Len Green

Proven Strategies: Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth

A donation of a horse to a tax-exempt organization can be mutually beneficial. The donor could potentially obtain an income tax deduction, and the organization receives a worthwhile asset. The horse itself also appreciates greener pastures. This article summarizes the guidelines for horse owners contemplating such a charitable contribution. Recipient Be sure that the donee organization qualifies as an eligible charity under the Internal Revenue Code and that your horse will be used by the organization to further its exempt purpose. You can ask to see the "IRS Determination Letter"...

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Proven Strategies: A Disguised Victory for Taxpayers in the Horse Industry

Additional reporting from Jack Canaley Some will label the recent IRS Case Skolnick v. Commissioner as a win for the government since the court disallowed the deductibility of the losses and classified the operation as a hobby. However, we examined the case in great detail and learned some very valuable lessons that will benefit people in the horse business. The recent ruling, which ultimately was upheld upon appeal by the Third Circuit, provided some clarity and insight into the factors considered in determining the deductibility of losses generated by a...

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Len Green Joins the TDN Writers' Room

Len Green joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss DJ Stables' Breeders' Cup-winning filly Wonder Wheel and to advise on changes that will have implications for horse owners' taxes in 2022.

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HBPA Lawyer Peter Ecabert Joins TDN Writers' Room Podcast to Talk HISA

Is the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) good for horsemen and, by extension, good for racing? Representing the National HBPA, lawyer Peter Ecabert doesn't think that it is, and he was invited to join the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to explain why. Ecabert was one of two guests on this week's podcast as Len Green, the founder and chairman of the Green Group, came on to share some tax advice and to talk about his soon-to-be-named champion 2-year-old filly Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief). When asked...

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Tapit Filly on Top as Vibrant Trade Continues at Fasig-Tipton October

LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale, which produced a day of brisk trade during Monday's first session, saw activity tick up another notch during a vibrant day of trade Tuesday in Lexington. "The first horse through the ring this morning brought six figures and the last horse through the ring brought six figures," said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. "There was brisk activity and great trade, literally from start to finish today. It was very similar to yesterday." Midway through the four-day auction, 524 yearlings have sold for $28,232,900....

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Spirited Bidding As Fasig October Sale Opens with Into Mischief Yearlings on Top

LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale, looking to build on a record-setting 2021 renewal, opened with a day of competitive bidding Monday. A pair of yearlings by Into Mischief topped the day's activity, with a filly going the way of Ben McElroy for $425,000 and a colt selling to the Green family's DJ Stable for $400,000. "It was a very good opening session to the 2022 Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale," said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. "There was very good trade. The parking lot was jammed pack, we...

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Mark Casse Displays Perfect Record With Juveniles So Far in 2022

That Mark Casse won a pair of 2-year-old maiden races Sunday at Woodbine should not have come as a surprise. The trainer hasn't just been hot when it comes to his juvenile runners, he's been perfect. Casse has sent out eight 2-year-olds so far this year and all eight have won. Six were first-time starters and two others won in their second career starts. He leads all trainers in the category of 2-year-old winners on the year. Steve Asmussen is next with six. How has Casse done it? "For one...

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Ask the Expert: 2021 Taxes

Editor's note: Back by popular demand: our column where readers ask The Green Group's Len Green for advice on saving taxes on their equine-related activities. What changes in the tax law can I take advantage of this year to maximize my tax savings? --Kerry L., Lexington, KY 2021 has been another exciting year when it comes to providing new laws that can save you taxes. 1. First-year expensing for qualified property placed in use is allowed up to $1,050,000. This would include the purchase of horses and more fixed assets...

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This Should be Required Reading for Every Trainer and Owner

by Andrew J. Mollica, Esq and Len Green, CPA What an industry! The recent, well-publicized ongoing legal sagas of both Ahmed Zayat and Ken Ramsey have brought issues surrounding owner-trainer financial relationships into clear focus. Yet, the truth is that no-pay or slow-paying owners probably have been a small, but existing part of racing since the game was invented. Despite its topical nature, the problem is not going away anytime soon, and the reason is simple: horse racing is a 21st-century industry that is based on an 18th-century business model....

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Derby Diary: Destination Louisville

We departed New Jersey today-destination Louisville. The flight took almost two hours and thankfully was without incident. But, in reality, the journey to this time and place began almost 40 years ago when my dad tore his Achilles while playing tennis. Back then, the best way to treat a ruptured tendon was to be placed in a cast from your ankle to your upper hip and keep your body as immobile as possible. Well, anyone who knows my dad understands that this directive was going to be short-lived. As someone...

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Green Gets to the Derby His Way

One after another, the lights were turning red on the young Leonard Green. He had a bad stutter that made him an introvert in mixed company. Dyslexic, too. Couldn't keep numbers in his head: hardly, as such, an accountant in the making. Sure enough, he'd now been fired from a fourth job in a row. "I didn't even know what an entrepreneur was," Green recalls now. "But it turned out to be somebody who thought outside the box, and took calculated risks, and spotted opportunities. And--boom! I suddenly realized that...

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The Parting Gift of Don Bernardo

So just what are those Derby gods up to now? What seeds of comfort, of commemoration, did they sow in the grief of last summer? Bernardo Alvarez Calderon was not just patriarch of a large and loving family, but something of a godfather for the entire Thoroughbred racing and breeding community of Peru. Its esteem was palpable after his loss last August, aged 78, following a fall. The president of the national breeders' association described him as "a horseman par excellence, whose contribution to our breed will last forever; an...

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