Mark Usher Racing - own a racehorse

Why Mark Usher?

There are a lot of trainers out there, so why have a horse with Mark Usher?

Personal attention: Mark is renowned for his attention to detail in getting to know and understand each and every horse in the yard and treating them all as individuals. This means he gets the best out of all of the horses in his care.

The horse comes first: one of Mark’s favourite expressions is: “Let the horse take you to the races”. This means that the horse is given time to develop and races are chosen carefully to allow the horse to give of its best. And of course this offers the best chance of success for the owner as well!

Always welcome: Owners always receive a warm welcome at the yard from trainer and staff. Enjoy watching your horse on the gallops, get to know the staff and maybe head for lunch in one of the excellent local pubs.

Location, location, location: Lambourn is the Valley of the Racehorse. The uninterrupted open spaces, quiet roads and the range of top-class gallops create an ideal environment to breed and train racehorses. On a sunny day, there is no better place to be.

Excellent communication: Whether it’s an e-mail, phone-call or text, you will always be up to date with your horse’s progress: how it’s been working; race plans; entries and declarations. The website and regular newsletters also mean you can keep up to date with all of the activity at the yard.

Affordability: Mark believes in making racehorse ownership as affordable as possible. Together with high standards of stable management and excellent facilities, he offers reasonable fees and a range of ownership opportunities for sole owners and anyone interested in joining a horse-owning partnership.

Involvement and fun: Like any hobby, owning a racehorse should be fun. As well as the enjoyment of days at the races, Mark holds several Open Days at the yard throughout the year. Throughout the year, owners are invited to come along and meet fellow enthusiasts, see the horses and share in a great social occasion.

What our owners say...

“My association with Mark now extends over 20 years during which time he has proved his ability, given the horse flesh, to train and compete at the highest level. I hope our association will continue for many years to come.”

Brian Fry

“Mark achieves success by careful placing and individual attention to all the horses in the yard, and a great deal of patience.”

Gordon Summers

“I have been continuously involved with Mark over the last decade; honest, open and professional, you could not ask for a more experienced, knowledgeable and competent trainer.”

John Stansfield

“We’ve had a lot of fun, a very open and friendly yard.”

Mick and Jean Johnson

“I’m extremely impressed with Mark and his team. They’re very professional in everything they do but also friendly and approachable. It’s apparent they regard my horses with great affection and the welfare of the horse is always their primary concern. I’m very much enjoying my ownership and I’m always looking for more opportunities with Mark.”

Brian Rogan

Racehorse ownership options

Racehorse Ownership types

For those who want to take total financial responsibility for a horse, both costs and rewards, this is a great ownership experience. You will have close involvement in decisions regarding the horse and racing plans; if the horse is unnamed and unraced, you choose the name; you choose your own racing colours; it is your name that appears in the racecard when the horse runs.

This is a very popular way for people to get involved in racehorse ownership and it’s easy to see why. The most obvious attractions are that you will be responsible for only part of the costs, you share in the rewards and the race-day experience and you will also meet like-minded racing enthusiasts. Mark Usher Racing runs many successful Joint Ownerships, with costs varying depending on the number of shares and the purchase price of the horse. You can enjoy meeting up with your fellow owners at the races and at the Open Days that Mark organises at the yard throughout the year.

There is a Joint Ownership scheme to suit every budget. For more information, see our Partnerships and For Sale pages.

For the company owner who loves racing, this is a great way to combine business with pleasure. It offers the same benefits as sole ownership in terms of naming the horse and choosing colours, maybe including your company name and corporate colours, as well as a good opportunity to promote the company through raceday hospitality for customers, suppliers and employees.

If you would like to know more about ownership options, e-mail Mark at: markusher.racing@btconnect.com or call me on Office no: 01488 72598 or Mobile: 07831 873531.

We welcome individual owners, however for those racing enthusiasts who have always hoped to become involved in ownership, but thought the cost would be prohibitive, we have several Partnerships of varying size, which allow racehorse ownership to become an affordable reality for everyone. Shares are available in some of these Partnerships: please visit the Horses and For Sale sections, where you will find up-to-date information. If you are interested in becoming an owner please get in touch on Office: 01488 72598, Mobile: 07831 873531. E-mail: markusher.racing@btconnect.com

USHERS COURT

The pink and grey colours of Ushers Courts have been very successful in the last few years and were carried to victory by filly Haatefina who won her maiden at Sandown, and Lady Percy, who won at Salisbury. Black Truffle has carried the colours throughout the winter months and won at Lingfield on two occasions, as well as placing on five further runs.

THE GOODRACING PARTNERSHIP

There will be a sole horse carrying the yellow and green silks of The Goodracing Partnership for 2014, which is a new new two-year-old filly by Cockney Rebel - Ridgeway Sapphire, who won at Brighton in August 2011 under Hayley Turner for the partnership.

HIGH FIVE RACING
High Five Racing was formed in 2010 and the partners have enjoyed success over the years with fourteen winners and numerous placed runners. The partnership will have three horses in training in 2015, see pictures and detail’s of the shares available in the partnership on the website below.

http://www.highfiveracing.co.uk

SAXON HOUSE RACING

This is another relatively small Partnership comprising eight shareholders. Over the years its colours have often been seen in the winner’s enclosure with the likes of Saxon Saint and Valhillen. The success has continued with Spice Fair who has won four races and placed a further eleven times. He really is giving his owners a lot of fun and excitement. The colours will be seen plenty in 2014, as they will be carried by Ishi Honest, as well as 9 new two-year-old.

With this form of ownership, either as a sole or joint owner, you pay for the horse’s training costs and other expenses, and enjoy whatever prize money the horse wins, without the initial capital outlay to purchase the horse. The terms and conditions of the deal are set up beforehand, e.g the length of the lease, break clauses, purchase options, division of added value etc.

Ownership FAQs

Simply phone or e-mail me and we can arrange for you to come down to the yard and discuss the different opportunities available.

The office number is: 01488 72598

Mobile: 07831 873531

or e-mail markusher.racing@btconnect.com

We have lots of different options available. For sole owners and those running their own partnerships, training fees are £34 a day, and you take on responsibility for all other costs such as entries, jockeys, transport etc.

For the partnerships run by Mark Usher Racing, you can get involved for as little as £350 capital cost for a 5% share, then £85 a month, which includes ALL racing and training expenses. Costs vary depending on the number of horses and shares in the partnership and the initial purchase price of the horse.

Horses can be bought privately or at auction, or they can be bought or claimed at the races out of Selling and Claiming races. Prices vary considerably from a starting price of 400 guineas at Ascot Sales to the millions we hear about at the big sales at Doncaster, Newmarket or Keeneland. If you would like to know more about any of this, I am more than happy to talk through the different options available to you.

We are based at Rowdown Stables, Upper Lambourn, which is a 15 minute drive off J14 of the M4. (RG17 8QH for your satnav!)

We have excellent access to the Jockey Club’s newly refurbished Mandown Gallops, which have over 550 acres of land. The facilities include eight miles of turf gallops and six miles of artificial tracks: plenty of space to train thoroughbreds. We also have practice starting stalls and schooling grounds for jumpers, on all-weather as well as turf. And the quiet roads in the area are ideal for simple walking exercise for the horses. In the yard itself we have a horsewalker and plenty of paddocks for the horses to enjoy when out of training.

In terms of making money, no, because a very select few actually make a profit from racehorse ownership, but in terms of entertainment value, then the answer is a definite yes! It’s like any hobby, e.g. holidays, playing golf, football season tickets, it costs money, but it’s what you get out of it that makes it worthwhile. Being an owner adds an extra dimension to a day at the races and there is nothing like the thrill of owning a winner.