Our Philosophy

At Fantasy Lane Stable we have a different philosophy. We want our investors to actually experience being an owner. This means that you don't have to stand on the sidelines cheering unless that is all you really want to do.  You are always most cordially welcome at the barn to watch the day to day operations of all the hard work that goes into a single trip to the Winner's Circle.

Our approach is to concentrate on purchasing up to three babies, one for each syndicate depending on price, in the range of $50,000 to $125,000.  Any unused funds after purchase are used to defray training costs for as long as possible.  In the case of Cobra Strike the partners have never reached into their pocket after their initial outlay.  And their patience was rewarded when he won at fist asking in August 2007 at Monmouth Park in MSW company.

Unlike our competitors, at the auctions, we do not look for the colt with the fastest black-type work in the sale. We do not hype our purchases and then mark them up 100%, 200%, or even 300% to guarantee a profit. Instead we do our due diligence in looking for modestly priced prospects, up to $125,000.

Our philosophy is you don't have to spend huge dollars to get a real runner.  We look at pedigree last!  We prefer athletes, those candidates with huge upsides.  Our team is confident that we can develop these precocious youngsters into a stake horses provided that they have the ability. If we do not see the potential in a prospect we're not interested. It's as simple as that. We employ experts and clockers to assist us in identifying the candidates that we most wish to consider.

Alan Seewald is one of the perennial leading trainers on the New Jersey - Pennsylvania circuit.  He has a keen eye for champions and spends a grueling week or two at each sale personally canvassing the barns. With the advent of VLT's (slot machines) in Pennsylvania we realize that lucrative purses will make PA racing that much more attractive.

Alan is a hands-on person, as he leaves no stone unturned. He investigates behind-the-scenes, gathering as much information as he can. He personally inspects the horses we covet most with a fine tooth comb. It takes a great deal of work to put together the short list of acceptable candidates that FLS is actually interested in.

We reject over ninety percent for a variety of reasons. We watch the prospects breeze in the under tack show. Afterward we meticulously study the videotape. Once satisfied, we return to the barn to physically examine the horse again after the breeze. Absolutely nothing is left to chance.

Before making a bid we engage our FLS veterinarians to thoroughly examine the horse.  If we have any doubts we often include X-rays. Once the candidate passes muster, only then is the horse placed on our selective list to bid on.

From there we spend countless hours prioritizing our list and then hope to get lucky at the auction. If we feel a candidate is overpriced, we practice restraint and pass. We then move on to the next prospect.