Nuances for Newbies - When in Doubt, ASK

Original article written by Regina Moore posted 13 years 0 weeks ago

You see a horse on the sales list that you really like, but you’re reluctant to click the “buy” icon, because you keep wondering why the seller would let such a nice-looking horse go. You must be missing something. Or, you’re confident that the horse will be a fine addition to your barn, but the asking price is going to take an uncomfortably large chunk out of your newbie bank balance, and you’re worried that you’re about to buy something that you can’t really afford.

What to do? The answer is actually pretty simple: Ask.

Send the seller a private message and tell them your concerns. Ask them why they’re selling the horse. Ask them if they’re willing to drop the price, considering that you’re a newbie and don’t have much money, but you’d really love to have that horse in your barn.

When I was a newbie, I felt that asking the seller questions would be rude. After all, the seller had put their price on the horse, so I as a potential buyer had the freedom to take it or leave it. Why should it matter to the seller what my concerns were?

But I no longer have that hesitation. Here’s some of my more notable experiences with asking.

A. As a newbie, I saw a Paint gelding for sale for $25,000. A huge price, but the gelding was stakes placed, and at that point, it was extremely rare to find a stakes quality mixed breed horse on the sales page. Upon perusing the actual races, I realized that the horse had only been stakes placed because of extremely small fields. I had just started to pay attention to speed figures then, and the horse’s speed figures were very low. Still, he was stakes placed and I didn’t have any black type horses in my barn....

With much hesitation, I contacted the seller. I explained my concerns about the horse’s ability to do well in the future. I asked if he’d drop the price to $15,000. He did better than that. He dropped to the price to $5,000, which turned out to be a good thing, since the gelding was indeed a deadbeat, as his speed figures indicated, and only earned $200 before I gave up on him.

But that’s not the best part of this story. The seller said he was so impressed with how much scrutiny I’d given to the Paint’s record, that he offered me a free breeding to his Thoroughbred sprinter. The stallion stood for a 40k fee, an amount I would never have considered spending as a newbie. So, I found an appropriate mare, bred him to the stallion for free, and that resulted in my first homebred being a winner in his second start. He later went on to be stakes placed.

Quite a happy ending, simply because I asked the seller to lower his price and explained my reasons.


B. I saw a nice Paint filly in a $20,000 claiming race. Though she hadn’t won in quite some time, she was stakes placed and a cinch to be claimed. I really, really wanted her, but couldn’t count on luck being on my side if multiple claims were put in. So, I contacted the owner and offered her $30,000 (rounded up from the claim price plus purse money if she won the race) if I could buy the filly outright. The owner replied by offering me the filly for the same $20,000 as the claiming price. I gratefully took possession, scratched the filly from the claiming race, and she went out and won a stakes in her first start for me. She went on to be one of the most successful mixed breed runners I’ve ever had.

Again, a very happy ending, just because I asked.


C. I happened to be browsing the steeplechaser list and came across a 4yo colt that had been turned into a steeplechaser, but had started yet over jumps. He was priced at a whopping $150,000. I could well afford it, but I’m not into spending large amounts unless I think the purchase is going to be a money-making asset for my barn. The colt had successful jumpers on both sides of the pedigree. So, why was the seller selling? The answer seemed obvious – despite the pedigree, the horse had probably schooled over jumps as merely “has potential”, or maybe he even schooled as “a hazard on the course”, and the seller was looking to make a killing off the promise of the pedigree, since the buyer couldn’t see what the result of the schooling was.

And yet, I had purchased a few nice steeplechase mares at reasonable prices from the same seller the day or two before. He didn’t seem like the kind of player to deliberately try to fool buyers. Still, I wasn’t about to spend $150k on a steeplechaser – which have lower purses than flat racers anyway – that was going to turn out to be merely an average jumper or worse.

So, I contacted the seller. How had the colt trained over jumps? Since, per his reply, the horse trained as having "talent", why was he selling? The seller answered my questions and then taunted, "I could up the price." Point taken. I'd asked a fair share of questions and it was time to click the Buy icon or leave well enough alone. I bought.

The colt went right out and won his debut with an impressive speed figure. A year and a half later, he’s earned back the 150k purchase price, has won three stakes this year, and is now a contender in the Steward’s Cup Steeplechase.

So, a very happy ending, though the story is hopefully far from over.

Had I not bothered to ask the seller my questions, I probably would have walked away from the horse, because the colt’s appearance on the sales list seemed too suspicious to me.


I’ve never had a bad experience with asking a seller questions. I’ve been told “no” on occasion, but it’s always been politely. Even now, when I have plenty of money, I’ll sometimes ask a seller to come down off their asking price, because I don’t see how the horse can be profitable for me if I spend so much just to acquire it. If the seller is serious about selling, they’re usually agreeable and can see my reasoning.

Many, many players will say on the forum that players are always welcome to negotiate their prices. If you ask questions as a newbie, my experience has been that you’ll be treated with respect for doing your homework. However, I wouldn’t waste my time or the seller’s by asking questions about a bunch of horses in which I merely have a passing interest. I only contact the seller when I’m highly interested in the horse, albeit with some reservations.

If anyone asked me any questions about any horse I had up for sale, I would answer truthfully as to why I was selling and if I thought the horse had much of a future as a racehorse. I think the vast majority of sellers would do the same.

When in doubt, ask.

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