Best Breed for Racing horses

Question
I am retiring as a high school teacher/cross country coach of 20 years and I want to turn my passion of "developing the athlete" to developing the race horse. I will be operating on a shoe string budget (I've been a teacher!) but I have real good horse sense. Is there a best breed of horse to stick to when buying my first race horse? What breeds should I avoid altogether? I know an experienced horse buyer but she charges way too much. I was hoping to start small under 5,000 and then over the years slowly "build my empire." If you were in my shoes, how would you approach it? Thank you for your informative and fan friendly service. Look forward to a response.

Answer
James,

Training a racehorse requires a great deal more that just  good horse sense, and really isn't easy to do on a shoestring budget. Racehorses require a good deal of expensive upkeep, and unfortunately they don't stop needing it when they aren't running.

What if the horse gets sick or injured?  Vet bills are expensive. So is training.  Just hiring a rider to gallop your horse will cost you around $10.00 per day, per horse, 6 days a week.  Most tracks require a trainer to carry worker's compensation insurance too, and that is very costly.

I'd also suggest that you have a strong knowledge of pedigrees and conformation before trying to buy a horse on your own.  Just as some children aren't cut out to be superior athletes, neither are all horses.  Agents may seem expensive, but we are worth it in the long run, since having a knowledgeable person in your corner will prevent you from making many expensive rookie mistakes.
   
A trainer also needs to have a good grasp of routine veterinary procedures, and also shoeing.  Can you tell when your horse is traveling off?  Can you tell if your farrier is shoeing him correctly, or is he leaving too much toe?

No matter how good your vet is, he will have difficulty diagnosing your horse, if you aren't able to give him correct information about what is happening with your horse when the vet is not there.

As far as what breed of horse to buy, that depends on several factors.  Do they race in your state?  What breeds do they race?  Out West it isn't that uncommon to have both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing, but in the  East, it is strictly Thoroughbred, with a tiny offering of Arabian racing at just a few tracks.   
Available purse money will come into consideration, too.  By far the largest amount of racing money is in Thoroughbred racing.
If you really want to try this, then my suggestion would be to find a racetrack close by, and look for a trainer who will give you a job as a groom, while they show you a little about the business.  Once you have learned a good bit about the basics, then you can start looking for a horse to invest your money into.  Even then, I would suggest hiring a good agent to assist you in choosing the right horse to suit your needs.

Good luck,
Stephanie Frost
www.alchemybloodstock.com