ok im going to say again, 7 is not old for a racehorse. many many racehorses are older, its just that the young ones are the ones you see in the spotlight all the time. the average age of all the horses in our barn is about 7, and they have a long time to race ahead of them yet. dont get stuck on age, it really means NOTHING. yes you arent going to be able to race in the high money races like stakes and such, but just because its a claimer doesnt mean they cant make money. there are also condition races of which he could race- those focus around money made in a certain amount of starts, and usually dont have any age restrictions. the unfortunate part with those is those are usually your better horses (theyre in condition races so they dont get claimed) and younger horses learning to race who are potential stakes horses.
let me ask though, do you have the money to race him for a summer? let me show you something here so youre not shocked when it comes to it. to race my mare this is what i have to pay:
starting fee $10
lasix fee $15
prerace around $25 typically
so this is already $45 youre in the hole before you even race. PLUS the cost of training, stabling (if youre on a farm), feed/hay, vetcare, etc. racehorses are heavily vetted to keep them in top condition to be competitive in racing.
also your horse will have to qualify to be able to race again. so youre going to have to put time and effort into getting him back and make sure he can qualify to even get to racing. my mare is due to qualify in about 2 weeks, she just had a little over a month off. before shes even qualified to race i have put $300 vetcare into her to get her back into racing condition (ankles and right hock and stifle injected). not to mention the time (i train my own so i dont pay a trainer) to get her back in condition. average trainer around here is $30/day.
i wouldnt focus on his breeding, focus on his past career. see what kinds of races he was in where he was finishing. dont look at all his bad finishes as "well hes just crap" a lot happens in a race that determines where they finish. post position is a huge one, your jockey (yes they give a bad race sometimes- its hard to determine how a race will unfold at times, and theyre left to make split second decisions), track conditions, etc. it all has to be taken into consideration.
Maura- racing is not miserable for all horses. this is what those horses were bred to do, and for the most part they highly enjoy the race. there are horses who do not like it yes, those are your sulkers. but for the most part... no... that was really untrue and kind of hurtful to those who race. you make us sound like monsters who dont give a crap about how the horse feels.
iridehorses- your statement of the horse being worth races or else he wouldnt have been sold is sort of true. this is a possibility. BUT here is what happens a lot of times... a cheaper horse will be sold out of a barn that is trying to improve their stock. even if they make money. what happens is when a barn is improving stock they get rid of cheap, older horses, and horses who have problems, and bring in young expensive horses. this improves the quality of the stable to raise standards. there are awards given for trainer, owner, and jockeys who have done well at a meet. doing this gives them a greater chance at getting that.
at $300, i would say he would be best off as a riding horse. his career hasnt been great, and youre going to put a lot of money into getting him back racing, than youre likely to make out of it. once in a great while a horse does make a comeback, but this is ONCE IN A GREAT WHILE. if you want to get into racing and have a decent horse, youre going to have to spend a few grand on the horse.
