The first installment in the 2025 OwnerView webinar series was held on March 11 and discussed the accounting, legal, and insurance considerations that affect Thoroughbred owners.
The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Keeneland, and Stoll Keenon Ogden. The panel was sponsored by Mersant International.
A Q&A was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, and attendees were able to ask questions through a Q&A link, which were answered at the end of the webinar.
Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, moderated the panel with guests Chapman Hopkins, chair of Stoll Keenon Ogden's Equine Litigation group; Joe Daugherty, public accountant for Dean Dorton, leading their equine tax practice; and Mike Levy, founder of Muirfield Insurance.
The webinar began with a discussion on equine accounting, including tax changes and how those tax changes could affect Thoroughbred owners.
When discussing tax considerations for an owner buying a horse or a farm, and how that would be structured, Daughtery replied, "The two questions you need to ask is what kind of property are we dealing with and do I want to own it myself or do I want to own it with someone else?"
Daugherty also discussed the importance of accounting methods for the operation. "I would say that most horse owners qualify to use the cash basis method," he said. "That's usually the preferred accounting method, because it accelerates deductions for income tax purposes."
Hopkins then addressed legal considerations, including what horse owners should be aware of in terms of legalities that are associated with becoming a horse owner.
"The starting point for me, especially with any new clients, new owners, is getting into a mindset that the equine business really needs to be treated just like any other business," Hopkins said. "If I could identify three things that I would keep at the forefront of my mind, they'd probably be contractual considerations, regulatory components, and then just general liability."
Levy was asked about the many different types of equine insurance options for horse owners, and he pointed out that mortality is the most common form of insurance. He also noted that personal umbrella policies do not cover equine-related claims, and Hopkins agreed. "That's a very common misconception that people think they have an umbrella policy and they're good, and that's almost certainly not the case," Hopkins said.
The panel also discussed the void claim rule, which applies to every track that operates under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act rules. "This is a very, very good rule. It encourages participation and it alleviates ambiguities or uncertainties, especially for people that are new in the game," Levy said.
The replay of Tuesday's Thoroughbred Owner Conference panel is available at bit.ly/OVVideos.
Nine additional Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panels are scheduled for 2025. The next session, "Owners First," will be held April 8 at 2 p.m. ET. A full schedule can be found here: bit.ly/OVSchedule.
There is no registration fee for the 2025 virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference series, including the schedule and registration page, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com.
OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.
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