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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 12:38 pm Post subject: Proposed questions for 1st syndicate meeting
Just thought I'd open a new thread for questions we know will need answering during the 1st meeting. I guess the idea is just to post the questions here, so that each person can come to the meeting with some pre-conceived ideas and suggestions.
1. What happens if I want to leave the syndicate?
2. What happens to any prize money?
3. Which trainer and why?
4. Who decides on who goes as 'owners' when our horse runs?
5. How often do we need to meet / discuss how things are going?
6. How do we decide which horse to buy?
7. If we get a cheaper horse, what happens to the 'leftover' money?
8. What happens to the horse if it can't race any more?
I think we require three or four main people. But my own thought is all other members should at the very least be on the committee. Committee meetings can then be held at race meetings or stable visits. I would think most of our business could be done on the forum. On either a daily/weekly/monthly basis.
Obviously, I will bring to the first meeting some paperwork on the various aspects just to make sure everyone has something to refer to, which would include
a. Financial breakdown (including numbers of shares taken up)
b. Responses from trainers (related to (a) but also in terms of which we choose for other reasons)
c. Buying a horse - options
d. Welfare issues (including what happens if the horse has to retire, training policy - in the sense that I personally, for example, would not want the horse to run unless it was as fit as possible - I loathe the phrase "He needed the run" and hope it is never uttered in my presence! )
IF we get far enough to make decisions, we could decide informally on
a. Owner's privileges (rotation, draw from hat, geographical - ie people in the North get preference when/if the horse runs there, ditto the South)
b. Prizes, if any
c. "Leftover" money, if any
d. Syndicate colours
e. Syndicate name
f. What happens if someone has to leave the syndicate (this will have to be put into the syndicate agreement eventually, as how we handle this will determine the viability of the syndicate in the future)
g. Frequency of meetings
h. Who will have responsibility for daily admin, registering colours and syndicate name (this includes dealing with the trainer, because all trainers, for good reasons, have a rule that they will only deal with one individual - this does not, obviously, apply to yard and gallop visits, but there would have to be some limit on numbers nevertheless - otherwise the trainer would find several syndicates of 40-odd people turning up on a regular basis!)
i. Bank account and banking issues (the syndicate viability will depend on people paying their monthly subs on time, because otherwise the bank account will be going into the red all the time, and we will then have to pay interest, which would be silly.) As a suggestion, I think we should allow shares to be bought only if the shareholder is prepared to make a monthly direct debit to the racing account (a direct debit can always be stopped if the shareholder leaves, of course). Who signs the cheques to the trainer? (Or can it all be done electronically these days?) In any case, we will have to trust one person to handle the funds!
Phew - and that's just for starters, I suspect!
More questions, please! _________________ UNEXPECTED WINNER 2009 FLAT 10 TO FOLLOW COMPETITION!
Mansfield, my idea was that at the first meeting (at the races, of course, see "Making a Move" topic), the first thing we should decide is if the whole idea is viable in terms of finance. If not, we grin, congratulate ourselves on now understanding much more about how the racing world works, and have a great day at the races!
The question of renting (leasing) has not yet been gone into. However, I have noticed a number of leasing deals advertised in the RP - they seem no cheaper than an outright buy by a syndicate plus training costs, and are apparently a popular option with businesses who wish to use a leasing agreement to be "owners" for a short period. I am not sure what leasing terms involve, and will obviously ask on yard visits. However, one aspect about leasing with which I am uneasy is that it APPEARS that leasing leaves the people who lease with very little say in what happens to the horse, both during it's racing career and afterwards.
Anyone know anything more about leasing? Would it be an option? What does it entail?
The BHB says:
"[Leasing] avoids a capital outlay for a racehorse and involves ownership of the horse for a designated period of time.
You can lease a horse for a single race or its racing career. An agreement between the lessor and the lessee needs to be made regarding matters such as the split, if any, of prize money and the payment of training fees.
Under the Orders and Rules of Racing the lessee normally becomes the "owner" and therefore assumes the privileges and responsibiltiies associated with ownership."
It seems to me that leasing is simply a way of avoiding actually buying a horse - and therefore avoiding the capital outlay. It does not let the lessee off paying training fees or other costs (depending on the terms of the lease agreement).
Just my opinion, but I would much rather actually own the horse outright.
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