Thestable.ca is reporting a surge in new owners in its fractional ownership site over the past two weeks.
"We had spent a lot of money on advertising leading up to both Lexington and Harrisburg.(said Amy and Anthony MacDonald, the founders of thestable.ca)
We had a tremendous amount of help from both the USTA and Standardbredcanada, but surprisingly most of our feedback and truly fractional interest has come from social media."
"We have sold shares in yearlings to people from the United Kingdom, Ireland, New York, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Wyoming, Alberta, and of course Ontario."
Most of the interested parties have purchased smaller shares, as low as 1% in some cases.
But what's very surprising is their involvement in the industry prior to their purchases from the stable.
Eight of the investors had never owner a horse before.
One gentleman and his partner haven't owned a horse since 2005, and two investors from Ontario worked within the industry but have never entered a Paddock or winners circle.
"Out goal was always to make fractional investment easy while giving our customers the ability to budget precisely with our flat rate billing.
We believe the no hidden costs and no strings attatched business model resonates well with everyone in todays society.
Whether it be your cell phone, cable or investments, people don't want to be surprised."
"For us it's all about bringing new people to a game we know is exciting.
We all know harness racing needs to be more fan friendly, here at the stable we are trying to make it investor friendly also."
Many people in Ontario have focused on missed opportunities or lost investment or the short comings of the horse racing industry.
Thestable is focusing on not just survival but growth.
Following the information session on Tuesday the 24th at Eloras Grand River Raceway, thestable plans on holding more information sessions at both Mohawk and woodbine.
"The Meadowlands has been playing our commercial frequently, and social media has really helped.
With woodbine getting on board, we may run out of yearlings to sell before we run out of investors to buy them."
This isn't only good for thestable.ca it's good for the whole industry.
"Who in this day and age can say they brought 8 investors into harness racing?
These people will come to the races now.
Although at the moment they only own a fraction of a horse; they won't drink a fraction of a beer at the track, or bring a fraction of their friends and family to watch their horse and they will have much more than a fraction of a smile on their face if their horse wins."
This game is not dead, investment is out there.
Amy and Anthony MacDonald say they will prove it to you in 2016.
(The Stable)