Country Life Offers Breeding Partnerships

Racing partnerships by most estimates today make up more than half of the ownership entities racing Thoroughbreds. The Pons family of Country Life Farm in Maryland has now taken the partnership concept into the breeding arena.

Now in its second year, Country Life's Raise You LLCs have purchased eight mares for these partnership arrangements. Typically, mares are purchased at auction in the $50,000-$60,000 range in foal to desirable stallions.

Each partner puts up $5,000 for a 10% stake in the mare and subsequent foal, with about a $200/month upkeep charge for the life of the two-year arrangement. Country Life holds a 10% position in each partnership, and there is no mark-up on the price of the mare. The foal is eventually sold as a weanling, the mare is bred back to a stallion of the partners' choice, and then that baby is sold. The mare is sold the following year in foal.

"There are three ways to make money," said Country Life's Josh Pons. "You sell the foals, sell the mare in foal; and the babies, who are all Maryland-breds, can earn breeders' awards for years based on their racetrack performance."

Pons said some 60 people have been brought into the partnerships, which are named after Raise You, a filly bred by Pons' grandfather. Raise You is the dam of champion Raise a Native, the sire of Mr. Prospector. Three partnerships were filled at this year's Keeneland November sale, and more will be offered at the January mixed sale.

"They have been refreshingly popular as they bring people into the sport without risking too much exposure," Pons explained. "We have a lot of people who have bred to our stallions through the years, and more folks who receive our newsletter, and they've wanted to participate. I think people in Maryland want a little touch of Broadway. They want to play at the highest level they can afford."

Partners are included in the decision-making process to determine who their mare will bred back to, allowing them a hands-on education in the breeding side of the industry. And the two-year window for each partnership allows people to get in and out in a reasonable period of time.

"That time frame means people aren't married to the horses," Pons said. "And the saving grace is if one of the horses bred becomes a good runner, or just an average one, the partners will be clipping coupons from the Maryland-bred program potentially for years to come."

All of the mares are boarded at Country Life, and the babies raised there, where generations of the Pons family have been breeding and raising horses .

"It's fun, it's popular, and hopefully it's a model we can keep doing with minimum exposure for the partners," Pons noted.