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The Stable does not retain any percentage of clients’ purse earnings (money won by the horses). We do not charge fees for any services currently offered through clients’ online accounts at www.thestableca.com. Our revenues are generated from monthly fees charged on each 1% fraction of each horse.

When you buy from The Stable, you are purchasing a percentage (or a fraction) of the 100% value of registered Standardbred racehorse. You can buy as little as 1% of an individual horse; you can buy as little or as much as you like on multiple horses.

For many people, connecting with other racehorse owners is one of the largest benefits of being involved with The Stable.

We facilitate this in many ways, including: live online chats which accompany the live streaming of our bi-weekly training broadcasts; live online chats during our webinars; regular social events such as our Spring Open House and Winter Open House; client dinners, and racetrack outings; and through our social media channels and voluntary posts by clients to those threads.

Unfortunately, due to privacy restrictions, we cannot share or openly post all of the names of clients associated with each horse.

However, we’re at work on new projects to heighten the community connection at The Stable, and enable those who wish to share the ability to do so … stay tuned.

From November through May, nearly all of the horses are stabled at Tomiko Training Centre, near Hamilton, ON. In May/June, many will leave for the summer to compete in the stake race circuits with our partner trainers in US jurisdictions (PA, OH, IN, IL, NY, NJ).

At the end of the summer, most will return to our home base; a few spend most of the winter resting at our partnering turn-out farms in Ontario and the US, and return home early in the new year to resume training.

Yes, you can always visit your horse at Tomiko Training Centre when we have staff onsite (any time between 7am - 2pm from Mon - Sat is a safe bet) and any one of our staff will be pleased to direct you to your horse. If you want to visit outside of those times, please drop us a line anthony@thestable.ca first.

Bring your family and friends, but please ensure children are supervised at all times. No pets, please. Always use caution around horses and be advised that you enter our barns at your own discretion and at your own risk.

If your horse races in a different jurisdiction for the summer and you wish to visit that farm, please drop us a line anthony@thestable.ca and we’ll put you in touch with that trainer.

When you’re a client of The Stable, you’ll receive email alerts through your online account each time your horse is entered to race anywhere in North America.

You can access a list of all upcoming races for The Stable by downloading TheStable.ca app for your device (available in your favourite app store) or click here.

From November through May, nearly all of the horses are trained by our team at Tomiko Training Centre, near Hamilton, ON. In May/June, many will leave for the summer to compete in the stake race circuits with our partnering trainers in US jurisdictions (PA, OH, IN, IL, NY, NJ).

Our co-founder and President, Anthony MacDonald, drives most of our horses. Sometimes, we use catch-drivers (drivers hired by the trainer), especially in US jurisdictions. In this case, the driver is determined by Anthony and the trainer.

Our program at The Stable is focused on buying horses as yearlings (one-year-old horses) and developing them to eventually mature and compete in stake races. Stake races are added-money races — larger purses — and a horse’s eligibility for those races is generally determined by where the horse was bred and/or where the horse’s sire (father) stands at stud.

From November through May, a few of the three-year-olds and most of the aged horses will compete in non-stake races (overnight races) at tracks in Ontario.

In May/June, some of the horses will leave for the summer to compete in the stake race circuits in US jurisdictions like PA, OH, IN, IL, NY and NJ. Some (the Ontario-bred horses) will remain and race at tracks in Ontario.

Your horse can start racing as early as their two-year-old year. (All Standardbred horses turn a year older on Jan. 1 regardless of their actual birth date.) We develop our horses with the intent of getting them to the races as 2-year-olds. However, not all horses will make it to the races, and not all horses which do make it to the races will start as two-year-olds.

For reference, in the fall of 2017, we purchased and developed 53 yearlings (one-year-olds). As two-year-olds in 2018, 49 of those 53 horses (92%) raced as two-year-olds. The remaining four horses were sold to owners outside of The Stable. (Please see below)

Two-year-olds generally start racing in June/July, although some may start later in the summer depending on their fitness and capabilities.

Standardbred horses are bred and trained to race. They’re athletes. Like all athletes, they have varying degrees of maximum potential. It’s our job to determine their potential and to ensure they thrive.

We must always balance our expectations for the horse with the expectations of our clients. If the horses’ potential doesn’t meet the expectations of our program after a reasonable amount of time and effort, we will consult with our clients and may recommend selling the horse. If there is consensus among our clients to sell, we will find a buyer and disperse the sale amount to clients in their online accounts.

You can sell your fractions at any time, at any price you set, to other clients of The Stable. This is all done through your online account at www.thestableca.com with a few simple clicks. We don’t charge any fees for this service.

Yes, all prices are listed in Canadian Dollars.

There are 100 one-percent fractions in each horse. The cost of each fraction is 1% of the total value of the horse.

The costs of the 1% fractions vary, depending on the horse. The costs are initially determined by how much The Stable pays for the horse. Most of our horses are purchased at public yearling sales in the fall of each year. For example, if The Stable purchased a horse for $10,000 and you were interested in owning 1% of that horse, it would cost you $100.

Prices are listed for each horse in THE HORSES section of this website. All prices are exclusive of HST.

The most cost-efficient time for clients to purchase fractions of our horses is when we first purchase them at the public yearling sales in the fall of each year. At this point, the horses have not yet started training and their potential athleticism can only be determined by their pedigree (lineage) and the way they look and behave.

Generally, The Stable does not decrease the price from this point forward, as the horses continue to incur monthly expenses and are learning the ropes and training, thus increasing their potential and their value. Therefore, prices will generally increase over time.

There is a monthly fee of $25.75 (plus 13% tax) per 1% fraction of each horse, each month. This fee covers the daily care of the horse. Additional expenses are called incidentals (see below). You’ll also need to budget for licensing (see below).

Additional expenses are called incidentals and you’ll be billed monthly for these too. Incidentals include veterinarian work, shipping to the racetrack and stake payments (to ensure your horse is eligible to compete in big races.) Incidentals vary, so there is no hard-and-fast number but we suggest clients budget an extra $8 per 1% fraction of the horse, per horse, per month.

All of your purchases and monthly invoices will populate in your online account at www.thestableca.com and you can pay with PayPal, credit card (via PayPal), email money transfer or cheque.

Yes, of course. The purses are divided as follows for finishers 1st - 5th: 50%, 25%, 12%, 8%, 5%. The racetrack pays 5% of your winnings to the trainer and 5% to the driver.

So, if you own 1% of a horse which races for a purse of $100,000 and your horse finished 1st (congrats!) your horse would earn $50,000 minus $2,500 for the trainer and $2,500 for the driver. You would earn 1% of $45,000 and that money would be put into your online account with The Stable. You could leave the money there as a balance to pay your invoices or buy more fractions of horses, or you can request payment (see below).

Purse money earned by your horse is deposited into your online account at The Stable. You can leave the money there as a balance to pay your invoices or buy more fractions of horses, or you can request payment. Payment requests are performed inside your online account with a few simple button clicks. In most cases, you can choose to receive your funds by cheque or email money transfer.

Yes, as an official owner, regardless of where you live, you will need to acquire at least one racing membership and/or license. (See below.)

The Stable is bound by the licensing Rules Of Racing in the jurisdictions where we race, and by membership requirements of the national registrars, Standardbred Canada and the United States Trotting Association.

We’ll gladly provide resources and advice as needed, but it’s ultimately your responsibility to acquire the required licenses before your horse starts in a qualifier or race. If you are listed as an owner and not licensed on the day of the race, the horse will be scratched (not allowed to race).

Costs vary based on the jurisdictions in which your horse(s) will race and the cost of the memberships/licenses in those jurisdictions. In most circumstances you’ll pay a minimum of $100/year. We suggest clients budget an extra $50 - $150/year for licensing.

Unfortunately, no. We’ll gladly provide resources and advice as needed, but you’ll need to acquire the license(s). If you need to acquire multiple licenses, we suggest you consider hiring the National Racing Compact (NRC) to handle it for you. You can find more information about the NRC in our Licensing Guide.

Please see complete details in our Licensing Guide

Stake races are added-money races with larger purses than regular (overnight races) and they are generally offered for two-year-olds and three-year-olds. A horse’s eligibility for those races is typically determined by where the horse was bred and/or where the horse’s sire (father) stands at stud. (For example, a horse sired by an Ontario stallion is eligible to compete in the Ontario Sires Stakes.)

Purses for stake races are varied. For example, in 2018, the lowest purse for a stake race in which The Stable competed was $10,000. The highest was $1,000,000.

In May/June, some of the horses will leave for the summer to compete in the stake race circuits in US jurisdictions like PA, OH, IN, IL, NY and NJ and return in the fall. Some (the Ontario-bred horses) will remain and race at tracks in Ontario.

Staking fees or stake payments are payments which must be made (usually in January - April) to maintain a horse’s eligibility for those stake races (which are generally raced May - September). These stake payments are what fund, in part, the large purses for stake races. There are no refunds on stake payments, regardless of whether your horse competes in the races not. Not making a payment, or missing a payment, makes your horse ineligible for the stake race.

In addition to stake payments, some stake races also require a starting fee, which is only paid if the horse is actually competing in the stake race. These fees are due when the horse is entered into the race.

All stake payments and starting fees for all horses are arranged and paid for upfront by The Stable, then billed back to the client.

With several stake races to choose from for 100+ horses, and no refunds available, this is a critical task. We employ the services of a professional staking service to advise us and arrange the logistics of the payments. We also have a small committee of clients and other industry professionals who scrutinize the options for each horse to ensure we are acting in the best interests of all horses and clients, to the best of our abilities based on what we know of the historical performances in those races and the anticipated capabilities of our horses.

Most stake races begin in May/June and end in September/October.

Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is the Canadian federal tax, charged at a rate of 13%.

Yes. Regardless of where you live, you will have to pay HST on all financial transactions with The Stable.

Please review this document about HST.