Selling Your Stock
If you are breeding to sell rather than race, there are two primary options - private sale or set public sales.
Private Sale
It is important to make as much information as possible available for potential buyers or leasees - the breeding and a pedigree of your horse, successful close relations, it's physical description and where possible a good, clear, well-lit photograph that shows off the horse's best points. Several alternate contact details and a price or lease terms are also vital.
When you have arranged a sale, you will need to complete an Ownership Transfer Form and return to Harness Racing Victoria. If you are leasing your horse, you will instead need a Notification of Lease form.
Some places you might consider advertising are in industry publications, or the following websites:
Yearling Sales
There are two main Yearling sales each season in Victoria - the Australian Pacing Gold Melbourne Sale and the Australasian Premier Trotting Sale - as well as several other less regular sales from time to time; you can see a number of these below.
There are very strict deadlines for the nomination of yearlings for these sales and it is best to review the Sale Company websites to ensure you don't miss these dates. Additionally, there are certain fees applicable for entry and in some cases, to ensure eligibility in related race series.
As with private sale, it is important to undertake promotion of your yearling in the weeks before the sale to give prospective buyers incentive to bid on your lot - good photographs, paddock videos, summaries of successful relatives and eligibility for futurities schemes are all useful ways of creating a positive image for your yearling.
You can choose to prepare your yearling for sale yourself, or choose a specialist preparer (often connected to a broodmare or agistment farm) who will undertake in-hand training, grooming, feeding and then sale day preparation and presentation, for a fee. A well-turned out yearling can make a significant difference in the price reached in the sales ring. You can also find the details of preparers by viewing the pedigrees for last year's sales and looking for the 'Preparer' at the bottom, which will list the contact person, their location and a phone number.
Australian Pacing Gold Yearling Sales (Melbourne, Sydney, Perth & Brisbane)
Australasian Premier Trotting Yearling Sales (Melbourne)
Nutrien Equine Standardbred Yearling Sales (Melbourne & Sydney)
Other Victorian sales are offered from time to time by:
Most upcoming Australian sale dates can be found on the Harness Racing Australia site.
Understanding Taxation Obligations
A handy resource around tax and GST developed for racing participants by the Australian Taxation Office can be found here but HBV recommend discussing your structures with your accountant or financial advisor.