LONDON, Oct 28 : British retiree David Bright has no stud farm or royal title, but a small stake he bought in a syndicate-owned mare named Tiffany has earned him a trip to Kentucky for this week's $5 million Breeders' Cup Turf.
Horse racing's biggest prizes are often the preserve of sheikhs, royalty and titans of industry, but Bright found another way into the sport of kings through a syndicate that sold 1,000 shares in Tiffany for about £500 ($664) each.
Bright, who used to work with hot air balloons, will visit breeding farms and bourbon distilleries before arriving at Keeneland to watch Tiffany line up against some of the world's best turf horses for the last time on Saturday.
"I get hyper anxious and I won’t sleep the night before," Bright told Reuters. "I'll be fidgeting like no one's business waiting for it to happen, I can’t look at the horses racing, I can’t watch it at all."
Bright has seen Tiffany run five times, including when she won her first Group 1, the Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten in Germany.
MOTHERHOOD ON THE CARDS
The 1-1/2 mile Breeders' Cup Turf is particularly poignant for Bright because it will be Tiffany's last race. She is due to be sold as a broodmare at the end of November at Tattersalls where the hope is she will fetch more than £1 million.
Elite Racing Club's former stable star Marsha, who finished sixth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in 2017, made over £6 million ($8 million) when she was sold, a European record.
"It's got to be a once-in-a-lifetime because I don't know whether we would have another horse capable of going to a Breeders' Cup," Bright said.
Trainer Mark Prescott said the mare had "little to lose and a lot to gain," in Keeneland and that winning the race would be another dream come true for him. The mare's successes in Germany and the United States should add to her appeal for buyers, he added.
In Kentucky she will take on top horses from powerhouses like Ballydoyle, which sends market leaders Diamond Necklace and Benvenuto Cellini, El Cordobes, who carries the colours of Dubai's ruling family the Al Maktoums, and last year's winner Ethical Diamond from Willie Mullins' yard in Ireland.
Diamond Necklace is the race favourite at 3–1 morning-line odds. Tiffany is tied with Ethical Diamond for fifth-best odds at 10–1.
BRINGING RACING TO THE MASSES
Bright, who is allergic to horses, will have the full owner's experience at Keeneland including parade ring passes and entry to one of the race meeting's lavish functions alongside private equity supremos and Bahraini royals.
He is one of 42 Tiffany owners making the trip from Britain, Germany and Venezuela and should she win the race, Bright will be entitled to a share of the $2.6 million winner's cheque.
This is thanks to Elite Racing, a club set up in 1992, which brings the sometimes exclusive sport to the masses for a fraction of the cost. Elite's syndicate allows the enjoyment of owning a horse without having to pay for training fees or vets' bills.
Micro-ownership is also increasingly important for an industry in Britain grappling with higher costs, lower prize money and structural issues like declining foal crops, talent drain abroad and regulatory pressure on the gambling industry.
It is a strategy adopted around the world and Japan is sending the syndicate-owned Deep Monster to this year's Breeders' Cup Turf.
"I don’t think the industry would survive without that involvement of syndicates and clubs," said Dan Downie, Elite Racing's racing manager.
"If we were relying on single ownerships or small partnerships there wouldn’t be much racing and eventually it would disappear."
($1 = 0.7527 pounds)