2020 began as a tough year for arranging foal shares that loosened up with the Covid 19 lockdown in March. I favored stallions with great pipelines of future runners that could increase upside potential. I arranged multiple foal shares to Dialed In and Macleans Music (6th and 7th on the 2yo sire list as of September 27). Other foal share stallions I best not name in print included 1) the leading sales sire with 1st foals yearlings of 2020, 2) a perennial leading turf stallion, and 3) a G1 son of A. P. Indy with 1st foals 3 yos of 2020 that has had two GSWs since the deal was signed. I also arranged below-market prices on a variety of LF seasons. As you might figure, stallion managers often prefer not to see their stallions’ names in print when “deal” is mentioned. Call 502 708 1931 for information.
History suggests that 2021 will see a better-than-usual availability of foal and mare share deals, as down markets make it harder for stallions to fill books, and farms turn to foal/mare share deals and other less traditional approaches to attract mares.
I facilitate foal/mare share deals and lfsn contracts at all levels. I specialize in arranging foal or mare-share contracts that get you to mid and upper-tier stallions that move your mare up the quality ladder. Over 30+ years I have arranged hundreds of foal and mare share deals, including foal/mare share deals to Speightstown, Tiznow, Scat Daddy, Hard Spun, Mineshaft (see story below), Ghostzapper, Super Saver, Kitten’s Joy, Indian Charlie, Street Cry, Unbridled, Mt. Livermore, Harlan’s Holiday, El Gran Senor, and many more. If you’re interested, I can help: I have contacts at farms and with owners, and I shoot straight with everyone.
In most cases you pay nothing to me because the season owner compensates me with a percentage of your foal’s sales price. In the few cases when the farm will not pay agents for foal shares my fee is 1% of the hammer price. Some farms will ask that you breed a 2nd mare to one of their (usually less expensive) stallions on a LFSN basis if your foal-share mare doesn’t knock their socks off.
(A Super-Successful Foal-Share as advertised pre-sale Sept. 2017)
Hip 2903 at Keeneland Sept. 2017 is a very nice colt that is a foal share with Mineshaft out of Bob Losey’s mare Joels Last Laugh. This colt is correct and has good size, notwithstanding that he’s a May 2 first foal. He is a bit short-coupled at this stage, though the mare herself “stands over a lot of ground” as Europeans are wont to describe a lengthy, long-striding individual. No vices, has had no surgeries, and will sell with a modest reserve to dissolve the foal share partnership. Joels Last Laugh is a half-sis to three top-notch SWs. Here is the link to the pedigree page http://apps.keeneland.com/sales/Sep17/pdfs/2903.pdf
Lane’s End and I were quite pleased with the reception of this colt — 8 scopes, 6 X-ray repository reads, 3 heart scans. And he did his part – showing well through 80+ viewings and bringing $165,000. Thanks to Lane’s End for the foal share deal and a great job in presenting him. Thanks to Sean Curtin for a marvelous job raising and prepping him. Best of luck to the buyer (Ben Glass, agent for the Wests). (2020 update — This colt, named Breaking News, ran 2nd at OP in his first start. Soon after he won a MSW ($100,000 purse) at OP and now has winnings of $168,000 in 14 starts.)
Joels Last Laugh, dam of Breaking News, has a foal share Tiznow 2020 colt and is in foal to the 12th leading sire of 2020 (as of late Sept.) for 2021.
Foal/Mare share advantages:
- Typically you can breed to a substantially better-quality stallion than you would consider paying a lfsn fee for.
- You lower risk because you pay only when you sell and the “standard” contract has you paying ½ or less of the foal’s sales price to the stallion season owner.
- There is no sales tax due on your payment.
- You don’t need to insure to cover the stud fee, as it doesn’t have to be paid if the foal dies.
- In most cases, sales expenses are shared with the season provider.
Giveups: You normally have to share breeder awards, and yes, if your mare produces an absolute knockout foal, you might have been better off paying the stud fee. But in that case, you very well might be in the same position I was when the hammer went down at $165,000 on the Joel’s Last Laugh colt — I was thrilled to no end, as I would have considered paying the Mineshaft stud fee a bridge too far for her first breeding.
Timing: Though a few deals appear early, most farms wait until they have gauged demand for their stallions and that often means November before offering foal/mare shares. The foal/mare share market gets serious after the Nov. bloodstock sales, and continues throughout the breeding season, though the majority of deals are done November through early February.
If you have a nice mare and want to explore possibilities, shoot me an e-mail of give me a call to discuss proven and/or unproven stallions that are interesting foal-share prospects for the right mare. Stallion managers are typically willing to do foal/mare shares when they can’t fill a stallion’s book at the advertised price. Quality proven stallions that the market deems as overpriced and those having an off year are good candidates. Most 3rd/4th and some 5th-year stallions are foal/mare share prospects, and many second-year stallions are available given the slack demand for years 2-4 stallions. Yes, 3rd and 4th-year stallions are especially risky because their first runners will have hit the track prior to your foal’s yearling sale. That said, I’ve had some good luck with these types, breeding to Unbridled, Scat Daddy, Street Cry, Cozzene, and more on 3rd/4th– year foal shares.
For stallions whose seasons legitimately sell for $25,000 or better, you’ll need a quality mare (significant black type in the first two dams, usually requiring some graded black-type up close). To get the better stallions some farms do, while others don’t require that you breed a second mare and pay a stud fee (fee typically in the $5,000-$15,000 range for a farm stallion on the make or that is having a slow year. More often than not, these fees are below the advertised price.
Contact Bob Losey at rllosey@gmail.com or 502 708 1931 to discuss further.
Another of My Own Foal Share Mares I claimed Show Me Mo (picture below) for $7500 in Nov. 2017 and had a nice Dialed In colt 1/30/19. She’s in foal on a foal-share deal to Will Take Charge for 2020 (Yes I know the risk of breeding to an unproven stallion, but I couldn’t help myself). WILD ABOUT MARIE, Show Me Mo’s winning half-sis, has two 2019 SWs, most notably G2 Honorable Miss SW MINIT TO STARDOM. Those new SWs will be a big help in arranging a foal-share deal for the 2020 breeding season.
If you are interested in claiming partnerships, that is another venture I can help with. I claimed Joels Last Laugh (see above foal share) for $5,000.
