Focus

We've been all over the map in recent months getting the next group lined up and ready to go. This was mainly because interest has come from all over the country, though not enough in any one spot to make that one place a gimme for buying a horse. I think that one of the main reasons to get into a partnership is to see your horse race live, visit the barn, be in the paddock before a race. To me, all that is priceless - plus the works on the backside in the morning. That's just a slice of heaven.

However, you can't be all things to all people, so there needs to be a focus and if that keeps some folks from joining us along the way for right now, then so be it. I've decided that we're going to focus on Canterbury Park next summer and drill our focus down to a horse that can run there as well as either Tampa and Remington (if we race with Bernell) or Chicagoland (if we race with Tammy). Heck, if there is enough interest, we'll do both, but the focus is on racing in Minnesota next summer.

There are several reasons for this focus and, obviously, none of them are purse related. Of course just throwing that out there makes it seem like we race for scraps up here and that is not true. I would call our purse structure lower mid-level. We're certainly not rock bottom, but our allowances top out in the mid-twenties. As we proved with Fizzy Pop, though, you can make some money up here if you race where you belong.

Here are the reasons in no particular order:

- You have to start somewhere and rather than be scattered all over, I'd like to start building off of Fizzy with a group nearby. It's easier for me to control the day-to-day here.

- Canterbury Park itself. As many of you already know, I think Canterbury runs one of the most inventive and fun racing meets in the country. Partners that race with us here are going to have a fun summer.

- It's home. There is something about racing at home in front of family and friends that is just over the top. I've been in the paddock at Santa Anita and it's marvelous, but it's not home. Not saying I don't want to do it again, however, because I do!

- Costs. Costs are very manageable here. Training fees are fair and, more importantly, vet fees are fair. I've seen vet bills from racing in NY, NJ and CA and for the same services, you can't beat the Midwest/Florida. It simply makes fiscal sense.

There you have it. My two main requirements are that we run here in the summer and that whatever horse we claim or private purchase can compete elsewhere. I may be cutting off some folks in other locations and to them I say, thank you so very much for your interest. I hope that we'll be racing your way soon, but right now we're going to focus on methodical growth and that starts at right here at home. It's important to do things right and you can only do that if you are focused, not scattered. HBT9WWH64CZH

If you're interested, please drop us a line, I'd like to finalize the group and have a horse in training in January. It takes a while to rev up and get ready to race and trying to get something going three weeks before the meet starts is about three months too late!