1
 If bluebloods won't pay high prices for racehorses anymore,
2
condition

2
 who will?
5001
span

3
 Breeders are betting on the common folk.
5002
Question-Answer

4
 The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, a Lexington, Ky.-based trade group, has launched seminars for potential investors at race tracks around the country.
5005
span

5
 The group,
5003
span

6
 which has held half a dozen seminars so far,
5
elaboration-additional-e

7
 also is considering promotional videos and perhaps a pitch to Wall Street investment bankers.
5004
Same-Unit

8
 People in this business have been insulated,
5006
span

9
 says Josh Pons, a horse breeder from Bel Air, Md.
8
attribution

10
 But the real future of this game is in a number of people 
5007
span

11
owning a few horses.
10
elaboration-object-attribute-e

12
 At the Laurel race track, the breeders are romancing people like Tim Hulings, a beer packaging plant worker.
5012
span

13
 Right now, Mr. Hulings is waving his racing program,
5011
span

14
 cheering for Karnak on the Nile, a sleek thoroughbred 
5010
span

15
galloping down the home stretch.
14
elaboration-object-attribute-e

16
 Mr. Hulings gloats
5015
attribution

17
 that he sold all his stocks
5014
span

18
 a week before the market plummeted 190 points on Oct. 13,
17
temporal-before

19
 and he is using the money
5013
span

20
 to help buy a 45-acre horse farm.
19
purpose

21
 Just imagine how exciting that would be
5018
span

22
 if that's your horse, 
21
condition

23
he says.
5018
attribution

24
 But experts caution 
25
attribution

25
that this isn't a game for anyone with a weak stomach or wallet.
5022
span

26
 It's a big-risk business, 
5023
span

27
warns Charles C. Mihalek, a Lexington attorney and former Kentucky state securities commissioner.
26
attribution

28
 You have to go into it 
5027
span

29
firmly believing 
5025
attribution

30
that it's the kind of investment 
5025
span

31
where you can lose everything.
30
elaboration-object-attribute-e

32
 And many have done just that.
5035
span

33
 Consider Spendthrift Farm, a prominent Lexington horse farm 
5032
span

34
that went public in 1983
5030
concession

35
 but hit hard times 
36
reason

36
and filed for bankruptcy-court protection last year.
5030
span

37
 A group of investors recently bought the remaining assets of Spendthrift,
5033
span

38
 hoping to rebuild it.
37
elaboration-object-attribute-e

39
 Other investors have lost millions in partnerships
5036
span

40
 that bought thoroughbred racehorses or stallion breeding rights.
39
elaboration-object-attribute-e

41
 One big problem has been the thoroughbred racehorse market.
5040
span

42
 From 1974 to 1984, prices for the best yearlings at the summer sales rose 918% to an average of $544,681.
5041
Sequence

43
 Since then, prices have slumped, to an average of $395,374 this summer.
5044
span

44
 But that's for the best horses,
5042
span

45
 with most selling for much less 
5043
span

46
-- as little as $100 for some pedestrian thoroughbreds.
45
elaboration-additional

47
 Even while they move outside their traditional tony circle,
48
antithesis

48
 racehorse owners still try to capitalize on the elan of the sport.
5050
span

49
 Glossy brochures
5051
span

50
 circulated at racetracks
49
elaboration-object-attribute-e

51
 gush about the limelight of the winner's circle and high-society schmoozing.
5052
Same-Unit

52
 One handout promises:
53
attribution

53
 Pedigrees, parties, post times, parimutuels and pageantry.
5054
span

54
 It's just a matter of marketing and promoting ourselves,
5056
span

55
 says Headley Bell, a fifth-generation horse breeder from Lexington.
54
attribution

56
 Maybe it's not that simple.
5059
span

57
 For starters, racehorse buyers have to remember the basic problem of such ventures:
5060
span

58
 These beasts don't come with warranties.
5061
span

59
 And for every champion, there are plenty of nags.
58
elaboration-additional

60
 Katherine Voss, a veteran trainer at the Laurel, Md., track, offers neophytes a sobering tour of a horse barn,
5064
span

61
 noting 
62
attribution

62
that only three of about a dozen horses have won sizable purses.
5063
span

63
 One brown two-year-old filly was wheezing from a cold,
5065
List

64
 while another had splints on its legs,
5065
List

65
 keeping both animals from the racetrack.
5067
span

66
 You can see the highs and lows of the business all under one roof,
5069
span

67
 she tells the group.
66
attribution

68
 There aren't too many winners.
5069
comment

69
 Perhaps the biggest hurdle 
5075
span

70
owners face 
69
elaboration-object-attribute-e

71
is convincing newcomers
72
attribution

72
 that this is a reputable business.
5074
span

73
 Some badly managed partnerships have burned investors,
5077
span

74
 sometimes after they received advice from industry consultants.
73
circumstance

75
 So owners have developed a code of ethics,
5098
span

76
 outlining rules for consultants and agents, and disclosure of fees and any conflicts of interest.
75
elaboration-additional

77
 But some are skeptical of the code's effectiveness.
5083
span

78
 The industry is based on individual honesty,
5082
span

79
 says Cap Hershey, a Lexington horse farmer and one of the investors 
5081
span

80
who bought Spendthrift.
79
elaboration-object-attribute-e

81
 Despite the drop in prices for thoroughbreds, owning one still isn't cheap.
5087
span

82
 At the low end, investors can spend $15,000 or more 
5086
span

83
to own a racehorse in partnership with others.
82
purpose

84
 At a yearling sale, a buyer can go solo 
5088
List

85
and get a horse for a few thousand dollars.
5088
List

86
 But that means paying the horse's maintenance;
5090
span

87
 on average, it costs $25,000 a year
5089
span

88
 to raise a horse.
87
purpose

89
 For those 
5094
span

90
looking for something between a minority stake and total ownership,
89
elaboration-object-attribute-e

91
 the owners' group is considering a special sale 
5093
span

92
where established horse breeders would sell a 50% stake in horses to newcomers.
91
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5001
span
5002
Question-Answer

5002
multinuc
5046
span

5003
span
5004
Same-Unit

5004
multinuc
4
elaboration-additional

5005
span
5002
elaboration-additional

5006
span
5007
antithesis

5007
span
5008
span

5008
span
5048
span

5009
span



5010
span
13
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5011
span
12
elaboration-additional

5012
span
5017
span

5013
span
5015
span

5014
span
5013
consequence-n

5015
span
5016
span

5016
span
5020
span

5017
span
5008
elaboration-additional

5018
span
5019
span

5019
span
5016
comment

5020
span
5012
elaboration-additional

5021
span



5022
span
5024
span

5023
span
5022
elaboration-additional

5024
span
5028
span

5025
span
5026
span

5026
span
28
manner

5027
span
5038
span

5028
span
5073
span

5029
span



5030
span
5031
span

5031
span
33
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5032
span
5034
span

5033
span
5032
consequence-s

5034
span
32
example

5035
span
5045
span

5036
span
5039
span

5037
span



5038
span
5024
interpretation-s

5039
span
5035
elaboration-additional

5040
span
5036
explanation-argumentative

5041
multinuc
41
elaboration-general-specific

5042
span
43
elaboration-additional

5043
span
44
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5044
span
5041
Sequence

5045
span
5027
elaboration-additional

5046
span
5047
span

5047
span



5048
span
5049
span

5049
span
5046
elaboration-additional

5050
span
5053
span

5051
span
5052
Same-Unit

5052
multinuc
5055
span

5053
span
5056
interpretation-n

5054
span
5052
example

5055
span
5050
evidence

5056
span
5058
span

5057
span



5058
span
56
antithesis

5059
span
5062
span

5060
span
5072
span

5061
span
57
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5062
span
5085
span

5063
span
60
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5064
span
5068
span

5065
multinuc
65
result

5066
span



5067
span
5064
elaboration-additional

5068
span
5071
span

5069
span
5070
span

5070
span
5068
elaboration-additional

5071
span
5060
elaboration-additional

5072
span
5059
explanation-argumentative

5073
span
5048
antithesis

5074
span
5076
Same-Unit

5075
span
5076
Same-Unit

5076
multinuc
5080
span

5077
span
5078
result

5078
span
5079
span

5079
span
5083
antithesis

5080
span
5062
elaboration-additional

5081
span
78
attribution

5082
span
77
explanation-argumentative

5083
span
5084
span

5084
span
5076
explanation-argumentative

5085
span
5096
span

5086
span
5092
List

5087
span
5097
span

5088
multinuc
5090
antithesis

5089
span
86
elaboration-additional

5090
span
5091
span

5091
span
5092
List

5092
multinuc
81
evidence

5093
span
5095
span

5094
span
5093
circumstance

5095
span
5087
problem-solution-s

5096
span
5028
elaboration-additional

5097
span
5085
elaboration-additional

5098
span
5078
span

