The Solo Select Podcast

The Business of Horses

Strategy, economics, and straight talk from inside the performance-horse industry — hosted by Melanie Smith.

On the Show

The Business of Horses is Solo Select's podcast on the working side of the performance-horse industry, hosted by founder Melanie Smith. One week it's a conversation with the people shaping Western performance and Quarter Horse racing — champion riders, trainers, breeders, and the teams behind horses like LBR Hangem-Shotty. The next it's the numbers themselves: stallion contracts and semen shipping, ICSI and embryo transfer, recipient-mare programs, equine law, and sale strategy. Select Fastrack episodes are en Español.

The Business of Horses

Episodes

Cover art — Butch Wise & Freddy Carmona: Inside Solo Select Racing's 51-Head Ruidoso Consignments

Latest Episode

Butch Wise & Freddy Carmona: Inside Solo Select Racing's 51-Head Ruidoso Consignments

29 min

Freddy Carmona and Butch Wise, two of the bloodstock agents behind Solo Select Racing's yearling program, sit down to walk through this year's 51-horse consignment for the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale. The depth runs deep. Full or half siblings to five individual champions. Ten out of grade one winners. One half to an All American Futurity winner, six more to All American finalists. Four are related to 56 individual stakes horses between them, and more than half the consignment comes out of stakes-producing mares. Carmona and Wise also cover what Solo Select Racing's fitting program does before a horse ever sees the ring, and why the walking videos on the consignment are worth a look before sale day. 413 yearlings total sell across two sessions, Sept. 4-5 at 2 p.m., every one eligible for the 2027 Triple Crown Futurities at Ruidoso. Last year's sale grossed $26.8 million and averaged $70,000 a yearling. See all 51 Solo Select Racing consignments at https://www.soloselecthorses.com/ruidoso-sale-horses

The Archive

Cover art — Feeding the Future: Growing and Fueling Elite Equine Athletes
Podcast

Feeding the Future: Growing and Fueling Elite Equine Athletes

1 hr 19 min
Cover art — Fastrack - Ep. 5: Entrevista con Emmanuel Villareal (Rooster QH Sale)
Episode 5

Fastrack - Ep. 5: Entrevista con Emmanuel Villareal (Rooster QH Sale)

47 min
Cover art — Fastrack - Ep. 4: Announcing Fastrack’s New Consignment Rules for the August 16 Sale
Episode 4

Fastrack - Ep. 4: Announcing Fastrack’s New Consignment Rules for the August 16 Sale

34 min
Cover art — Episode 23 - NCHA Hall Of Fame & $495K-Earning Stallion LBR Hangem Syndicated
Episode 23

Episode 23 - NCHA Hall Of Fame & $495K-Earning Stallion LBR Hangem Syndicated

29 min
Cover art — Episode 22 - $360,000+ NCHA Rider Trystan Crowe : What It Takes To Raise a Young Horseman
Episode 22

Episode 22 - $360,000+ NCHA Rider Trystan Crowe : What It Takes To Raise a Young Horseman

41 min
Cover art — Episode 21 - Inside Solo Select Full-Service Fitting Programs
Episode 21

Episode 21 - Inside Solo Select Full-Service Fitting Programs

1 hr 5 min
Cover art — Fastrack - Ep. 3 - ¿Qué opinan Miguel Vargas y Christopher Villatoros, dueños del ganador del Heritage Place Futurity G1, sobre Fastrack?
Episode 3En Español

Fastrack - Ep. 3 - ¿Qué opinan Miguel Vargas y Christopher Villatoros, dueños del ganador del Heritage Place Futurity G1, sobre Fastrack?

32 min
Cover art — Episode 20: Solo Select Expands Global Reach with Sponsorship of the 2026 NCHA Australia Open Futurity
Episode 20

Episode 20: Solo Select Expands Global Reach with Sponsorship of the 2026 NCHA Australia Open Futurity

38 min
Cover art — Comprando un Caballo 100% en Línea: La Experiencia del Entrenador Sammy Mendoza en Fastrack
PodcastEn Español

Comprando un Caballo 100% en Línea: La Experiencia del Entrenador Sammy Mendoza en Fastrack

23 min
Cover art — Ep. 19: How to Reach the Top (and Stay There)—Inside Kenny Platt's Family-run Cutting Operation
Episode 19

Ep. 19: How to Reach the Top (and Stay There)—Inside Kenny Platt's Family-run Cutting Operation

1 hr 16 min
Cover art — Episode 18-All In: The Full Story of LBR Hangem-Shotty-by the Team Who Built Him
Episode 18

Episode 18-All In: The Full Story of LBR Hangem-Shotty-by the Team Who Built Him

46 min
Cover art — The Business of Horses - Inside 2-Year-Old Training Programs with Ty Benson and Max Morin PART 2
Podcast

The Business of Horses - Inside 2-Year-Old Training Programs with Ty Benson and Max Morin PART 2

41 min
Cover art — The Business of Horses - Inside 2-Year-Old Training Programs with Ty Benson and Max Morin
Podcast

The Business of Horses - Inside 2-Year-Old Training Programs with Ty Benson and Max Morin

52 min
Cover art — Episode 16 - Inside Solo Select’s 2,500-Mare Recipient Mare Operation: Secrets to Better Pregnancy Rates
Episode 16

Episode 16 - Inside Solo Select’s 2,500-Mare Recipient Mare Operation: Secrets to Better Pregnancy Rates

54 min
Cover art — Episode 15 - How to get Involved with AQHA
Episode 15

Episode 15 - How to get Involved with AQHA

27 min
Cover art — Episode 14 - The Business of Horses - AQHA 2-Year-Rule Discussion
Episode 14

Episode 14 - The Business of Horses - AQHA 2-Year-Rule Discussion

1 hr 19 min
Cover art — Episode 13 - Breeding 101 - Episode 2 - Breeding with intention
Episode 13

Episode 13 - Breeding 101 - Episode 2 - Breeding with intention

53 min
Cover art — Episode 12 - Breeding Logistics 101: Stallion Contracts, Semen Shipping , Mare Prep, ICSI process and Foals Management
Episode 12

Episode 12 - Breeding Logistics 101: Stallion Contracts, Semen Shipping , Mare Prep, ICSI process and Foals Management

1 hr 37 min
Cover art — Episode 11 - Inside Solo Select: Tarleton State Q&A on Building an Empire
Episode 11

Episode 11 - Inside Solo Select: Tarleton State Q&A on Building an Empire

1 hr 3 min
Cover art — Episode 10 - ES- Fastrack: Cambiando la Compra/Venta de los Caballos Quarto de Milla de Carreras - es
Episode 10En Español

Episode 10 - ES- Fastrack: Cambiando la Compra/Venta de los Caballos Quarto de Milla de Carreras - es

10 min
Cover art — Episode 10 - Fastrack: Changing the Way Racehorses are Bought and Sold
Episode 10

Episode 10 - Fastrack: Changing the Way Racehorses are Bought and Sold

1 hr 6 min
Cover art — Episode 9 - Feeding Your Horse To It's Genetic Potential : The Crucial Role Of Nutrition With Melanie Smith and Dr. James Lattimer
Episode 9

Episode 9 - Feeding Your Horse To It's Genetic Potential : The Crucial Role Of Nutrition With Melanie Smith and Dr. James Lattimer

40 min
Cover art — Episode 8 - The Rise of the Rope Horse Industry: Insights and Evolution from the Old West Futurity
Episode 8

Episode 8 - The Rise of the Rope Horse Industry: Insights and Evolution from the Old West Futurity

23 min
Cover art — Episode 7 - $55,000 Payday for four-year old mare Relentless PYC at Old West: What It Means for the Roping Industry
Episode 7

Episode 7 - $55,000 Payday for four-year old mare Relentless PYC at Old West: What It Means for the Roping Industry

13 min
Cover art — Episode 6 - The Story Of Apache R Hali with Junior Nogueira
Episode 6

Episode 6 - The Story Of Apache R Hali with Junior Nogueira

11 min
Cover art — Episode 5 -Trophies & World Champion Titles, with Trevor Brazile & Miles Baker
Episode 5

Episode 5 -Trophies & World Champion Titles, with Trevor Brazile & Miles Baker

9 min
Cover art — Episode 4 - Talk Of The Town with Melanie Smith and Ty Smith
Episode 4

Episode 4 - Talk Of The Town with Melanie Smith and Ty Smith

20 min
Cover art — Episode 3 - Special Edition Episode with Melanie Smith and Miles Baker
Episode 3

Episode 3 - Special Edition Episode with Melanie Smith and Miles Baker

16 min
Cover art — Episode 2 - The Business Of Horses with Veterinarian Dr. Carly Turner: ICSI
Episode 2

Episode 2 - The Business Of Horses with Veterinarian Dr. Carly Turner: ICSI

39 min
Cover art — Episode 1 - The Business of Horses with Attorney Kendra Streeter: Equine Law & Contracts
Episode 1

Episode 1 - The Business of Horses with Attorney Kendra Streeter: Equine Law & Contracts

38 min
Melanie Smith, founder of Solo Select Horses and host of The Business of Horses podcast

Meet the Host

Melanie Smith

The horse industry is growing fast — and the gray areas are where money gets lost. Melanie Smith, founder of Solo Select Horses, started The Business of Horses to eliminate them: real numbers, real contracts, and real decisions from one of the largest breeding and sale-fitting operations in the country.

Whether you're starting an equine business or scaling one, every episode is built to sharpen how you operate:

  • Breeding economics — stud fees, stallion contracts, semen shipping, ICSI, and recipient-mare logistics
  • Sale strategy — fitting programs, catalog presence, timing, and what actually drives a high seller
  • The people — champion riders, trainers, veterinarians, and attorneys who run the industry

Put the strategy to work.

From breeding consultations to a roster of proven sires — Solo Select runs the programs this podcast pulls apart.