$2 Million Mistake

Rupert Pupkin · #1 01-13-2007, 10:58 PM

B Wayne Hughes decided to sell Greeley's Galaxy because the horse was not running well any more. Hughes did not do his homework. He did not realize that the horse had quite a bit of value as a stallion. So he sold the horse for $200,000. The horse has a full book and is standing for $7,500. That means the horse is worth well over $2 million. He sold a $2 million horse for $200,000.

The Bid · #2 01-13-2007, 11:01 PM

Rupe

Hes been burned a lot

timmgirvan · #3 01-13-2007, 11:03 PM

There's gotta be somebody to fire!!

The Bid · #4 01-13-2007, 11:06 PM

Himself, hes the one that ultimately makes the decisions. Youd think a guy whos put so much money into the game would have a few guys at his side willing to guide him in the right direction. At least not wanting him to get burned

Rupert Pupkin · #5 01-13-2007, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bid

Himself, hes the one that ultimately makes the decisions. Youd think a guy whos put so much money into the game would have a few guys at his side willing to guide him in the right direction. At least not wanting him to get burned

He used to have the best advisor in the world. Ron Ellis used to advise him on everything, but he and Ellis had a falling out and have parted ways.

The same thing would have happened to Malibu Moon if it weren't for Ellis. Ellis found the right place for the horse to stand and Hughes has made millions off that deal. It was Ellis who encouraged him to stand Malibu Moon and Ellis who found the right place for the horse to stand.

When you have a future stallion who was not a star racehorse, you have to really know what you're doing to find the right deal. You have to shop around and find the right state and the right farm for the horse to stand in.

Rupert Pupkin · #6 01-13-2007, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bid

Rupe

Hes been burned a lot

The good thing is that he doesn't need the money. Forbes has his worth listed at about $4 billion, so $2 million is just a drop in the bucket. But still, nobody wants to make bad decisions like that.

He has decided to stand Don't Get Mad. He would have been much better off standing Greeley's Galaxy. Mr Greeley is much more in fashion than Stephen Got Even.

goingtothewhip · #7 01-13-2007, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

The good thing is that he doesn't need the money. Forbes has his worth listed at about $4 billion, so $2 million is just a drop in the bucket. But still, nobody wants to make bad decisions like that.

He has decided to stand Don't Get Mad. He would have been much better off standing Greeley's Galaxy. Mr Greeley is much more in fashion than Stephen Got Even.

B Wayne is the founder/owner of Public Storage and the source of his wealth if i'm not mistaken.

Ron Ellis is the one of the most admirable horseman on the SoCal circuit imo and if they had a falling out I would imagine it must have been due to him being extremely conservative and protective of his horses. Not always great for business I would imagine.

The Bid · #8 01-13-2007, 11:50 PM

Without a guy like Ellis being around those pants are going to be at his ankles very quickly. Not that he cant absorb the beating financially, its just a bummer to watch it happen to people who put so much into the game. I know they are going bonkers buying mares over there

Rupert Pupkin · #9 01-13-2007, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goingtothewhip

B Wayne is the founder/owner of Public Storage and the source of his wealth if i'm not mistaken.

Ron Ellis is the one of the most admirable horseman on the SoCal circuit imo and if they had a falling out I would imagine it must have been due to him being extremely conservative and protective of his horses. Not always great for business I would imagine.

Yes, you are correct. Hughes was frustrated that Ellis was too conservative, especially with 2 year olds. The horses would rarely run as 2 year olds because Ron will always back off if a horse has a problem.

Hughes was starting to give more and more of the horses to other trainers. Ron finally got fed up and quit. The final straw was when Ron found out that Hughes gave Baffert a horse that he had promised to Ron. Ron had picked out the horse and Hughes had promised him that he would be the trainer. When Ron found out that the horse was going to Baffert, he quit. I don't think that Hughes intentionally lied to him. I think he had forgotten that he had promised the horse to Ron.

timmgirvan · #10 01-13-2007, 11:57 PM

Sounds like it's time for them to grab a beer and make up!

Dunbar · #11 01-14-2007, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

The good thing is that he doesn't need the money. Forbes has his worth listed at about $4 billion, so $2 million is just a drop in the bucket. But still, nobody wants to make bad decisions like that.

$2 million is 1/2000 of his net worth.

To put that in perspective, $2 million is to $4 billion what $500 is to $1 million. So, as a percentage of net worth, his $2 million mistake is like a $500 mistake to someone worth $1 million.

If your net worth is $200,000 and you make a $200 mistake, it's twice as big a dent on your net worth as Hughes $2 million mistake was on Hughes' net worth!

One more way to look at it: If Hughes could make his $4 billion liquid, he could give away $2 million 1000 times and still have $2 billion left to play with. Of course I recently heard Ted Turner say that a billion isn't what it used to be. (somewhat jokingly, I think!)

--Dunbar