Kip Elser's Kirkwood Equine Advisory

03/04/2025

From yesterday's Post & Courier Palmetto Politics Newsletter:

'Lawmakers are betting on SC horse racing bill, this time with long-shot hopes to reach finish line'. That headline references the Senate Finance special committee on the bill, S.344, this past Tuesday, April 1, which would amend the South Carolina Code of Laws so as to enact the "South Carolina Equine Advancement Act". 

Renewed calls for horse race betting are back in the Statehouse after a Senate Finance special committee hearing. Survival for the equine racing industry is what's at stake, supporters assert. For years, the Palmetto State has attempted to pass legislation allowing South Carolinians to participate in horse race betting. They haven't been able to reach the finish line as the legislation has been met with stark opposition from those concerned about gambling addiction. If the legislation isn't passed, equine industry professionals are worried the already dwindling industry will face significant funding challenges.

Kip Elser, a longtime horse trainer, told lawmakers at the subcommittee April 1 that a job is created for every two and a half horses brought to South Carolina. These jobs' salaries are usually around $40,000-$50,000 a year.

"These are rural jobs and rural land that needs to be saved," Elser said. "This bill is a self-funding way to increase rural job opportunities and preserve green space."

For the entire article, visit https://tinyurl.com/5d96dcju.

20/03/2025

Happy first day of spring! 🌼🌸🌼

18/03/2025

From today’s edition of :

With the entirety of the American two-year-old sales calendar now concentrated in Ocala and Maryland, the Arqana Breeze Up Sale has become an increasingly popular stop for Americans on the spring sales calendar. This year, falling on May 10, it lands between the OBS April sale (April 15-18) and Fasig-Tipton Midlantic (May 19-20), giving buyers ample time to travel back and forth.

"There are plenty of opportunities for horses that were bought by very good judges, taken over there and which have been trained and prepared for sale on a more forgiving surface that we find here in America," said Kip Elser .

Elser has had success at the sale in the past and said he goes with an open mind. "We look at everything," he said, noting that the 193 entered make that possible. "It's a small sale, and there are nice horses there. It has been a productive sale for me."

He said that he also appreciated the fact that the sale allowed for a more intellectual approach than relying on the stopwatch alone. "The conditions aren't always the same. The ground and weather aren't always as absolutely consistent like they are here, so there aren't as many absolutes. The conditions and surfaces vary enough that there's a little bit of a puzzle to put together."

Elser also will be representing an international buying bench. "I like to be in a position to look for a varied group of prospects for a variety of clients," he said. "I go to the Craven Sale in Newmarket while most people are busy here at OBS March. It's good to be off the beaten path. I'm a little more familiar with the process because I sold at the Craven sale a few years ago."

For the entire story, go to this link: https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/arqana-mays-american-appeal-a-concentrated-quality-of-sire-power/.

21/02/2025

Please read the insightful & important piece about Debbie Easter, President of the , from last Saturday's South Carolina Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association annual dinner as written by Audrey R. Korotkin:

"State’s Horse Industry Presses for Pari-Mutuel Wagering"

The evening’s keynote speaker was Debbie Easter, president of the Virginia Equine Alliance, who spoke to the crowd about their attempt to amend South Carolina law to allow for pari-mutuel wagering as part of a broader effort to fund equine development in the state.

Senate Bill 344, now awaiting action in the Senate Finance Committee, is titled the South Carolina Equine Investment Act. Created by an inclusive group representing the horse industry broadly, the bill would:

“[e]stablish the South Carolina Equine Commission as a grant program that assists the growth and development of the equine industry in South Carolina, to provide application guidelines for pari-mutuel wagering, to establish the powers of the South Carolina Equine Commission, to provide for the Equine Industry Development Fund, and to provide definitions related to horse racing.”

“Everyone will have a piece of the pie, whether Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, Paso Finos or whatever,” said Kip Elser, a prominent South Carolina horseman who has spearheaded the bill. “We want to make sure we are inclusive of all equine disciplines.” Elser said the economic impact of the state’s equine industry is $2 billion a year, and it supports 28,000 jobs.

Easter compared the situation of South Carolina’s equine industry to that in Virginia. “We are a lot alike. The Thoroughbred industry isn’t dying, but the horse industry is,” she said. “We had to look at a situation where we cannot compete; we don’t have the money. Apples to apples, we’ve been able to provide money for Thoroughbreds, for Standardbreds, and for steeplechase meets.”

“All horses are important,” Easter said, echoing Elser’s pledge to South Carolina horsemen. “We have to help each other out, get everyone involved.”

Unlike Virginia, where pari-mutuel wagering is available at Colonial Downs and at some steeplechase race meets, pari-mutuel betting is not currently contemplated for live racing in South Carolina. Instead, the South Carolina industry would rely on advanced deposit wagering (ADW), which utilizes computers or a smartphone to place bets. Under the proposed legislation, 5 percent of all wagers would come back to the industry, Elser said.

Similar proposed legislation died last year when, after passing the House of Representatives, it was blocked from consideration in the Senate. SCTOBA and its partners want to make sure that doesn’t happen this year.

“You’ve got eight senators signed on to the bill, and that’s very positive,” Easter said. “But you need to talk to your friends around the state. They need to call their own legislators to encourage them to vote for this bill. You’ve got to work together as a group. It is incumbent on all of you to get together to get this done. It doesn’t cost the state anything. They’re taking money out for gaming, and we’re saying they have to give something back.”

21/02/2025

A wonderful recap of last Saturday night's South Carolina Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association annual dinner by by Audrey R. Korotkin:

"Franklin G. Smith Runs the Table for South Carolina Breeders’ Honors"

Franklin G. “Goree” Smith was honored as the 2024 South Carolina Breeder of the Year at the South Carolina Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association annual dinner on Feb. 15 at the National Steeplechase Museum in Camden.

A perennial winner of this award, Smith bred all four top SCTOBA recipients: Walk Away Joe, owned by Mopo Racing, as Older Male Horse of the Year; Stop the Cap, owned and bred by Smith, as older Filly/Male Horse of the Year; Coronation Time, owned by Lee R. Christian as Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding Horse of the Year; and YumYum Eat Em Up, owned by Baxter Racing Stable, as Three-Year-Old Filly Horse of the Year.

15/02/2025

Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️🏇

12/02/2025

Travel options in Uruguay 😃

10/02/2025

Battalion Runner standing in Uruaguay at Haras Marnu.

06/02/2025

Well, hello there!

02/02/2025

27/01/2025

Thinking about Mucho Gusto, consigned by Kirkwood, winning the 2020 Pegasus World Cup 5 years ago this week.

25/01/2025

Winter evening by the fire 💤

11/01/2025

feeling 💤

Sleep

05/01/2025

🐎 riends

05/01/2025

Friendship fellows for 2025! 🐎🐎 kirkwoodadvisory.com

31/12/2024

Wishing you all a wonderful 2025 🌅

27/12/2024

to our trip to South Africa for Cape Thoroughbred Sale.