If Cot Campbell had not been so stubborn in his belief that partnerships were the way to attract new owners to Thoroughbred racing, the winner’s circle at Belmont Park after Justify had won the Triple Crown might have been much less crowded. “Originally, my concept of forming a partnership to own racehorses did not meet with wild enthusiasm within our industry,” Campbell recalled. “Early on, some very astute racing people advised me to abandon the partnership idea, but my blood was up. I pushed on. And you see before you today the poster boy for the slogan ‘Energy and enthusiasm can overcome stupidity and bad judgment.’ ” The audience at the induction ceremony for the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame earlier this month laughed appreciatively as the 90-year-old Campbell, whose Dogwood Stable is widely considered to have flung open the floodgates for the modern racing partnership, joined racing’s pantheon as a Pillar of the Turf. :: RACING PARTNERSHIPS: Download this story as a PDF supplement His contributions were, fittingly, recognized in a year when partnerships have taken center stage. If Campbell is the poster child for energy and enthusiasm, then Triple Crown winner Justify is the current poster child for racing partnerships, encompassing several models that have evolved over the years. The colt raced for WinStar Farm and China Horse Club, which together bought him as a yearling in a case of high-profile groups teaming up rather than competing against one another at auction; Starlight Racing, a traditional partnership syndicate; and Sol Kumin, who plays at a high level by sharing in proven commodities. Justify is no aberration. Consider the prior winner of the Kentucky Derby, Always Dreaming, whose ownership line in the program included MeB Racing Stables, Brooklyn Boyz Stables, Teresa Viola Racing Stables, St. Elias Stables, Siena Farm, and West Point Thoroughbreds. “Over 1,200 people have come into racing through Dogwood, and I believe half the people racing horses in America are racing in some sort of partnership,” Campbell said. Run of classic success Ownership syndicates have taken center stage in America’s most famous races in recent years. Animal Kingdom carried the colors of Team Valor International to victory in the 2011 Kentucky Derby. Just two years later, Palace Malice won the Belmont Stakes, becoming Dogwood’s second classic winner, following Summer Squall in the 1990 Preakness Stakes. Campbell syndicated horses for several years before officially launching Dogwood Farm in 1973. By pioneering the now-popular plan of group ownership, he opened the door for more people to participate in Thoroughbred racing at a reasonable cost. He is widely considered the originator of the modern racing partnership model, and several other groups began popping up in the years following. Dogwood and Team Valor, along with racing syndicates such as Donegal Racing, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Starlight Racing, StarLadies, Valor Ladies, West Point Thoroughbreds, and similar groups, operate under the same premise, with their own individual nuances. General partners in the operations put up money to purchase horses, typically yearlings or 2-year-olds, and shares in the horses are then offered to investors. Buying into a horse in partnership offers less risk, especially for nascent owners, than an outright solo purchase – although low-stake ownership is by no means a guaranteed profit enterprise. “Because financial gain is not the primary reason participants become involved in Team Valor racing ventures, the question really should be, ‘Have your clients received value for their racing investment?’ ” an information page for prospective owners on Team Valor’s website states. “The answer to that question is, ‘Most certainly.’ If the goal of Team Valor and its participants was to make money and the stable was operated as a business, horses would be sold on a timely basis. However, investors in Team Valor racing ventures participate because they want to consume or use the product, not buy it for resale. If ‘value’ represents quality involvement by participants at the highest level of racing, then Team Valor investors have received it.” Five years ago, Dogwood and Eclipse, which had begun to develop a working relationship and share facilities, merged operations as Campbell began to scale back his work. New horse purchases were made and managed by Aron Wellman’s Eclipse, with Jack Sadler, who had served as Dogwood’s vice president for 37 years, becoming vice president of operations for Eclipse. Additionally, the group’s financial operations were streamlined under a single chief financial officer, former Dogwood treasurer Bill Victor. “Cot Campbell, his brand, staff, and family are pure class and to be provided the opportunity to live up to the high standard he has set is a responsibility I do not take lightly,” Wellman said at the time. “We have come to know many of the Dogwood faithful, and we’re keen to welcome them into the Eclipse family. It is an honor to be handpicked by Cot to carry on his esteemed legacy. This is the ultimate endorsement.” Eclipse also has tasted classic success recently, with Tapwrit carrying its silks home in the 2017 Belmont Stakes. The partnership had teamed up with Bridlewood Farm and Robert LaPenta in order to acquire the colt for $1.2 million at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale – and also to spread the risk. Spreading the risk Stonestreet Farm is known for campaigning great fillies in its gold and burgundy silks, including Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer Rachel Alexandra and European champion Lady Aurelia. But when it comes to colts, Stonestreet owner Barbara Banke prefers to forge partnerships, teaming with a number of prominent stallion operations on auction purchases in recent years, including Coolmore, Gainesway, and Spendthrift. In addition to sharing risk on a pricey purchase, partnerships such as these have an additional benefit for stallion farms – mares from a high-end operation’s broodmare band will then visit their young prospects, giving them a boost in making a commercial stallion in a competitive market. Two years ago, Stonestreet took a Curlin colt to the Keeneland September yearling sale, and Bob Edwards of e Five Racing Thoroughbreds went to $1 million to acquire him. Edwards, who sends his young horses to Stonestreet’s training center in Florida, then cut a deal with Banke to stay in as a partner – both lessening the blow of his expensive purchase and giving Banke a share in a hot racing prospect while staying true to her business model. “I actually take almost all the colts [to auction] unless there is a reason not to take him,” Banke said. “So we took him. I was iffy about selling him, but then we got a great partner, and a really lucky partner. So I’m very happy.” Happy, indeed. Good Magic is now a Breeders’ Cup winner, juvenile Eclipse Award champion, Kentucky Derby runner-up, Haskell Invitational winner, and Travers Stakes contender for Stonestreet and e Five. But as these partnerships on colts began to emerge in the auction marketplace, Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning said that these team-ups may help contribute to the moderate declines in the market, as they result in less bidding competition for top colts. “I think there is a little less competition at the top of the market, and you continue to see a trend toward merging and developing partnerships among the top buyers, which doesn’t result in as spirited a bidding competition as we want to experience in expensive colts,” Browning said. Sharing in a Triple Crown Justify, racing’s newest Triple Crown immortal, provided a keen example of several situations, encompassing several different types of partnerships while also displaying the modern trend of owners buying into established racehorses as his bandwagon grew during the run-up to the classics. Kenny and Lisa Troutt’s WinStar Farm, in partnership with the China Horse Club, who joined forces to extend their buying power, appeared on the $500,000 sales ticket for Justify at the 2016 Keene-land September yearling sale. Also involved in the purchase was SF Racing, overseen by executives from George Soros’s investment firm. “This is a great ownership group,” WinStar president and chief executive Elliott Walden said after the Kentucky Derby. Teo Ah Khing “and the China Horse Club and SF Bloodstock, who is also involved with all our 3-year-olds. They just came to us two years ago. And we put together a partnership to try to buy some 3-year-old colts, yearling colts at the time. And it gave us more opportunity – typically, we would put 20 colts in training for this opportunity to try to get here each year. And it gave us an opportunity to put 30 with the extra resources.” The China Horse Club, founded in 2013, is the brainchild of Malaysian billionaire Teo Ah Khing. In seeking to develop the racing industry in China – which does not yet allow parimutuel wagering – Teo describes China Horse Club as a “lifestyle club,” attempting to build interest in the culture of high-end Thoroughbred racing. “We are thankful for everybody here and the media and all our friends and especially our partners that we have,” Teo said at the Belmont Stakes. “We treasure them. As you know, they are about 20 of our members here watching probably at the corridor, and they are on Cloud Nine, and so am I.” After Justify won his debut, SF Racing sold its racing rights in the colt to Sol Kumin’s Head of Plains Partners and to Jack and Laurie Wolf’s Starlight Racing, in deals completed in March. Starlight, in keeping with its business model, then split its minority interest into 10 shares that it offered to investors – who got the thrill of a lifetime through unbeaten Justify’s Triple Crown sweep. “We’re just tickled to death that we’re along for the ride,” Wolf said. Kumin, a Wall Street investor and co-founder of a hedge fund, bought into his first racehorse in 2014. Kumin likes to play at the top of the game, and thus focuses on investing in horses who have already started and proven they have ability. For example, he bought into 2016 Kentucky Derby runner-up and Preakness Stakes winner Exaggerator early in the colt’s sophomore campaign after he had been a graded stakes-winning juvenile. His investments also often converge to give him several rooting interests. In addition to his minority share in Justify, he also owns a share in Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Audible with some of the same partners, and in fifth-place My Boy Jack with some of the same partners as Exaggerator, as well as West Point. “We built a great friendship with WinStar Farm, with Elliott and Kenny,” Kumin said at the Kentucky Derby. “We had a lot of horses there, and they have been great to us over the last three, four years. We partnered with them many times, and it has been a great partnership for us. Teo as well. We partnered on lots of horses with them.” The club model One goal of partnership syndicates is to bring new owners into the racing industry, helping to ensure its long-term health. In recent years, racetracks have taken a leading role in this objective, creating a low-risk view into Thoroughbred ownership via a non-profit club model. Warrior’s Club has 200 owners who put up $500 apiece when Churchill Downs launched a racing club in spring 2016. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas purchased the colt, now a 4-year-old, on behalf of the group after the Warrior’s Reward colt was a $47,000 buyback at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s April sale of 2-year-olds in training. A restricted stakes winner and Grade 3-placed as a juvenile, and stakes-placed last year, Warrior’s Club is in career form in 2018, having pushed his earnings past $500,000 with a victory in the Grade 3 Commonwealth at Keeneland and a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Stakes on Derby Day. Both races were well attended by locally based club members. “The name describes him about as well as anything – he’s a warrior, I tell you,” Lukas said. “He’s just a wonderful little horse to train. I always kid people that a used car salesman could train him; he’s not hard to train at all. He gives you every effort, every time. And to make 200 people happy is really special.” The Churchill Racing Club’s offerings continue to expand, with several horses currently on the track. Additionally, Fair Grounds and Arlington, both owned by Churchill’s parent company, have similar clubs. Oaklawn Park also launched a racing club this year. At least 48 Churchill Downs Racing Club members have decided to deepen their involvement in the sport, joining up with other Thoroughbred ownership groups, according to club representative Gary Palmisano. Nexus Racing Club, launched in 2017, is a non-profit social club that aims to attract and introduce young professionals, ages 18 to 30, to horse racing. The group partners with established owners – including Glen Hill Farm, LNJ Foxwoods, and partnerships such as StarLadies and West Point – allowing members who have bought in to attend morning works for the owner’s selected horses, visit the paddock and possibly winner’s circle, and other experiences. Members do not own equity in the horses, with a focus instead on giving young people a positive experience in racing. Members also have the chance to meet fellow young racing fans and to network with industry professionals. Looking to the future Judging by recent events, the influence of partnerships on the racetrack and in the auction ring won’t diminish anytime soon. The Medaglia d’Oro colt who topped this month’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale at $1.35 million sold to the West Point partnership in partnership with Robert Masiello, Chris Larsen, and Siena Farm. WinStar, which bred the colt, was also considering buying back into the youngster. “It’s a great group of people,” Masiello said after signing the ticket. “We knew we were going to have to spend a lot of money. That’s why it’s a pretty big partnership. But we’re over the moon.” Jerry Crawford of Donegal Racing purchased fillies by American Pharoah and Uncle Mo at the Saratoga sale. Later in the week, he was in Chicago, celebrating with partners after 3-year-old Carrick won the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park, the future looking bright. “We may have just set a record with the number of young people in the winner’s circle,” Crawford said. “We invited them all.”