Club Members Enjoying Racing Success

Horse racing has often been cited as “The Sport of Kings.” We've found it hard sometimes to engage the public, be it through media or just getting people to go racing, but one innovator may have the answer. Irish-based trainer, Michael O'Callaghan, is being proactive about encouraging people to get involved in our sport. His solution: A racing club.

The Michael O'Callaghan Racing Club has attracted some 200 members after just three weeks in existence. For only €199 a year, those who sign up to the club get to experience racehorse ownership without the financial loss.

“I had been setting up syndicates which had been an all-encompassing job,” said the Curragh-based O'Callaghan. “I would try to forecast the cost for the year and I found that people really liked the all-in price plan. But purchasing equity in horses is still an expensive thing to do even if you're buying shares, so I wanted to provide something for all the people who couldn't afford to do something like that or those who just wanted to dip their toe in and go racing. I thought about it last year but I was too busy setting up syndicates so I put it on the back burner and then about a month ago I sat down one day and thought about how I was going to do it. I put it together in a couple of hours and threw the idea up on Twitter. I was overwhelmed by the reaction I got and it gave me the kick in the rear end to get it set up.”

O'Callaghan conducted a Twitter poll for which he received 853 votes. Seventy-one percent of those votes agreed that his club was a good idea and you only have to look at what the club offers to agree. For €199, the club currently offers nine horses, racecourse and parade ring entry, monthly newsletters, visits to the yard, weekly updates, video updates, pre- and post-race reports, a dedicated Club Manager as well as access to a specifically designed club app, which O'Callaghan has received great feedback for.

“People think the app alone is worth it,” said O'Callaghan. “Each horse has a profile, there's news bulletins, videos of the horses working, post-race reports from the jockeys, so much information and it's so interactive. There's a group chat on there too so everyone can get involved.”

The nine horses are leased to the club from O'Callaghan, his father Michael O'Callaghan Snr and John Fleming, who own them together. “The club leases 10% of the horse and pays 10% of the bill for a return of 10% of the prize money,” O'Callaghan said. “The beauty of the club is that because you don't own equity in any specific horse you can drop horses in and out of it, if you lose one you can add another and you never know what can come out of it.”

The latest addition to the club, I Am Power (Ire)–a 2-year-old colt by Power (GB)–was added after his maiden win in Navan.

The other eight horses include two time-winner Aggression (Ire) (Marju {Ire}), five-time winner Fastidious (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), 3-year-old filly De La Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), three-time winning sprinter Mr Bounty (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}), two other 2-year olds in Forget Nothing (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) and an unnamed filly by Society Rock (Ire) as well as Perfect Soldier (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Delegating (GB) (Delegator {GB}), who both tasted success at the recent Galway Festival, winning and coming third, respectively.

“I've never gotten such a buzz out of winner as I did that night [when Perfect Soldier won],” O'Callaghan said. “Probably the biggest kick I've ever gotten from racing, purely because we have so many people involved who often come up to me at the races and ask: “Are you sure I can come into the parade ring with you?” That's why I set up the club to give people that experience. To see the joy on their faces was brilliant and a lot of the members got to meet the [Irish] President.”

O'Callaghan has been training for four seasons now and in that time he has trained two Group 3 winners in Blue De Vega (Ger) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and Now or Never (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}), who finished third in the Irish 2000 and 1000 Guineas on the same weekend in 2016. He knows the pressure involved with training horses and said that the club “doesn't add to the pressure because training for these guys is about everything they get to enjoy on the way to a race or a win. So what I'm trying to do is give the experience of the whole thing, the journey.”

Ian Harte, who has owned horses on his own and is now a club member, said of his time at Galway, “The experience was great, there was a great selection of people who knew full well how to enjoy themselves including a 96-year old man”. Of O'Callaghan, Harte said, “I met Michael for the first time at Galway, he is the right guy for the club because he is outgoing and he is great to mix with people, he's a character.”

The aforementioned 96-year-old man, Bill Martin, was honored a few years ago as the “longest-serving racegoer in Galway” and was given a present of a club membership from his son. His interview on At The Races meant that the O'Callaghan racing club was trending on Twitter last Wednesday.

The club has attracted a whole host of people from every walk of life including Irish celebrity Hector O'Heochagain. “I had spotted Michael as a young trainer to follow a few years ago and got involved in a few horses with him,” said O'Heochagain. “He came up with the idea on his own and asked would I help on the social media side of things. I like Michael, he's very easy to be around, I think you saw that the other night at Galway.” O'Heochagain is a seasoned horse owner and knows the feeling of winning. He describes it as “a unique adrenaline” and is delighted to have been able to share it with the club members at Galway. “To be able to bring those people in for a glass of champagne, that's a unique moment, those people would never have been in that situation ever, those people did it for the first time and they will never forget that experience.”

There is no question that horse racing needs to become more accessible to the general public, and thanks to Michael O'Callaghan it looks like we are racing toward the future of racehorse ownership.