The Green Group

With a newly-minted Grade I winner in his barn and another set to hit the track this weekend, trainer Tom Amoss joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland Wednesday morning for an illuminating discussion that covered a wide variety of topics, big and small. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Amoss explained the success of barn stars No Parole (Violence) and Serengeti Empress (Alternation), talked about what he's learned from branching out into broadcasting and offered his take on why racing has...

The New York Race Track Chaplaincy of America (NYRTCA) is asking for support to provide woman living and working on the Belmont Park backstretch and the surrounding community with 'Baskets of Blessings' this coming Mother's Day. A donation of $100 will fund a special basket which will be lovingly prepared and include an assortment of food, toiletries, and special gifts. Each basket will be hand-delivered by the NYRTCA ahead of Mother's Day, Sunday, May 10. "The mothers of our backstretch community have perhaps been most impacted by the current crisis,...

Last week, I was listening to the TDN Podcast. The Green Group Guest of the Week was the very successful trainer and four-time Eclipse winner Chad Brown. One of the panelists asked Chad if he was affected by economically by COVID-19, even though he had relationships with so many significant owners who might be able to weather the storm of uncertainty. Chad's response was that "all trainers are being affected, especially the smaller to midsize ones." That got me thinking. I have seen hundreds of articles and podcasts on the...

The TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland has transitioned to video over the past two weeks as the hosts record the show from home, and this week they welcomed their first video guest, none other than four-time defending Eclipse Award-winning trainer and future Hall of Famer Chad Brown. In a wide-ranging interview that touched on how the pandemic has affected his horses and family, what he looks for at sales, his feelings on clenbuterol, his thoughts on how to help smaller trainers get a foothold and his memories of...

Editor's note: The Thoroughbred racing industry is covered under legislation passed in Washington to bolster an economy that has been hard hit by the coronavirus. To clarify what is available to racing participants, the NTRA held a teleconference Wednesday which included tax experts who serve the racing industry. To break down what is available and who qualifies for assistance, the TDN asked Green Group Founder and Chairman Len Green to go over the CARES Act and its provisions. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") became law...

Congress recently implemented changes to the IRS Tax Code, The CARES Act, to provide relief from the COVID-19 outbreak. We reviewed the updates and are pleased to report that (for the most part) the changes will benefit those in the Thoroughbred industry. Below please find a summary of the most relevant items and how they affect the horse business: 1. Prior to the recent update, the tax law capped business losses at $250,000 for single taxpayers and $500,000 for married filing joint returns. A business loss in excess of those...

We are pleased to report we received a number of favorable responses to our first question and answer column. We also received several new questions which we are addressing at this time. Question #1: From a tax point of view, what should we do if the horses we bought to pinhook can now not be sold? Answer: As a result of the threat of COVID-19, many pinhookers are having second thoughts. Our normal transaction was to buy yearlings in 2019 for resale at the 2-year-old sales in March and April...

Today, we begin a new column where readers are invited to write in and ask our expert Len Green their equine-related tax and accounting questions. Have a question you'd like answered? Email suefinley@thetdn.com Question #1: I am a partner in a racing syndicate. I received a K-1 form which shows a loss for the year. My accountant is questioning whether I am entitled to deduct the loss. What is the problem? Losses from partnership ownership fall into three categories: a. Active--which means the losses can be used to offset any...

The Empire Racing Club will present an educational series Aug. 11 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Fasig-Tipton pavilion in Saratoga Springs, New York. Empire Racing Club's coordinator Christina Bossinakis will serve as the moderator and there will be four presentations from guest speakers. They are: "Thoroughbred Auctions: Behind the Scenes at a Major Horse Sale," from the Fasig-Tipton team; "Increase Your Odds of Making Money in the Thoroughbred Industry" from the Green Group's and DJ Stables' Len Green, who writes a monthly TDN column; "Buying for the...