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

Mr. Butch, thank you for being here. I want to focus on the change. What's the change that we made here in Fast Track? I think last time we quoted it that we're going to, I think it was said that, that's us backing our consignors, not the other way around. Can you elaborate on that? I think just like any startup business, you try to make adjustments to best suit the clients. And that's what we're doing. Now, as you and I discussed earlier, with $5 diesel and oil, $100 a barrel, and everything higher at the grocery store, everything, we felt like there was a need to change the entry requirement to get into a fast-track sale. So you can send us your papers and a transfer, and you don't put up any money.

If you want to go ahead and pay the consignment fee, it has now gone from $1,000 to $500. And the reason is trying to take care of the clients. If we sell more horses, we do well. You do well. And we've done very well so far. So the new model is twofold. One is a different entrance requirement. Send us your papers, your transfer. We get, you know, we get everything started and get it going. The other one is we've had requests from lots of different owners to be able to market their own horses and not use an agent because sometimes they weren't close to an agent. Does that convert them into the agent? Would that be considered? How would we manage that part? In some sense. but they're going to have to become an agent because the agents were working. They were doing the photographs. They were doing the videos.

They were doing the x-rays. They were doing everything that goes along with that. That's what they got paid for. So now if an owner wants to be an agent, they have to do exactly what the agent was doing. And the quality of it too, right? It's got to be quality. One of the main things that touching base on the agent value or you want it to be your own agent is, the quality of video, the quality of pictures. I mean, that really helps sell your horse. I don't think there's anything that sells a horse better than good quality photos and videos or that will kill a sale on a horse quicker than bad photos, videos. So a good approach to that. Them being their own marketer for their horse would be hiring a professional photographer to go take their pictures and get rid of that trying to do it yourself kind of deal that's really, if you don't have the practice, it's not easy in taking pictures of horses for it to be at the level.

I mean, we've talked about it plenty of times in our group text. You send us examples, and these professional people sometimes have a hard time doing that themselves. So it's very crucial that you have the right image and the right video. It certainly is. And then the marketing aspect of it, you know. So from an agent's standpoint, if Marty Powers, for instance, he's got a horse. You know, they deal with Marty all year long. So they can pick up the phone and call Marty and say, Marty, what about this horse? They may be reluctant to call the owner, okay? But as long as the owner is straightforward with them and gives them good videos and good photos, they'll do well. Good deal. One of the other things that I want to highlight is that we listened to the market.

We listened to what people were saying. You know, I came back and brought some feedback of what people wanted to do because what would help bring the sellers, you know, invite them more and make them understand. And one of the things was the cost of it. You know, you mentioned earlier about cutting it in half, you know, 50 percent, 100. I mean, it makes it a much, much better deal for someone in the benefit of not having to put the money up front. You know, the fatigue of having to have pocket money out of pocket up front, you know, it helps people a lot, too. And you say once they send the paperwork in with a transfer, that's that saves them from putting any money up front. Is that correct? That's correct.

That is absolutely correct. So, you know, it's not a novel concept, but it is one that works. And so we're in business with you. So once you send us those papers and those transfers. We're all in agreement that we're going to sell this horse. So like a share risk? That's correct. 100%, yeah. And you share the risk because you're confident of the, I mean, I guess our numbers have proven that it's working. And the prices they're bringing. The prices they're bringing, exactly. I think our average was $47,000 the last sale. Yeah. Is that correct? Yes. So, I mean. We're competing with the market and other sales. We are, but really we're not because there are no other sales this time of the year. That's true, true, true, true, true, true. So, I mean, we're providing a unique service for those people.

And, you know, like, all right, this is July, okay? So a lot of those bills from the breeding farms are coming in mail right now. And so, you know, you've got to write a check to make them happy. So sometimes you need to sell something to pay those bills. It's like this week I've been in discussion with a couple of guys that got two flying cowboys or two dulcey sintaches on one flush. So they've got two pregnant re-sips. They're talking about selling one of the re-sips, recouping some of them funds.

And applying it to their embryo transfer bills and their breeding farm bills. Yeah, yeah. It helps the market move around. I also spoke with a trainer earlier today, let him know that we listened to them and we cut the prices in half pretty much. And he's like, you know what? I do appreciate that. I appreciate that you did that. And we're going to definitely try to support this so much because you listen. You know, the simple fact of people listening really gives people confidence of, you know, we're working with these people that want to work with us. And that's what I saw, I mean, Fast Track do for the market. Well, I think it's interesting too that uh, The repeat customers that we've had, you know, that have done extremely well, the Brighton DeWalls, the John Steinballs, the J.J.

Gonzalez's, you know, I mean, they've had repeat clients, and they've done well for their clients. And so they're obviously meeting an end that they wanted to, and we want them to. I think the other thing is a big thing is in the last two sales, I mean. For the most part, we've been able to pay out from 12 to 14 days following the sale. That's pretty good. That's a big deal. You know? People are seeing those funds. You put up no money, sell your horse, you get paid quickly. Let's talk about the media quality, sir. The media quality that Fast Track brings to people's horses. You know, the exposure. I always tell people that we don't only market to people that are racetrack buyers. You know, they also, these horses also marketed to barrel racers, team ropers, a lot of that. You've been around the market for many years.

What's your input on that? Well, I think from the racehorse side, you know, you've seen a sea change in a couple of the disciplines out there where they're now blending the racehorse speed into barrel racing. Into team roping, breakaway roping. All of a sudden, you know, most of these horses are 50% racehorse. And so a lot of those mares that have gone through our deal at significant numbers have gone to those buyers because they're going to breed them, to end up with a horse that either is, going to go be a barrel racing horse or going to go be a team roping horse or a breakaway horse. So on the seller end, you provide a... Much wider buyer market nation. I mean, international wise to this. This is all over the world, correct? I think it's been interesting that.

The number of countries that are following the sale and the number of states that have followed the sale and been involved in bidding on the sale, not just following, but bidding. And, I mean, I think that gives you an idea of if I'm sitting in Filer, Idaho, I can bid on a horse that's in Bentonville, Arkansas, you know, that I would not have known about at any other time. Correct. That ties us into my, you and I spoke one time and you told me a really neat story about how the evolution of Blastock Agency, you know, how you used to go and, bought a fax machine and had to make a phone call and had to go to the racing office. And that takes us into how much has horse racing in the past 10 years has changed, especially selling a horse. Tell us a bit about that story that you told me.

It started many, 50 years ago. Oh, I mean, I think, you know, used to, I mean, there were no cell phones. And yes, there was a mimeograph machine at the racetrack and they printed overnights, but you didn't have the ability to get those overnights because there was no internet. So back in the 80s, when the oil business went upside down, I bought a fax machine from a bankrupt oil company. And I got guys at different racetracks to fax me the overnight. So it gave me a seven-day advantage at most racetracks to be able to research and claim horses. But then when the Internet came along, that pretty well leveled the field. Everybody could see what the entries were on such and such days you know and so i mean the the biggest, sea change in the selling of horses i think is the transfer of information, you know whether it's over your over your iphone whether it's through the internet whether it's your ability to research and be comfortable with what you're buying, you know for a while there was there was a lot of facebook, horse sales you know people who sell those horses but there's there's no, ability to, have a have a way to check the credible buyer so and nor can you be assured that all the records that they say these horses have that they have them on the racehorse side you can.

On the performance horse side is much more difficult so basically i'd think, to say i'd say the biggest change is the exchange of information accurate information so that's what fast track tries to provide through its repository, through all of the different resources that we provide. We try to give you as much information as you can possibly absorb on a particular horse because when that horse gets there, we want you happy. The financial security, how does the money thing is? You need to put a card first pretty much, right? Yep. That's the understanding, and then you can pay for it however you want to the following Monday. Yeah, I mean, cash check, money order, ACH payments, all of that. You know, credit cards, everything.

I talk about falling euros, embryos, that good stuff. Yeah, I mean, we've had very, very, very good feedback on the resips, the pregnant resips that we sold. And also, you know, we instituted a new concept on the racehorse side where, and we borrowed it from the performance horse side because they'd already been doing it over there, but we sold frozen embryos.

In a package of three. And so out of that first sale, you know, we had some Dulcey Sintachas and some Flying Cowboys. And so they got three shots. In both cases that I know of, they got two pregnancies. Three shots. Slow down a little bit on that process. Okay. So they have three frozen embryos. You take them to an embryo transplant company, and they implant them into recipient mares. for you, okay? Two different clients, about two different sets of embryos. So, one client had three, the other client had three. This first client has two pregnant re-sips, the other client has two pregnant re-sips, okay? Now. The way they're sold is if you get a pregnancy, then you owe the stud fee. Okay. Okay?

So if you don't get a pregnancy, you don't owe anything more than what you paid for the frozen embryos. Okay. But it does give you an opportunity and gave these people an opportunity to, be involved with genetics that they normally wouldn't be able to be involved with. Gen for. You know, if they, you know, I mean. At a fraction of the price? Yeah i mean so you take uh i remember we had some embryos that i think there was three just good candy and embryos i think they brought 9500 so he's got two. Two pregnant recipes all right so he's got the pregnant he's paid the embryo transfer company for the recipient mares and then when he has foals when he gets ready for a breeder certificate then he'll owe the stud fee and he'll be the breeder, he will not be the breeder who's the breeder on the breeder is the owner of the mayor whenever he bought them. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.

So, but what he is, is you think about it, if he's got less than a $10,000 stud fee and less than a $10,000 embryo, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than going and trying to buy a $50,000 yearling. Oh, yes, 100%. Or a $100,000 yearling. Even for resale. Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, it's, that's proven to be a very, very good deal. I went to two farms this past week to go look at yearlings, and there was a lot of horses there that were purchased for resale purposes. There's a lot going on before they even go to the sale. Sure. So this is one of those options, I think. Oh, I think so, too. But the recipient portion of this thing and the ability to have access to different genetics or superior genetics than what you currently have is, to me, a really, really, really fascinating way to get into the business. I mean...

I would suspect quickly that you're going to have some people on the performance horse side in the barrel racing or in the cutting or, you know, and over there that are going to try that because, and then you're going to have some people that never had a horse, you know. And so now they're going to have a reset mare for a little while and then they're going to have some folds. So they don't have to have a big operation to do that. Yes, yes, yes, yes, exactly. It's a bright benefit. Oh, yeah. About the June sale. The June sale was really, really a good sale. I mean, we were so pleased with those horses and where they went and the clients. I mean, once again, It proved to be a very good competitive market.

And I mean, those horses went to people that are either, they're going to use them or, as you said, resell them. And the clients were happy and we're happy for the clients. And then we published the sale results this time. That seemed to be well received by everyone. And I think that makes a difference. We want to be as transparent as we possibly can. That's exactly what I was going to say. That's exactly going back into the Fast Track is listening to the consumers, what they're wanting, you know? Yes. Everything they've asked for, everything's been pretty much, they've talked about the consignment fee was a little high. We talked about it. We fixed it. The commission percentage was, you know, also we fixed that.

And now them not having to put money up front if they meet the requirements. So it's all good, I think. And listening to the clients, I think it's a great thing that gets people to trust. Well, yeah. I mean, I think the response to what the clients are asking for, is one thing. Some things we can't give them, but some things we can't. Sale results we can do. You know, a better way to consign your horse without having a lot of money up front. But I mean, we're trying to react to stop the bleeding and trying to react. Now, the sale that we've got coming up is going to be a very good sale. We've got a couple of trace safe mares in there. We've got some good racehorses in there. We've got a couple of yearlings in there.

And then there's been several people that I've talked to that have been questioning what, you know. What do I need to do? How do I need to do this? You know, have I got time to do this? And yes, you do have time, as long as you make up your mind by the 20th. And we can also help. I mean, you can help, I can help. They can contact us, and we'll be glad to help you and direct you to the right person or the right vet if you need anything. We can't do it all, like you say. That's right. It's hard to be in Arizona and in Wyoming at the same time, but we can definitely, we know somebody that can definitely help you. But no different than you had a client last sale that was in Arizona. Correct. And the fails. Correct.

Acted as that gentleman's agent. Correct. Got his marriage sold. Great process. Everybody was happy. Yeah, and he had to, I mean, you had to walk in. He was a first-time seller. Had to walk him through the whole process. They were first-time agents, did a great job. You know, I tell everybody we're all learning at the same time. This is all new to everyone in the racing industry. So, yeah, I mean, everybody's learning, you know. But the fact that a guy in Arizona, his mayor could stay in Arizona right there at the fails, and he got her sold. And then the new owner picked her up. It works extremely well. Very well. You know, and he's happy. Pain-free. Yeah, pain-free. It was really pain-free. Exactly.

Also with the BP Risk of Business Mayor, the people that bought her were happy with her, the people that sold her were extremely happy with the process. You saw the text that he said right away how easy and painful. I saw them, saw the sellers in, I almost said Rio Dosa, but I saw them in Albuquerque. And I said, yes, we'll definitely do that again. We also hair test these horses, these horses that are active race horses. If they're broodmares or broodmare prospects, we don't. But if they're active race horses, it's a requirement that we hair test those horses. And we have had horses. For the vast majority, everybody's clean. But we did, you can remember in our first sale, we had a horse that had a positive hair test. And we put it on there. We put it on there.

And one of the guys, I think there were two of those horses. And one of the guys that bought the horse, he was aware of it. He was going to wait anyway and run the horse this fall. So it wasn't a big deal. The client ended up retaining that horse. So it turned out to be a non-issue. But we're going to give you the information, good or bad. You can evaluate it just like radiographs. You know, we're going to put the radiographs up there on those horses that are in training so you can look at them. If that horse has an issue, we had a client who bought a horse this time that, He's going to go do surgery on this horse because he thinks that horse needs that. But he bought him knowing that he might have to do that.

You know, everybody knows that fast horses are not always the soundest horses. I mean, it's a true fact, you know. Also, one of the things I really hear a lot of feedback back on is the hair test. People really do appreciate the hair test. They really do because at least they know what they're getting into. At least they know they want to get into the six months. Either want to run them, you know, be in, I guess you can say, be in jail for six months or be out of competition for six months or however long it takes for you to test positive and come back and run. I mean, is that pretty much how it works, right? Yes. And so... We felt it was very important to have that level of protection and to be able to test those horses and have the results put in the repository on those horses that are active racehorses.

Let's talk a little bit about what's going on in the industry right now. You know, it's July, middle of the year. We got the Rainbow Futurity this weekend, this final coming up. Here in Texas, we have a lot of flying cowboys, one, two, three, you know, working. I mean, how do you see the market right now? How do you see in the middle of the year? What's Butch's wise opinion of what's going on in our industry right now? Well, I mean, overall, I mean, I think there's some, do we have some headwinds? Yes, we have some headwinds. I mean, you know, the main topic of conversation at every coffee shop where horsemen gather is what's going on at Ria Dosa. You know, everybody wants to know. Everybody's asking about that.

Everybody is. And I'm glad you're bringing it up because it's a topic that we need closing, but we don't have closing. That's right. I'm not sure how to put that in. You know, I guess that's the way it goes. No, I mean, everybody's hoping that a plan is going to develop and that we, as longtime horsemen, we want to be back in Rio Doso. Don't think there's a doubt about that. But I know when I was in Albuquerque for the trials and you were there, too, for the Rio Dosa, that's Memorial Day weekend. I cannot tell you the number of people that I saw that said, you know, all my adult life, even when I was a kid—. Memorial Day weekend, I'm supposed to be in Rio Dosa, but here I am in Albuquerque, you know? So many of them still have homes in Rio Dosa. They like it.

And there's the reason for the cool pines. So that's a big deal. You know, everybody's waiting for some kind of statement about what the future of Rio Dosa is and what happens to the Triple Crown races for 2027. Where are those going to be competed? That's a big topic of conversation. That is a big topic of conversation. I was going to that conversation next. What's your opinion on that? What do we do as an industry? I mean, we all encourage to support the sales.

Not to back down from buying horses, because you do hear people not wanting to buy because they're not running in Redoso. You know, everybody wants to Redoso. What's the advice to the market? I don't think there's reason not to buy a horse. If you find a good horse, you're probably going to buy it. I mean, I think that's, I've been doing this a long time. That's why I'm asking you. When I drag a good one out there, there's going to be four or five guys there to buy. They're going to find a spot. And of course, there's been quite a bit of discussion about the new concept about a three to five million dollar race at Remington Park. And that looks like that is very much in the works.

There's, there's, then we've got new racing that's going to be in Kentucky. Albeit a very short meet. And there's a lot of criticism surrounding that, you know, but, uh, and then Kansas is coming on board. You're right. You're right. And then. There's a lot more revenues to go run that than just we do. And Wyoming is going great guns. You know, they've, they've had a lot. Iowa was doing well too. Yep. Iowa was doing extremely well. And so, I mean, there's, you know, and you look at the racing scene in Texas. With the advent of the additional funds that have been added through the legislature. That has made a huge transformation over the last few years. And that's evidenced by what you talked about a while ago with the flying cowboys.

The year he was here and they had all those cowboys are Texas breads. Well, now they're Texas bred competition. yeah so you know i mean but if you look at the texas sale coming up here i mean they've got 450 head of horses when they were down to 200 and something just a few years ago, so when you put the money up it causes people to breed causes people to go to the horse sales so, the the state of the industry i think is is good, it's got a good strong heartbeat it could it could stand some more clarity in some places. I don't think there's a doubt about that. But, you know, the thing about quarter horse racing is it's hugely resilient. And.

If you ever contract the virus, known as quarter horse racing, you'll have it for several years and it may go dormant. It may be for a few years, but it always comes back. You know, it always comes back. Yeah. So. I had that contract that I can't get rid of it. No. And, you know, I talked. I could do a lot better if I was to keep selling roofs, you know. I talked to a client I hadn't talked to in probably seven or eight years. And he just called out of the blue about Fast Track. He said, tell me about the Fast Track sale. So I went through the whole deal with him. And so at the end of the conversation, I said, Gene, if I see a runner, I'm going to call you. He said, you do that. Yeah, you do that. So, I mean, and he has plenty of work with all to buy a horse and still has interest.

You know, you've been around for 50 years doing this and coming from you, I mean, that's good. That gives people confidence to continue to buy horses, you know, because you're right. There's a lot of states that are running strong. And I guess we're just, we're so in love with Redoso that it kind of dictates people's thoughts, you know, a lot of times because of the Triple Crown. And a lot of times, I mean, people are just concerned of what's going on with Redoso. And everybody wants, I mean, it's no lie. You can't compare Albuquerque to Redoso, you know, it's day and night, you know, the atmosphere, the whole thing, even the living for the people that work in the backside. So, I think it's been kind of like a huge question of where are these horses going next, you know?

Well, I think it's two separate questions. One is what's going on with the racetrack at Rio? Correct, correct, two separate. The second question is what about the Triple Crown races for 27? You know, they're two separate issues. And so, you know, we've heard every rumor in the world. You know my suggestion is don't listen to any of them because most of them have not proven to be anywhere remotely true so, the it's it's going to be a good sale season there's a lot of good sale horses, and and we look forward to to getting through getting through to those and you know every year. When you go to the horse sales, there are, and you've been doing it a while now, but there is a multitude of people that you've never seen before.

Yeah. Never seen them before. Correct. You know, and they're buying horses and, they may buy them as an individual or they may buy as a group, you know, into a syndicate or a partnership, but they're going to own a horse. Everybody wants to own a horse. And that takes us to inviting everyone to the next sale on August 16 I tell everyone to sell their horse Because that'll give them money to buy more yearlings, you know. It just helps promote the market And people do like the idea of trying to get rid of a horse, you know, through the whole year Not necessarily wait till the end of the year or the beginning of the year when they're going to sell Well, I think, you know, and the stark reality of it is It doesn't make any difference what discipline you're involved in, sometimes things happen that this horse did not live to your expectations either he got hurt you know he had some issues sometimes physical issues sometimes mental issues, sometimes you know your partnerships don't work out, you know that's a big one the partnerships don't work out so the easiest way to, curtail the partnership is put the horse in a public auction and let everybody bid on him and and then everybody can take their funds after it's over with it go form new partnerships, go buy their own horse whatever but we provide, the opportunity for them to do that you know and and there are certain times of the year and are certain times in a horse's career that you need to be an active seller.

And we're usually within 60 days of that time frame all the time. So we've got a July 20th deadline coming up. So we would encourage people to be in contact with us and let us assist you, or have your agent assist you. But once the deadline starts, I mean, the deadline is met, then there's a lot of paperwork and a lot of videos and a lot of photographs. a lot of videos yeah have to be done so to be able and then, For us to be able to advertise those horses that are going to be in the sale, the quicker we get them, the better off we are. That is true. The quicker you get all the paperwork, all the x-rays, everything, the videos from the mares, the faster they can go up in the web and everybody can see them and, you know, more exposure they have.

That's exactly right, you know, and we've got some early... That's been, I guess it's been an issue for 50 years, you know. People sometimes take a little bit of their time to get in those papers, but a lot of times they lose value because the quicker we get them up there, the more eyes people see them. The more we can promote them, the more we can take advantage of that time. Yeah, and it allows people to form partnerships to bid on the horse. We had a couple of partnerships that bought horses out of the last sale. Correct. But you can do it quickly or you can spend time putting together the group that you want to be involved with. And I think the more time that you have to look that over, the more time you have for your veterinarian, for your trainer, all those things to look at those things.

And I think we made it more easier for trainers to access everything. You know, it's the 5%, everything. If they want to send the papers with a transfer, signed transfer, you know, it just gets away from that money in front. So you don't have to worry about that. Well, and for trainers, I'll say this, and for trainers and for breeding farms, okay? Sometimes a guy wants to pay you, he just can't. Correct. And the best way to stop the bleeding is get that guy to agree to sell the horse. And the quicker you can sell the horse, the less blood that there is. Stop the bleeding. Stop the bleeding. That's exactly right. Put the fire out. Put the fire out as quickly as you possibly can. So that is our concept, is having sales on a regular basis that allow you to market horses that you need to market for whatever reason.

You know, we don't need to know the reasons. But, you know, usually it's connected to the three Ds, death, divorce, and disaster. You know, one of those three things will cause a horse to be sold. So any racehorse that's got papers can be sold in the fast track sale, correct? Absolutely. Correct. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for coming by the Fast Track Studio and giving us, saying everything I say in Spanish. Now we're saying it in English. It needed to be said. So thank you, Mr. Bushwise, for you. Just want to remind everyone that our next sale is August 16th. The consignment deadline is July 20th. That's our heart date for that sale. And if you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mr. Bushwise and myself.

And we'll be glad to help you along the process. And learn with you. Sik kumano.