of extras that can be added on depending on the barn. Back in the steroid and milkshaking days, no one wanted to bill for, but you had to pay for it, so they'd write down some miscellaneous charges that added up to the same amount.

[karenkarenn]

Good Point Majxmom.
OUr trainer bumped up his charge to 65 a day- I found out while I was having a c section ( its a boy) My hubby told me when he tore open the bill.
But all the extras do add up quick.
Karen

[tbrace]

The short gates are due mostly to the fact that day rates and other trainer charges do not allow an owner to cover costs with lower purses.

Trainers are pricing themselves out of a job. Hay is down, grain is down, insurance is down, etc., but training costs are up. go figure.

[Sysonby]

The short gates are due mostly to the fact that day rates and other trainer charges do not allow an owner to cover costs with lower purses.

Trainers are pricing themselves out of a job. Hay is down, grain is down, insurance is down, etc., but training costs are up. go figure.

I don't disagree with you but an awful lot are in Pennsylvania right now or other places where there is both dirt and/or money. That move has been advocated to me recently more than once but I am resisting for various reasons.

I also wonder about the condition book and whether it reflects the reality of what's on the grounds. I came within a whisker of putting a horse on the bus to Santa Anita last month because there were no races filling between $10-16K open going short. You'd think Hollendorfer might have a few of those. I did notice that several of the horses previously filling those races are running for $6250 or $8000 which I believe is the response to the horse shortage and the lack of claiming money up there in general.

I don't know what the future holds but it doesn't look bright and the trainers aren't the cause.

[tbrace]

But Sys, why are they moving to Penn? I think it because purses are higher - much higher- and training costs are lower.

A reasonable profit ratio must be present between costs on the track and purses, or smart owners can't and won't race. I may not be a smart owner, but I pulled my horses out of Golden Gate for that reason.

Just as an example, A few years ago, a maiden 8K paid ten or eleven thousand dollars in NorCal. Now it pays $7200. But, in that same time, my day rate costs went from $45 to $70. That is why many owners like us, have moved.

True, trainers are not the only cause, but they continue to contribute to the problem.

Penn has put that ratio back into place and so owners are flocking there. CA tracks and trainers could take a lesson from them.

[fastappy]

Here's another reason people are leaving the pitiful purses at GGF for other venues. The 1st is the GGF condition and the 2nd is Los Al. GGF also writes this race as 5f vs Los Al's 4.5F. I realize you need speed for Los Al, but the point being the large discrepancy in purses at other tracks coupled with some of those bottom level races at GGF can be tough with horses dropping in on you.

8 EIGHTH RACE CLAIMING
PURSE $8,400. FOR FILLIES THREE YEARS OLD.
Weight 123 lbs.
Non-winners of two races since November 1, 2009 2 lbs.
A race since then 4 lbs.
CLAIMING PRICE $5,000
(Maiden, Claiming and Starter races for $4,000 or less not
considered)
SIX FURLONGS(All Weather)

FIFTH RACE TB Fillies & Mares, 3 & Up, CLAIMING $5,000
T5 PURSE $15,000. FOR FILLIES AND MARES THREE YEARS OLD
AND UPWARD.
Three Year Olds 120 lbs. Older 123 lbs.
Non-winners of two races since January 26 3 lbs.
A race since then 5 lbs.
CLAIMING PRICE $5,000
(Maiden Races and races for $4,000 or less not considered)
FOUR AND ONE HALF FURLONGS

[zinn21]

I've got a 2yold I am trying to decide what to do. I am thinking about putting another 45 days at the farm then kicking him back out again.

[majxmom]

On the other hand, zinn, it's kind of nice being in those 4 horse fields even if purses have been cut.

[zinn21]

On the other hand, zinn, it's kind of nice being in those 4 horse fields even if purses have been cut.

You do have a point. One other thing, IMO MSW up here have never been softer..

[Sysonby]

But Sys, why are they moving to Penn? I think it because purses are higher - much higher- and training costs are lower.

A reasonable profit ratio must be present between costs on the track and purses, or smart owners can't and won't race. I may not be a smart owner, but I pulled my horses out of Golden Gate for that reason.

Just as an example, A few years ago, a maiden 8K paid ten or eleven thousand dollars in NorCal. Now it pays $7200. But, in that same time, my day rate costs went from $45 to $70. That is why many owners like us, have moved.

True, trainers are not the only cause, but they continue to contribute to the problem.

Penn has put that ratio back into place and so owners are flocking there. CA tracks and trainers could take a lesson from them.

But aren't they relying on slots to do that?

I guess my feeling is that a quality TB trainer works damn hard for his money and deserves to be able to raise a family and have a middle class lifestyle for his efforts. I know what makes up a $60-70 dayrate in NoCal and there isn't a lot of fat in there in part because of the cost of living in San Francisco.

Maybe I'm just too invested in California or too stupid or something but I'm not going elsewhere. Those Monmouth, Philadelphia and Penn National races are going to have 10-14 head and the smart guys are going to be jamming them at you. I don't care what you are running for--a fifth isn't going to pay the bills and you have the added bonus of never seeing your horse run live.

I don't know what the future of Cal racing is but the problems weren't solely created by the trainers and I don't think they can be fixed by the trainers just taking a paycut.

[madelyn]

I've been working for the past month for a trainer here in Louisville, at a training facility. I've been helping to resolve, among other problems, his cash flow issues, and have come up with a flat, no frills COST of having a horse in his stable:

Straw - $4/day
Hay - $3/day
Grain/redcell/vits/electrolytes - $7/day
Groom/hotwalker - 10/day (7 days/week)
Pony/exercise rider - $10-15/day (6 days/week)
Supplies (vetwraps, poultice, paper towels/sweat/plastic wrap, shampoo, rinse conditioners, hoof paint, furacin, alcohol, etc etc etc) $3-10/day
Laundry - $1/day

We've hit a rock bottom COST of ~ $40-45 per day, without paying for tack, tack repairs, blankets, polos, quilts, and all the other "stuff" nor putting one ounce of fuel in the trainer's truck or a drop of food on his table. He has living expenses like everyone else. The trainer I am working for is there 12 hrs a day 6 days a week, 3 hrs Sunday morning (the horses all walk) and back for the late feeding. He has six horses.

If we increased the stable beyond six horses, he would be subject to Worker's Compensation Insurance premiums and we would have to establish payroll and go to one or two full time employees, with payroll taxes, etc. He currently has no full time employees, only casual labor. The cost would go UP, not down.

Just sayin'.