How does a horseracing partnership or horseracing syndicate work? There are companies that run horseracing partnerships and syndicates. These allow several people to own the same racehorse. For a person to join in with a horse racing partnership, the person must buy into the partnership by buying a share of the horse. The share is a percentage of the cost of the horse and sometimes a markup of that cost as determined by the horseracing partnership company.



If you do become a partner in the ownership of a racehorse, the amount you pay is equal to the size of your share in the partnership. Because of this, the expenses related to the horse will be divided each month among all of the racehorse partners according to how large of a share they own. The size of the share that each partner owns is their percentage of the costs and expenses. Though a larger share will cost more, it will also deliver more when there are profits to distribute.

There are different rules in place for every horseracing partnership or syndicate out there. Each group is governed by either the company that runs the partnership or by the managing partner. There are so many possibilities involved in these partnerships, doing some comparison shopping is recommended. To do this properly, ask several partnerships for data in order to find out what you have to gain from each. By comparing syndicates before making your decision, you will be making a far more informed choice.

A few other things to remember during your comparison:

* What are the highest and lowest ownership percentages possible?

* Who is the managing partner and will there be a management fee charged? If there is a fee, how much is it? Is the managing partner available to the other owners?

* From where do the horses come? Does the racing stable breed them or purchase them from auctions or private sales?

* Do you have access to see the horses pedigree information?

* Does the syndicate engage in regional races or national ones?

* Which racetracks are they planning to use?

* Will the syndicate or partnership help you to get your license?

* What type of documents will you be given at the end of the year to assist you with tax preparation?

* Are racehorse partnership shares based on a percentage of the actual purchase price of the horse or do they add a mark-up?

* What is the length of the co-ownership contract?

* Is insurance included as part of the monthly expenses?

* If you should decide to back out of the partnership, how is it done?

As this list shows, there are many considerations when picking the best horse racing partnership. As you decide between the available syndicates, ask plenty of questions and use a checklist. This will allow you to easily compare the syndicates to each other and to make the best possible investment decision.