You need just 25K to own a horse! - By Shailendra Awasthi TNN
Posted on - 11 Feb 2011
You need just 25K to own a horse!
That Was The Lowest Fetching Priced Horse At Thursday’s Annual Auction
Shailendra Awasthi TNN
Pune: If you thought it takes a princely sum to own a race horse, you are grossly mistaken. For, you can buy one for as little as Rs 25,000, as Thursday’s auction here showed. At the only annual sale of two-year-old horses in India, held at the Pune race course, the lowest-priced horse was sold for that amount!
It may sound strange to people not associated with racing, but prevailing market conditions have ensured that racing can no longer be called the ‘sport of kings’. Hear this: Out of about 1650 babies born in 2009, only 10 came under the hammer on Thursday! Most of the others were sold privately on the basis of mutual agreement between stud farm owners and buyers. “A breeder has the right to choose weather or not to enter his horse for the auction sale,” says Satish Iyer, who manages the annual auction.
The auction, which was dominated by the Maharajas and top industrialists in the earlier days, used to run for two days at the Mahalaxmi Race Course till the late 80s.
But there is a better side to these private deals too. “It helps the breeder get a good price for his horses. Besides, it also gives more payment options to the buyer,” says a breeder, who was not willing to be named.
Another reason for the popularity of private sales is that it provides for better understanding on deals between the buyer and the seller. “Like a breeder might strike a deal that he be paid only half of the stakes money which his female horse wins and later, on being retired, she can be returned to the breeder for breeding purpose,” says a buyer.
There’s also this huge competition to buy a better quality horse which stands a chance to win classics or other big races. Private sales help a buyer buy the good babies straight from the stud farms as buying it in the auction may become difficult due to the presence of too many buyers.
AUCTION REPLAY
• Only 10 two-year-old horses went under the hammer at this year’s auction out of about 1650 babies born in stud farms across India
• A 12.5 per cent Value Added Tax has to be paid while buying a horse from the auction
• Rs 2,50,000 was the highest amount bid for a horse while the cheapest went for Rs 25,000
• Only those approved by the RWITC can buy a horse. While approving, the RWITC checks the financial status of a person, his income proof and whether he can sustain the expenses of a race horse
• The monthly charges of maintaining a horse varies between Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000
• Only horses registered with the Stud Book Authority of India can be sold in the auction
