South America Poised for the Future

SOUTH AMERICA POISED FOR THE FUTURE 
By Tom Thornbury, Associate Director of Sales, Keeneland
Beginning in February, I traveled South–first to Argentina, and then throughout the continent of South America. In Argentina, I was met by Alberto Stein, owner of Haras La Leyenda, where he has stood Exchange Rate and Freud, and recently added a Group 1-winning son of Galileo (Ire), Cima De Triomphe (Ire), whose first crop sells this year. Stein is credited with creating the Argentina Premier Sale, which involves several breeding farms that wish to sell their yearlings in what they consider to be a more transparent, straight-forward manner. He asked me to come and independently select sale candidates, as well as help structure their sale to reflect the American model. 
The Argentina Premier Sale, represented by 15 different breeding farms, will offer 90 yearlings, by 27 different sires (including Tapit, Harlan's Holiday, Exchange Rate, Stormy Atlantic, Freud, Forestry, and Roman Ruler) May 7 & 8 at the Tattersall Pavilion at Hipodromo Palermo, in Buenos Aires. Should you wish to attend, or have interest in the catalogue, go to www.argentinapremier.com. 
For the foreign buyer, the timing could not be better. The Argentine peso is weak against the dollar, and you can buy a lot of horse at a bargain. American buyers, particularly, will find pedigrees and sires that they know and love. In fact, currently, eight of the top 10 stallions in Argentina are American. Palermo runs most of its races on the dirt, and San Isidro is also running some on the dirt. Not far away, La Plata is strictly dirt racing, hence the prevalence of American sires and pedigrees. 
From Argentina, I went to Brazil. In Sao Paulo, I met the Director of the Stud Book Brasileiro, Ricardo Ravagnani, who has done the bulk of the work in organizing the ABCPCC, or Sao Paulo Breeders Association National Yearling Sale for the last few years. Our selection success, over the years, has been exceptional. Most recently, a colt by first-crop sire, Crafty C.T., was chosen for the 2012 sale, and sold for a bargain $15,000. Subsequently named Fixador (Brz), he was named that country's 2-Year-Old Champion, handily won the 2013 Sao Paulo Triple Crown, and has since been named 3-Year-Old Champion. The 2013 sale was up on all scores, and with this colt's success, the 2014 entries doubled. 
The sale this year, to be held April 25 to 28 at Cidade Jardim (the track in Sao Paulo), will feature 207 horses (nearly 2-years-old), the best gleaned from 350 entries. There are 46 different sires represented. Response from the farms was greater, as well. There will be 38 different farms represented in this sale, from Sao Paulo state, Curitiba in Parana, Ponta Pora, Rio Grande do Sul, Bage, and Uruguaiana–virtually every corner of Brazil in which horses are raised. This country is huge, and Brazil's Thoroughbred breeders have truly put together a national yearling sale. If you have interest in the catalog for the ABCPCC National Sale, go to www.abcpcc.com.br. Who knows, maybe you could find a Triple Crown winner for $15,000. One thing is for certain: You will find a great group of young horses with a lot of upside, for very little money, comparatively. 

Brazil On the Rise… 
Brazil will host the 2014 FIFA World Cup of soccer beginning in June. Matches will be played at 12 different cities throughout the country. Brazil has been renovating and building new stadiums as fast as it can, and airports, hotels, and transit systems are ratcheting up for the deluge. Additionally, the 2016 Summer Olympics are to be held in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil will have the entire world's attention for the next couple years, and you can bet that the country is going to make the best of it. Brazilians enjoy great prosperity now, with a surplus due to the tremendous volumes of raw materials exported. Brazil's wealth lies in its natural resources, which are seemingly endless. Racing and breeding benefit from ties to major growers and exporters. However, although racing enjoys a monopoly, as casinos are outlawed in Brazil, the sport suffers from a lack of numbers of bettors, owners, and fans–much like the rest of the world. If members of the industry can engender greater marketing support for the sport, Brazil will soon have it all for those who breed and race. 
In speaking of soccer, Peruvian star Claudio Pizarro, who plays professionally for Bayern Munich, is an avid racing fan. He has a stable of top-quality horses at Monterrico in Lima, and a lovely breeding farm, Haras El Catorce in Peru. He has a branch of El Catorce in Argentina, as well. Another Peruvian star, Paulo Guerrero, owns horses and races at Monterrico. In Chile, another racing enthusiast is Arturo Vial, who plays professionally for the Italian club, Juventus. As a kid, he worked on the backstretch in Santiago. He now owns a successful racing stable in Chile. The cross-over from professional sports to racing in South America is seamless. We can take a lesson from this high profile enthusiasm for the game. 

Racing, Gaming in Harmony in Uruguay… 
From Brazil, I went to Montevideo, Uruguay. One of the principal reasons for stopping in Uruguay was to meet a man named Javier Cha. I had heard his name 
mentioned often, recently, and for all the right reasons. Cha is Director of the State Ministry of Casinos, an office within the Ministry of Economy and Finance. He need not have a heart for racing and breeding, and yet, he does. Cha has spearheaded the transfer of some of the casino profits to elevate purses, initiate breeders awards, sponsor drastic improvements to the five tracks in Uruguay, and integrate those tracks into a cohesive system, whereby Maronas (the flagship track in Montevideo) will be fed by the provincial tracks in Colonia, Las Piedras (Canelones), Paysandu, and Melo (Cerro Largo). Horses that excel at the provincial tracks will be encouraged to race at Maronas, and horses that are outdistanced at Maronas will now have a second chance at the provincial tracks. 
Prior to the emergence of Javier Cha, racing at Maronas had become stagnant. Eighteen different breeding farms had sold, and things were looking bleak. Not only that, but when each of Uruguay's racing fixtures were run (the Ramirez and Pineyrua, for instance), the Brazilians sent horses down to take home the purses. Racing and breeding were at low ebb. Since Cha's involvement, purses have been enhanced, the tracks have undergone restoration, new barns have been built (the 250 new stalls at Las Piedras filled immediately upon completion), backstretch conditions have improved (grooms are now assured of being paid regularly and properly), and a new school for jockeys is taking shape at Las Piedras. I was struck by the number of sharp, young, dedicated trainers and horsemen in Uruguay. With the improvements and incentives has come opportunity. 
To further initiate and encourage investment, both domestic and international, Uruguay has no taxes for the sale of horses imported or exported, and the country resists taxing farm production, making this an inviting place to do business. With new breeders' incentives in place, there will be guaranteed return for successful horses bred and raced in Uruguay, and the plan is to further enhance those awards, over time. I was impressed by this man, Javier Cha. He has a great vision for the future of racing and breeding in Uruguay. He cares for the breeders, those who race, for the jockeys, and even the grooms. He looks at racing and breeding as essential for introductory level jobs for the number of undereducated in the populace, and he sees racing and breeding as agricultural, tourism, and business assets that are essential to the future of Uruguay. This is the kind of man that could be President of his country, one day. He certainly is one to watch. 

International Crowd Meets in Chile… 
The next stop was in Santiago, Chile for the International Thoroughbred Breeders Federation 
meetings. These meetings were organized by retiring head of the ITBF, Sam Sheppard of Great Britain, along with local hosts Pedro Hurtado, President of the Chilean Breeders Association and its Executive Director, Vicente Aljaro. Hurtado is the owner of Haras Paso Nevado, where Scat Daddy stood Southern Hemisphere duty for a few years. He has been at the top of the sires list in Chile ever since, and Hurtado's filly, Solaria (Chi) beat the colts to win the G1 Chilean Derby this year. She was immediately sold to Japan for breeding. The ITBF meetings were attended by breeders from England, Ireland, France, Canada, Hungary, Australia, Korea, Japan, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and the U.S. 
International veterinary issues were addressed one day. Dr. Peter Timoney of the Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington, Kentucky, along with Dr. Des Leadon from the Irish Equine Center, headed discussions and received reports and updates of equine diseases affecting those countries with delegates in attendance. Discussions also included the ban of anabolic steroids in racing, artificial insemination, the effects of different medication regimes on racing durability, and DNA performance profiling. 
The second part of the meetings was arranged by the host country, Chile. The central issue addressed was in marketing racing and understanding the international rating system. TDN President and Co-Publisher Barry Weisbord gave a very candid appraisal of South American racing, and offered numerous suggestions as to how interest in racing and breeding might be increased. Carl Hamilton, Chairman of the Jockey Club Information Systems and also Chairman of the International Grading and Race Planning Advisory Committee, illustrated the quality of international races and explained their grading. 
Our hosts took us for an afternoon of racing at the Vina del Mar Sporting Club, a neat, country track located in the seaside resort of Vina del Mar, adjacent to Valparaiso, and only a little over an hour from Santiago. I always refer to Chile as virtually a 1500 mile Napa Valley. It is dry, warm, and nestled between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. It is a wonderful place to raise horses and grapes that make some stellar wines. Chileans enjoy a year-round racing season, and they export lots of fruit and vegetables. What makes Chile's economy so strong, however, is the fact that more major international corporations and banking institutions have chosen Chile as their South American business base, and buildings continue to go up throughout Santiago and the various port cities, as well. Business is good in Chile, and racing shows signs of continued improvement. 
Chileans have long been interested in American horses, both through purchasing breeding stock at our sales and through the shuttling of stallions. Recently, Liliana Solari, owner of Haras Don Alberto, the largest and most prominent breeding farm in Chile, purchased Vinery Farm from Dr. Tom Simon, in Lexington, Kentucky. Liliana's son, Carlos Heller, then came to the November sales and purchased a large draft of mares to begin their breeding operation in Kentucky. They are serious in their intention to breed and race at the highest levels, both in Chile and the U.S. This tremendous foreign investment made in Kentucky is good news for the local industry. 
My final stop was in Lima, Peru for the running of the G1 Latino Americano at the Hipodromo Monterrico. The “Latino” is a Group 1 handicap race that brings together horses from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. Longines is the principal sponsor of this 1 1/4 mile race with a purse of $500,000. The race was won by Keeneland September graduate Lideris (Mizzen Mast), owned by Peruvian Oscar Pena. The win brought about a tidal wave of national pride from the home fans at the track. In attendance at the trophy presentation were Luis Razzeto, President of the Jockey Club of Peru; Juan Carlos Capelli of Longines; Louis Romanet, Chairman of IFHA; Jim Gagliano, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Jockey Club; and Marcel Zarour, President of OSAF, the governing body of all South American racing. 
Interestingly, another Peruvian entry, Azarenka (Street Hero) was bred by Tony Lacy of Four Star Agency in Lexington, Kentucky. Undefeated in six previous starts, this filly led the charge down the stretch, until just inside the sixteenth pole. Tony and his wife, Kathy, were there to cheer her on, and she gave it her all. They had the time of their lives, and couldn't say enough nice things about the Peruvian hospitality before, during and after the race. 
The land around Lima, to the north and south, receives almost no annual rainfall. Peru's highly productive agriculture base is dependent upon irrigation diverted from rivers fed by snow melt from the Andes Mountains. Amazingly, several Thoroughbred breeding farms, like an oasis in the desert, efficiently turn out horses that perform very well. Because conditions are so difficult and breeding farms so expensive to maintain, there is still need for imported horses to have sufficient numbers to make the races go. This has been good news for American breeders, to whom buyers from Peru and other South American countries have turned to purchase the majority of their imported racing and breeding stock in recent years. The relationships built over the years between Kentucky breeders and horsemen from all of South America have been greatly beneficial to both entities. 
I am reminded of a story told by a friend, who was traveling in the south of Argentina by horse, along with his wife and two friends. It was getting dark, and they found what they thought was the house at which they were to overnight. A sweet, older woman met them as they rode up, helped them see to their horses, unload their gear, and ushered them into the house. She put a glass of wine in each hand, and as they wearily flopped into whatever soft chair they could find, she busily arranged their bedrooms and prepared a warm meal. Conversation was difficult, as they spoke little Spanish, and she spoke no English. The guests were a little put out by her apparent lack of preparation. It wasn't until after they had begun to eat that they finally came to the realization that her house was not their intended stop over, but that she had simply and graciously opened her house for four tired strangers–without question. A similar, kind and warm welcome awaits you from most everyone you will meet in South America. I can assure you that as you leave, you will feel as though you are leaving behind family.