The “Amazon” effect on harness racing ownership

The website amazon.com has just about everything.

You name it…you can find it on amazon.com.

It’s really great!

BUT…as great as amazon.com is for a buyer, it’s been disaster for the small business owner.

Since 2007, well over 65,000 independent business owners have shut their doors and fallen by the wayside.

It has been stated that 40 percent of our country’s businesses involved in sporting goods, toys and apparel have evaporated as fast as the waters in our lakes, rivers and oceans due to global warming.

Many small book publishers and stores have disappeared, as well,

From delivery companies to pharmacies…from department stores to food wholesalers…Amazon has invaded their space once thought impossible to penetrate.

It has cost countless people their jobs and, also even more people, a huge dent in their savings and portfolios as stock prices in many of these publicly companies have melted away.

So, as a standardbred horse owner, you may be saying to yourselves, “what does this have to do with me? I own horses that can pace in 1:52 and make $35,000 or so a year and I’m enjoying the ride!”

Well, right around that same time Amazon was cornering the market on a whole slew of industries and building a market value of over a trillion dollars—1.4 TRILLION—that’s $1,400,000,000,000, a standardbred trainer was entering the arena full time and, in short order became the “amazon.com” of harness racing.

Oh, it was nothing really too, too great in 2008 with $1,200,017 in purses on the strength of 95 wins in 364 starts and a batting average of .382.

But, since then, to his credit, he, too, cornered the market in a way syndicate manager Lou Guida did in a smaller way back a few decades ago with domination in many of our stakes events.

Of course, we’re referring to Ron Burke, an imposing 6’5” giant of a gentleman who has stood even much taller than that on the racetracks of North America helping racing secretaries fill their programs with quality racehorses in every class from maidens to the highest class of stakes horses.

He’s built an “amazon-like” empire that has accounted for over 14,000 wins—13,814 since 2009—and over $300 million in purse earnings since that time, as well.

Yes, there are those other exceptional trainers giving chase like Erv Miller and Bob McIntosh and Noel Daley and Virgil Morgan and Mark Ford and Tony Alagna, to name a few, but, thus far, the chase has been futile. Richard Moreau. Linda Toscano, Brett Pelling and a few others are still giving chase, as well.

Some great ones have quit chasing like Jimmy Takter and Casie Coleman.

Per Engblom and Ake Svanstedt are still giving chase…but they are about nine “lengths” back of Burke at this writing…and, in this case, “lengths” means millions of dollars.

So far in 2023, the top 10 trainers have banked about $35 million in purses, which figures to about 13% of all purses to date with Ron Burke accounting for, roughly 4 1/2% of the total.

Don’t fault Ron Burke on this.

Just as jealousy was apparent in the Guida era by some, you can’t fault Ron Burke for putting forth unimaginable planning and effort to get to where he is today.

Good for him…good for his owners…good for the tribe of trainers and catch-drivers he has assembled in a network of excellence that has never been achieved in our sport.

But others don’t seem to see it in the same light…and have voiced their opinions in a variety of ways.

One former prominent owner said it this way…”I owned horses—and some good ones—years ago and was able to make a little money in the sport. Ron Burke put it in a whole new perspective with his dominance and, when I found the odds of success going from 8 to 5 to 10 to 1, I got out since it was apparent I was up against more significant competition in almost every race.

“I don’t begrudge him at all. He deserves much credit for building a fortress over the years,”

Last year—2022—Burke led all trainers in purse earnings with $22.3 million and change. By the time one got down to 50th on the list, that number was just over $1.5 million.

So far this semester, Burke leads with about $12.4 million and, by the time you get down to number 50 on the earnings list for leading trainers, the number is about $861.000.

Where does that leave the other 2,950?

Yes, there are, literally, over 3,000 driver-trainers in this sport and, when you get down to number 300 on the list, what do the others do to stay above water? And what about their owners? How long can they survive in a sport and industry they obviously love but can’t keep their financial heads above water.

Drowning in debt is no fun.

Another astute trainer explained it this way…

“Look at what Kentucky has done.

“They put the funding into an important part of their agriculture program and racing is thriving.”

But some people involved in harness racing in the Bluegrass State see it in a different light.

Longtime trainer Jim “Trey” Brinson is one of them and very concerned about the future of the “smaller” trainers and owners in the business.

“I have been racing in Kentucky for many, many years and go back to the days of the $2,500 Opens at Bluegrass Downs and $5,000 Opens at The Red Mile.

“Yes, the purses and stakes have been great here but, all of a sudden, we aren’t alone anymore…we’ve got company!

“Great trainers like Tony Alagna and Ake (Svanstedt) and several others are buying or looking to buy farms down here in Kentucky and, all of a sudden, they saw what was going on down here and it’s going to make it much, much tougher for us little guys.

“I remember when I won an open a few years ago with a horse named ‘The Comedian’ but, let me tell you, this is no joke today.

“I was lucky enough to get some great owners to invest in better stock, so I had my best year ever last season ($358,838) and I’m doing OK this year, as well, but Ake has won close to $30 million, I believe, since he came here about 10 years ago.

“I am overwhelmed by all this competition and there are, probably, hundreds of trainers that are even smaller than I am, and they’ll hardly see a dime of this infused money—many of them have supported Kentucky racing over many years and they won’t get a dime of this.”

Trey has a good point as the trainer’s roster at The Red Mile includes Burke, Alagna, Erv Miller, Marcus Melander, Lucas Wallin, Steve Elliott, Julie Miller, Ake Svanstedt, Brett Selling, Nancy Takter, Nifty Norman, Greg McNair and Annette Lorentzon.

The Red Mile meet is only a few days old and, already, Alagna, Lorentzon, Melander and Wallin have banked over $100,000 in purses.

Yet Mike Murphy, who trains Just For Trix, The Red MIle’s only 1:50 trotter this season—and Mike’s first and only 1:50 performer—lamented, “Yes, there’s a lot of money for Stakes events but, when ‘Trix’ went 1:50, the purse was $9,400 and, this week, the race didn’t fill.

“It’s pretty frustrating to have a once-in-a-lifetime trotter like this and then can’t get a race to fill for him.

“So, where does this leave the guys and gals who are as small or smaller than I am in the business?

“Yearling prices are through the roof and very few can afford one, so the big names get the cream of the crop and either they make it, or they don’t. You don’t hear too much about the ones that don’t, that’s for sure!

“Yes, the Burke factor, along with a few of the other larger, more prominent trainers have changed the game.

“It was WalMart that did the same thing 50 years ago and Burke has done the same thing over the last 10 or 15 years.

“I can’t fault him…but it sure has hurt us little guys!

“But maybe I can find a pacer or trotter on amazon.com. They do have everything else!”

by John Berry, for Harnesslink