Single/Sole Ownership
Single ownership of a racehorse enables you to join the esteemed company of other famous racehorse owners like the Queen, Sir Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney and Steven Spielberg. It also allows you to make all all decisions regarding your thoroughbred on your own. Most importantly, it allows you to keep all the winnings it brings in as well as the profit from selling it.
However, sole ownership also means that you are responsible for all its training, organisation and maintenance and their costs.
Syndicates/Racing Partnerships
Syndicates are a group of buyers who share the ownership of a horse or horses. It is the responsibility of the syndicate manager to run the everyday business of training, preparing the horses for races, determining the races the horses will compete in, and making other decisions regarding the horse.
On the other hand, shareholders will get a share of the winnings as well as the profit on the sale of the horse.
Racing Clubs
Racing Clubs offer an even cheaper alternative to joining a syndicate. Members of a racing club pay for a fixed 12-month membership to follow a string of horses within the club for a year.
However, the club owns the racehorse and not the members. While the race prize money is distributed amongst the members of the club, any profits made from the sale of the horse will be kept by the club.
Company Ownership
Company ownership is, by far the most advantageous form of ownership on a cost-benefit analysis. The horse is typically owned by the shareholders of the company, and there is an appointee who acts as a registered agent on behalf of the company.
The benefits include the ability to name the racehorse after the company or one of its brands, and have the jockey wear company colours as a form of advertisement to get exposure from a wide audience. The racehorses can also be used for client entertainment and internal team building purposes. The most important benefit, however, is that VAT and training fees which are the most consistent costs of racehorse ownership are reclaimable.
It is important to note that racehorse ownership is not a regulated investment and carries a number of risks that can be averted to a large extent by having a team of experts on your side.
If you would like further information regarding the law surrounding the sale and purchase of racehorses – please phone our London office on +44 (0) 20 3588 3500 to speak directly to one of our solicitors, or request a call back and we will contact you.