The Ontario Sires Stakes is one of North America’s most heralded breed incentive programs. It drives breeders to Ontario and gives young horses an opportunity to earn good money for their owners.
Divided into a Gold and Grassroots series, the conceptual design is elegant. Give top horses a chance to earn meaningful money while racing at Ontario’s premier tracks. And give mid to lower level horses a chance to earn reasonable purses while racing at Ontario’s smaller facilities. A Gold Super Final would celebrate the very best of Ontario while a Grassroots Final would honour the second-tier stars in each division.
Like any two tiered program, the goal of the OSS should be for the lowest competitor in level one to be slightly better than the top rival in level two. In most sports, the very best minor leaguers play themselves into a small role in the big leagues, and in turn, see their salaries jump ten-fold when they get called up.
For the OSS, the leap from an elegant design to a flawed blueprint occurs at this critical junction. By earning “easy money” at the Grassroots level, trainers and owners are taking advantage of a system that offers great incentives for ducking top rivals.
Through September 19, 2011, the top 20 Gold horses in each of the eight divisions had median earnings just over $14,000 and the top 20 Grassroots horses had median earnings of more than $26,000. On average, 13 of the top 20 horses in each of the eight divisions had raced in at least one Grassroots event and 12 of the top 20 had made the majority of their money in the Grassroots.
While I’ll qualify the statistics with the fact that the remainder of the season offers more Gold series purse money than Grassroots, the discrepancy will not be adequately resolved by year’s end.
For customers, the results are ugly. Gold Finals are missing several of the best horses, while countless Grassroots divisions go to the gate, many of which are walkovers with 1-to-5 shots building up win streaks over inferior competition. For small-time horsepeople, the results are no better. Big outfits are dropping top horses into Grassroots races and pushing talented second-tier competitors to battle it out for scraps.
With two levels and two finals, there is also a no-mans land in the OSS program. If you choose to slug it out in the Golds, you risk not only missing out on purse money, but you also may fail to qualify in either final. So, trainers and owners are forced to relent and move down. This is clearly evident by the fact that in virtually every division, the third, fourth or fifth horse in earnings is a Grassroots competitor.
The people on the Horse Improvement Committee need to recognize the following: The Gold Series is the major leagues. The Grassroots is the minor leagues. If you have 50 horses in a division, the aim should be to have 20 in each Gold event and 30 in the Grassroots. The next target should be to have the top horse in the Grassroots division ranked 21st in earnings — not third.
As to how to do it, the answer is three-fold. First, dramatically change the structure of the Grassroots Final. Make it an open event for all OSS horses that don’t qualify for the Super Final. Card an elimination and a final — no points needed. This will give everyone a shot, and offer a late season kick at the can for injured or late blooming horses.
Secondly, move 20% of Grassroots purses (from $24,000 to $20,000) to the Gold series, including some amount dispersed by percentage to all horses that reach any Gold Final (paying back to last).
Finally, put an earnings limit on Grassroots horses. Any horse that earns $20,000 in OSS races (the equivalent of two wins at the Grassroots level) must move up to the Gold series, and stay there for the remainder of the year.
By the end of the season, all of Ontario’s best horses will be racing in the Gold series, producing the most competitive and entertaining product for racing’s customers and its horsepeople.
Darryl Kaplan
[email protected]
The thing that needs
The thing that needs changing is the enormous training bills that some charge. Not to name names but I have heard through owners that many big name trainers in Ontario charge in excess of 5 grand a month to train, which doesnt include vet bills.
Here's the breakdown for a $35,000 yearling purchase that makes $175,000 as a 2 and 3 year old in the OSS, based at a $5,000 a month training bill which many around here charge, due to a certain few trainers that have set the bar that high.
Earnings 2 & 3 year old season 175,000
Purchase price - 35,000
Driver / trainer 10% - 20,000
2 years of training bills @ 5,000 month - 120,000
Profit 0
This doesnt include vet bills, so you do the math and see what owners are up against and wonder why many of the new ones, disappear very quickly in this business.
Gary Blackburn
I have had the opportunity
I have had the opportunity to hear Mr Kaplan speak and have read his
articles in the trot magazine. His primary focus seems to be on betting
and handles. His strongest views are saved for how to raise handles
and what makes or motivates the person gambling. My view on this matter
is that tying racing to gambling and handles is a mistake. This pairing
is or has died since the slot parlours where opened. Horse purchasers
are solely motivated by protecting their capital. This would involve management
based on the quality of the horse. No entity should expect that they
can artificially change this motivation.
As for the lack of competitive fields, interest, betting, in all OSS
racing, those participating should get used to it. The amount of horses
being bred has been and remains on a steep decline. Standardbred Racing
has depended on a large base of breeding in the past. This is mostly
because creating a competitive horse is a difficult imperfect science.
If you don't believe this to be true try explaining how a Magna Force
Garland Lobell cross changed racing, or that the mother of Rock N Roll
Hanover cost Hanover 12,000.
By removing so called inferior mares and stallions, and reducing the
horse population, one should solely assume that the lack of competitiveness,
interesting and competitive racing will similarly drop.It is my opinion
that racing is an expensive vocation/hobby to some, that is only going
to get more limited and less interesting for those who solely gamble
on horses.
Lastly the idea of changing the OSS system as discussed by Mr Bechtel
and others is similar to the European system whereby horses remain
in classes until they have certain stated earnings, once threasholds
have been met horses exit the lower classes. In my view there are
possiblities with a grassroot system that does not race at the same
time as the gold system.
To conclude I bred two horses who were 3 year olds this year. They
won 10 grass root races. This is a difficult thing to achieve for a
small breeder. I think that I barely broke even on the sale of the
horses/ breeders awards versus costs. I don't think that anyone is
really winning at this game.
nicholas malcolm
After reading Daryl's
After reading Daryl's suggestion regarding the Oss program I thought I would give my two cents. I have owned both types of horses that seem to frequent the Oss ranks. I have had many horses that raced and won in the grassroots and made usually between 20 to 50 grand over their two and three year old seasons. Of those horses only a few of them became regular aged horses at WEG and had earnings in excess of 100 grand when they were finished. Most of them ended up in some type of cheap claimer at B tracks throughout Ontario. I also owned Serenity Seelster who was the third best 3 year old pacing filly in 2005 who earned 290 grand in 2005 and 464 lifetime.
One of my mentors in this business once told me that unless your yearling makes 100 grand by the end of their three year old season, as an owner who pays full training bills you probaly lost money. Using that as a criteria therefore my number one judgement on the success of the OSS program would be how many horses in the program exit their three year old year with more than 100 grand on their card because unless you bring money out of your other pocket{ non horse funds} I would guess the money that is being reinvested is coming from those horses and their owners of the 100 grand winners. I strongly believe their is a threshold whereby owners feel like the program and their investment is working and for argument sake if it is 100 grand then what we need is the statistics that tell us how many Oss horse earn in excess of 100 grand by the end of their 3 year old season. My experience is about 10 percent of mine have achieved this threshold and I can tell you it did affect the amount of money I invest the next year.
It has become apparent at sales that the top owners and trainers who have this years Serenity Seelster's are spending with the same amount of vigor or even more than previous years but the average trainer and owner who put their Oss horse in the 8500 claimer in Kd last week is questioning the intelligence of buying another yearling.
The averages at the yearling sales are still around the same level as previous years but the median is dropping dramatically. We have protests on Wall street regarding the disparity in earnings between the ultra rich in society and everyone else I would suggest the protest at the yearling sales is showing up in the median price. Until more people in this industry get a piece of the pie on a more consistent basis the Oss program will be seen as missing the mark.
P.s I am going to follow this up with statistics showing the number of horses that achieved this 100 grand benchmark in the different Sires stakes programs. My first guess is that New York has the most but I will find out. If anyone has suggestions on where I could find these statictics I would appreciate it.
In reply to After reading Daryl's by glenn bechtel
Excellent post from Mr.
Excellent post from Mr. Bechtel. The reality is that most of us will never have a successful (over 100,000 by the end of the 3rd year) OSS candidate but will plod along as long as they can with B-track homebreds, cheap yearlings or claimers. Standardbred ownership and racing was, at one time, a game for the farmers and small town business owners with the "elite" playing with the thoroughbreds. With the advent of good money (slots), the influx of owners with bigger pockets has expanded the standardbred industry. But have we experienced the peak in growth and are now on the downslide? It would appear that the number of owners who can afford the best bred horses and the expenses that go along with getting those youngsters to the top of the game is becoming very select.
"Grassroots" does not have true meaning anymore. The small owners, breeders, racers (true grassrooters) struggle to hang on to a few B Class (or lower) horses, mostly as a hobby. Problem is, it is a very expensive hobby that few can afford these days. What does the future hold for the small investor? It appears that the B-tracks are on their way out, leaving the designated slot funds going to the premier venues. As the rural tracks disappear, so too will the horses.
Where will the A-track horses end up after their days of glory? What will happen to the ones that simply don't make the big time? Breeders have and are still dropping out along with owners, trainers, grooms, etc. which, in turn, affects the feed, veterinary, machinery, vehicle industries and more. While studying the Equine Industry with Dr. Gayle Ecker last year, it became very clear to me that the very existence of the equine species could be jeopardized in the coming years for many reasons. The destruction of the racing industry plays a very large part in that scenario.
What can be done? The answer appears to be---not much.
First off I agree that a
First off I agree that a minor change is in order AND those racing in the OSS should get the majority of the input.
Second- to print this article with a cut off date of Sept 19th earnings is flawed. ALL the grassroots were raced with only the semi and finals left and the gold still had 2 series left ~400,000.00 per division left to race for as well as the 300,000 final. Clearly >50% of the total year left.
Third - there is no "easy" money in the grassroots.
To limit a horse to $20,000 before mandating racing in the gold is coming from a non-owner. IF you are given a yearling for free you would still have expenses in the $30,000 range to break, train and race a 2 year old season.
Not mentioned- grassroots are grassroots- WEG does a GREAT job promoting OSS but they do NOT need to race grassrooots races or finals at WEG. (I stated this fact all year not just after the semi-finals).
I would love to see discussion around a single or 3 tiered system. The single would be up to 10 legs and then have the top 10 go for super final at WEG, next 9 go for smaller final at a 5/8 track and the next 8 for a small final at a 1/2 track.
3 tiered would make the small tracks kick in the maiden portion purse money and OSS tops it to ~8,000 . That would make the grassroots more competitive.
It is a great system, there are not enough racing in the golds but the best of the best are so good it makes the good horse hard to be competitive.
A discussion for another day is why a $50,000 maiden (the avearage cost and training bills) goes for 7,500 and the 6,000 claiming series has a final of 30,000.
Dave Snowden
In reply to First off I agree that a by Dave Snowden
I read Mr. Kaplan's ideas
I read Mr. Kaplan's ideas with interest. I have some thoughts of my own to offer. First, I would say that Mr. Kaplan has not talked to many people who have raced grassroot horses. The very idea that this is easy money would make them laugh with disbelief. It is not easy money and the racing is very tough. Many owners I would venture to say did not make expenses or just barely if they did.
He mentioned the idea of gold horses moving down to the Grassroots semi-finals if they did not make the Superfinals. Again, this idea is laughable and seems to come from an elitist point of view that the best horses should get all the money and leave as little as possible for the little guy.
He also said that money should be moved from the Grassroots to the Golds so they could go for more money. Many gold races went for $170,000 this year and now he says they need to go for more money. I think not sir!
The idea that a horse earning $20,000 should have to move up to the Gold division and stay there for the rest of the year is a bad idea. Mr. Snowden put in very well in his discussion of expenses for an owner and it clearly shows that Mr. Kaplan is lacking in experience in this area unfortunately. Many owners are very happy when their horse gets to the races as a two year old. Meeting expenses is always a goal and making money is a bigger goal. Mr. Kaplan's idea of restricting horses would certainly put a crimp in that goal and leave many small stables out in the cold.
Mr. Snowden mentioned the need for revision and most all would agree, especially with the part that those racing in the OSS should have the majority say and I hope this means both small and big stables alike.
It does get tiring hearing someone say that the Golds should have more and more and the Grassroot get less.
One idea that that has been bantered about is that the Golds go from an elimination and final system to racing in divisions such as is done in New York and Pennsylvania. This would create the lure for the more successful Grassroot horses to take a shot at the Golds because they know they have a chance to miss the very best of the division and there always is some horses that rise to the top and stay there and that is fine. They can still make very good money and the Golds could draw more horses to their division.
Possibly then there could be a final halfway through the year and then have the Superfinal at the end of the year as is now the case. That way both late blooming horses could still have a chance at the finals and the early bloomers would also have a chance at finals halfway through the year and at the end of the year as well.
Much has been said about how much the Grassroot horses make. Take a look at the real figures and you will get another picture. Also, in any great pyramid if the base is strong and stable the top of the pyramid is even stronger. Keep chipping away at the bottom and sooner or later the top will certainly crumble. The same is true in horse racing. Our strength comes from our base.
Mr Snowden, congratulations for bringing up the other topic on purse distribution with your example of maidens and $6000 claimers. If breeders want their yearlings bid on and bought they must speak up.
I have said much and likely have left much that I wanted to say out. Don't penalize the grassroots just because the golds are not working as well as we would have hoped.
Rodney Foulds