Get Your Weekly Digest

Receive the best podcast summaries and insights delivered to your inbox every week.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.

Freakonomics Radio

652. Inside the Horse-Industrial Complex

with Emily Plant, Richard Migliore, Jill Stowe, Mark Taylor, Oscar Gonzalez

Published November 7, 2025
View Show Notes

About This Episode

This episode examines the modern thoroughbred horse industry, from elite breeding operations in Kentucky to the lived experience and economics of being a jockey and a backstretch worker. Former jockey Richard Migliore describes the physical and psychological demands, risks, and rewards of his nearly 30-year riding career, while industry participants like economist Jill Stowe and farm operator Mark Taylor explain the business structures, sales markets, and breeding strategies that underpin the sport. The conversation also explores how immigration rules shape the racing workforce and how long-standing breeding rules, especially the ban on artificial insemination, help keep Kentucky at the center of the global thoroughbred economy.

Topics Covered

Horse racing industry Thoroughbred breeding Sports betting and horse wagering Regulation and safety in sports Immigration policy and border security Entrepreneurship Personal narrative Pari-mutuel betting Labor and workforce issues

Disclaimer: We provide independent summaries of podcasts and are not affiliated with or endorsed in any way by any podcast or creator. All podcast names and content are the property of their respective owners. The views and opinions expressed within the podcasts belong solely to the original hosts and guests and do not reflect the views or positions of Summapod.

Quick Takeaways

  • Elite thoroughbred breeding relies on live cover rather than artificial insemination, a rule that both preserves traditional practices and helps keep the stallion market geographically concentrated in Kentucky.
  • A successful jockey like Richard Migliore lives within extreme physical constraints, including very low body weight and calories, while managing high risk of injury and complex relationships with trainers and owners.
  • Modern veterinary advances and improved regulation have reduced horse fatality rates in racing, but criticism over animal welfare still pressures the industry to better explain and improve its practices.
  • Kentucky's equine sector functions as an economic cluster, supporting tens of thousands of jobs across a wide range of supporting professions far beyond farms and racetracks.
  • Thoroughbred markets are highly uncertain: less than 1% of prospects become top-grade winners, yet structured breeding programs and big public auctions like Keeneland help investors manage risk and find liquidity.
  • Stallions today can breed more than 200 mares per year thanks to hormone and reproductive technologies, concentrating genetic influence and changing the economics for smaller stallion operations.
  • Immigrant workers, often on temporary visas, form the backbone of the modern horse industry, and industry leaders argue that more tailored immigration policies could stabilize the workforce and improve outcomes.
  • Market intermediaries like TaylorMade Farm must balance their own incentives to close sales with long-term relationships, using tools like tiered reserve-price advice to align with clients' goals.

Podcast Notes

Visit to Ashford Stud and introduction to elite thoroughbred breeding

Meeting American Pharoah and introduction to Emily Plant

Emily Plant describes feeding American Pharoah a carrot as a major life highlight[1:43]
Emily Plant is introduced as a lifelong horse lover and thoroughbred researcher and statistician[1:52]
American Pharoah is framed as one of the most famous and sought-after horses due to winning the 2015 Triple Crown[2:05]
• Triple Crown consists of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes
• He was the first Triple Crown winner in nearly four decades, countering industry doubts that it could still be done with modern thoroughbreds

Stud value and ownership of American Pharoah

Bloodline is described as extremely important in horse racing, driving demand for a stallion like American Pharoah[2:33]
Owners of mares deemed worthy can breed to American Pharoah for a current stud fee of $45,000[2:39]
• When he first retired from racing at age three, his stud fee was $200,000
Ashford Stud, part of Coolmore Stud, reportedly paid $23 million for American Pharoah in 2015[3:02]
Ashford Stud is a 2,000-acre farm in Kentucky bluegrass country and serves as the American outpost of Coolmore, the largest thoroughbred breeder in the world[3:02]
Emily Plant refers to the farm as equine paradise, noting the barns and craftsmanship[3:14]
• She points out the limestone craftsmanship, roof, and cupola as examples of the barns being works of art
• There are 15 champion stallions residing in the barns

Tour of the breeding shed and logistics of live cover

A nearby modern building with high ceilings and big sliding doors is identified as the breeding shed[3:31]
Plant explains that stallions enter from one side when mares are ready, and mares enter from the other side[3:45]
During Dubner's visit there is no breeding happening; stallions are in their barns relaxing and eating hay[3:54]
Plant highlights safety features: padded walls, helmets and safety vests for handlers, and a staffed four-person team during breeding[4:08]
• One handler prepares the mare and holds her tail, another controls the stallion, and a veterinarian is present in case of problems
She emphasizes the danger: two giant, highly charged horses are being asked to mate in a controlled environment[4:30]
Plant notes that thoroughbreds are bred with live cover; natural mating is required rather than artificial insemination[4:58]
• She says the stallion handlers are the best in the world and highly trusted, dealing with horses worth $50-100 million

Questioning the ban on artificial insemination

Dubner raises the puzzle of why, given the risk and cost of live cover, thoroughbred breeders forbid artificial insemination when it is common in other species and in humans[5:06]
He frames this as one of several questions about the thoroughbred market that the episode will explore[5:22]

Episode roadmap and themes

Dubner previews that the episode will cover the economics of breeding and of being a jockey[5:28]
He mentions that jockeys earn a flat mount fee ranging from about $100 to $500, with real money coming from a percentage of purse earnings[5:35]
He notes that the episode will also ask how Kentucky maintains dominance in the thoroughbred economy and will look at other parts of the horse world beyond racing[5:57]
Dubner identifies this episode as part two of a three-part series titled The Horse Is Us[6:04]

Life and craft of a jockey: interview with Richard Migliore

Introduction to the jockey-horse relationship

Dubner asks listeners to imagine themselves as famous racehorses like American Pharoah, Justify, Secretariat, or Seabiscuit[6:39]
He points out that no horse can win a sanctioned race without a jockey on its back at the finish line[7:20]
Richard Migliore describes horses as having distinct personalities-generous, kind, or lazy-and says unlike people, they do not hide their true identity[7:33]
Migliore is introduced as head racing analyst for Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association and a former top jockey on the New York circuit[7:50]
He says young jockeys initially rely on physicality, fearlessness, and enthusiasm, which horses respond to as positive energy[8:07]

Migliore's career path and early contract

He summarizes his career: started professionally at 16, rode for nearly 30 years until just before age 45, then moved into broadcasting for about 15 years[8:30]
Understanding horse personality was central for him; some riders lean more on physicality, but he preferred a blend of feel for the horse and athleticism[8:55]
He says he always loved horses more than racing; racing became an extension of that love[9:20]
Growing up in Brooklyn, he had little access to horses, so he started working at his Little League coach's pony ride concession at age nine[9:34]
At 12 he moved to his grandfather's house on Long Island, found a horse farm job at Hunting Hollow Farm, and was paid $1 per stall mucked[10:08]
• He chose riding lessons instead of taking the money each week, and by 13 he was involved in pony racing
People noticed he looked like he belonged on a horse, leading to work at Belmont Park by age 14 for trainer Steve DeMauro, an Eclipse Award-winning champion trainer[10:28]
At 15 he signed a five-year contract; at about 17 and a half he bought his way out because it was inhibiting his career, though he credits DeMauro with his successful start[10:52]

Family attitudes and unconventional childhood

Migliore acknowledges his parents likely had trepidation about him leaving home so young, but says it was a kind of salvation because he found where he belonged[11:20]
He describes growing up in a neighborhood where it was not socially acceptable to be reading horse books or being outwardly different[11:33]
He also had an interest in archaeology, once finding a 400-year-old deer bone in a Brooklyn courtyard that was confirmed at the Museum of Natural History[11:46]
• He recalls offering the bone to the museum if they needed it, only to see a drawer already filled with similar bones, which mildly embarrassed him

Details of his first riding contract and its limitations

He calls the contract a dream situation for a young aspiring jockey, earning $100 per week (about $91 after taxes) and living in a tack room at the barn's end[12:50]
As he became successful, his first riding obligation was always to his contract holder, even if a more prestigious mount was available elsewhere[13:01]
• He recounts missing the chance to ride a horse that won the Belmont Stakes because his boss sent him to New Jersey to ride another race instead
During the second year of his contract he received 10% of winning shares except when his boss owned the horse, in which case he did not get paid for those wins[13:21]
Dubner compares it to the old Hollywood studio system where an actor is on salary but must do whatever the studio orders[13:32]

Physical and mental demands of being a jockey

Migliore characterizes a jockey's life as looking at the world through a keyhole, with food consumed strictly as fuel rather than for pleasure[14:08]
He says he lived on 700-800 calories a day, struggling with food obsession as a young rider[14:21]
Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Maple advised him that food would always be there, helping him reframe his relationship with food and extend his career[14:36]
At 5 feet 7 inches, he notes he is taller than the average jockey, joking that he was the center on the jockey basketball team[15:01]
His racing weight was 112 pounds including tack, allowing him to weigh out at 115 pounds[15:04]
• His daily diet was highly controlled: raw beans, raw lentils, greens with a bit of olive oil and lemon, and 4-5 ounces of grilled chicken or fish, plus a vitamin drink and electrolytes
• For dessert he allowed himself ten M&M's in a Dixie cup, stretching them over an hour while watching TV

Performance record and opportunity differences among jockeys

Dubner notes that Migliore's win rate in his best years was 17-19%, with in-the-money finishes in the mid-to-high 40% range over many years[15:59]
Migliore attributes his success partly to early opportunities and hard work, but emphasizes that many capable riders never get comparable chances or horses[16:41]
He describes the jockey-horse relationship as like having a dance partner; a rider's success is limited by the quality of the horse[17:02]

How jockeys communicate and ride different horses

He says most communication with horses is via feel and touch, mediated through the reins and bit, rather than verbal commands[17:17]
Good hands are described as knowing how much pressure to apply or release, understanding how sensitive each horse's mouth is, and maintaining rhythm and breathing[17:38]
Jockeys ride with their calves on the horse's sides for aerodynamics, centering weight over the withers so horses carry it more efficiently[17:55]
He estimates he has about a hundred different versions of his hand style to adapt to different horses[18:41]
• He contrasts heavy-headed horses that require great physical strength and limit nuance with very sensitive fillies that demand a light, loose rein to avoid disrupting their stride

Triangle of owner, trainer, and jockey

He states that the owner is ultimately the boss, paying the bills and having final say, while good owners hire trainers they trust and then step back[19:27]
Trainers usually hire jockeys and, in his view, should similarly trust them to do their job without micromanaging[19:39]
He compares jockey autonomy to a quarterback like Tom Brady calling an audible after reading the defense[19:55]

Jockey earnings and workload

Migliore explains that jockeys receive 10% of the winner's share of a purse, 5% for second and third, plus a flat fee per mount[20:15]
He estimates a jockey effectively earns about 8.5% of the total purse money their mounts win[19:45]
He notes that in New York the mount fee ranges from $100 up to $500 depending on the purse size, but serious income comes from purse percentages[20:34]
Early in his career he typically had 8-9 mounts a day at Aqueduct and 9-10 at Meadowlands, riding daily[20:44]

Aging, injuries, and end of riding career

He describes a sweet-spot window in a jockey's career where physical ability and race-reading experience are optimally balanced[21:00]
Over time, physical ability ebbs and experienced jockeys rely more on mental skills and racecraft[21:51]
He says he felt his mental reactions had not declined yet, but his body was struggling when a severe injury ended his career[22:00]
His final major injury was a broken neck at Aqueduct in 2010 when both he and his horse fell; he could not obtain medical clearance to ride again despite trying many doctors[22:26]
• He had previously broken his neck in 1988, an incident featured in a Rescue 911 TV episode under the title Iron Jockey
• By his own count, he suffered six or seven concussions, a broken ankle, broken fibula, partially ruptured Achilles tendon, and other injuries over his career
He concludes that father time is undefeated, acknowledging the inevitability of decline[22:33]

Safety, horse welfare, and criticism of racing

Dubner notes that jockey deaths are rare but do occur, and horse deaths happen at about one per 1,000 starts, less than half the rate in 2009[23:16]
Migliore responds to critics who say horse racing is exploitative or cruel, arguing that people misunderstand how well horses are cared for[24:13]
He asserts that many racehorses genuinely love to run and that, in a managed environment, injured horses receive medical efforts and advances that dramatically improve survival odds[23:45]
He contrasts injuries in the wild, which can mean slow agonizing death, with treatment in racing where veterinarians do their best to save and make a horse comfortable[24:00]
He says the industry must be more proactive in showing the public how well horses are treated[24:13]
Horses that do not like racing usually leave the track quickly and transition to second careers such as riding horses, therapy horses, show horses, or hunter-jumpers[24:20]

Changes in the jockey profession over time and favorite horses

Migliore notes that race purses have increased significantly compared to earlier in his career[25:26]
He says most jockeys no longer come up under five-year contracts; instead they are prepared on farms or in jockey schools, with well-known programs in Puerto Rico and Panama[25:00]
He mentions an unfamous but beloved claiming horse named Creme de la Fete on whom he won 15 races; he prized the horse's honesty and effort[25:18]
• He says he likes his horses as he likes his people: honest and hardworking
He also recalls champion mare Hidden Lake as the easiest horse to ride because she was versatile in running style and brave in different race situations[25:45]
• Hidden Lake could either set the pace or come from behind, handle tight inside spots or being floated wide, and maintain focus, making her a jockey's dream

Secretariat's legacy and Kentucky as the breeding epicenter

Secretariat and bloodlines

Dubner identifies Secretariat as the most famous horse of the past 50 years, widely known even to non-fans of horse racing[28:49]
He recalls Secretariat's Triple Crown win in 1973 and his seemingly unmatched cruising speed, quoting the famous call that he was moving like a tremendous machine[29:11]
Secretariat is ranked among the best athletes of the 20th century, with books, films, fan clubs, collectibles, and, most importantly, an enduring bloodline[29:16]
Secretariat retired to stud after his Triple Crown season, breeding for about 15 years, and American Pharoah is one of his descendants[29:32]
Dubner notes that all 19 entrants in a recent Kentucky Derby could trace ancestry back to Secretariat[29:47]
Secretariat stood at Claiborne Farm in central Kentucky, which was then and remains the epicenter of thoroughbred breeding in North America[29:58]

Economist Jill Stowe on Kentucky's equine cluster

Jill Stowe, an economics professor at the University of Kentucky, is introduced; she has been involved with horses since age four[30:07]
She grew up riding in New Mexico across the desert, showing quarter horses, doing hunter-jumper and 4-H eventing, and later focusing on dressage[30:22]
She still competes locally and regionally and currently owns two horses, including a retired racehorse[30:40]
After teaching at Duke, she was attracted to the University of Kentucky by an opportunity to study equine markets, combining her childhood passion with her economic training[31:53]
She says she could not believe someone would actually pay her to study horses with economic tools[31:01]
Stowe describes the university's interdisciplinary equine undergraduate program as a rigorous science-based curriculum with no riding, some horse handling, and training in both bench and social sciences[31:30]
She outlines the breadth of equine-related careers: accounting, marketing, insurance, veterinarians, farriers, equine dentists, rehab facilities, transportation companies, fencing, landscaping, muck removal, and specialized laundromats[31:17]
She cites a colleague's description of Kentucky's equine sector as an economic cluster, with farms and racetracks as the nucleus surrounded by many supporting professions[31:55]
Stowe and colleagues found that Kentucky has 31,000 equine operations on 3.5 million acres[31:53]
An earlier study estimated that Kentucky's equine industry supports 60,000 jobs and generates $6.5 billion in economic activity[32:59]

Yearling sales and information in the thoroughbred market

Stowe recommends visiting a September yearling sale where about 4,000 yearlings are sold over two weeks[33:24]
Prospective buyers watch each horse's conformation, walk, and demeanor and can review radiographs in a veterinary repository[33:28]
She likens buying a yearling to buying a house you cannot go inside, with the added twist that the house needs to be able to run very fast[33:50]

Business of thoroughbreds: Mark Taylor and TaylorMade Farm

Overview of TaylorMade Farm and market volatility

Mark Taylor introduces himself as president of TaylorMade Farm in Nicholasville, Kentucky[34:08]
He calls the thoroughbred horse world Freakonomics because it is very volatile and involves a living, breathing asset[34:26]
TaylorMade has about 125 full-time employees and covers almost all aspects of the thoroughbred industry, primarily as a service company managing other people's horses[34:35]
They board and care for horses, handle marketing and promotion, bring horses to market privately and publicly, run racing partnerships, and operate a stallion division[34:45]
He describes TaylorMade as the largest farm and marketer of horses in North America, while its stallion operation is more boutique[35:13]

Scale of sales and role of Keeneland auctions

Taylor says TaylorMade sells roughly $150 million worth of bloodstock annually, with about $120 million via public auction and $30 million via private transactions, excluding stallion breeding fees[35:50]
He characterizes Keeneland as the heartbeat of the North American horse industry, with major September and November sales[35:33]
The September sale focuses on untried yearlings and grossed over $400 million in the prior year; he says if that sale is good, the market is good, and vice versa[36:05]
TaylorMade aims to represent 10-12% of Keeneland's market share, targeting both quality and quantity[35:47]

Return on investment logic in breeding vs racing

Taylor distinguishes the breeding side from the racing side, saying breeding has somewhat more predictability[36:04]
In breeding, they might buy a pregnant broodmare, assess her pedigree, conformation, and the sire of her foal, and create a pro forma to pay off the mare via three foals over about three years[36:26]
He notes that outcomes vary: sometimes the first foal pays for the mare; other times early foals underperform and later ones catch up the investment[37:20]
On the racing side, he says less than 1% of horses become grade-one winners, highlighting the long odds of producing a star[37:02]
He adds that because race purses in Kentucky are currently very healthy, owners can have success without producing a top superstar[38:34]

Incentives, reserves, and relationship-focused business

Taylor agrees that incentives in their business mirror real estate, where brokers could favor quicker, lower offers that secure a commission[39:05]
He explains that auction reserves-the minimum acceptable price-can be set conservatively or aggressively, and that TaylorMade could be tempted to always push low reserves to guarantee sales[38:17]
Instead, TaylorMade gives clients three guidance numbers: a conservative green-light reserve likely to sell, a yellow-light reserve above 50% odds, and a red-zone aspirational reserve that may fail but maximizes upside[40:15]
He says many aspects of the business present room for self-serving behavior, but TaylorMade's motto is to prioritize relationships over short-term transactions[40:45]
He argues that new customers are hard to find, so helping existing clients achieve long-term success is more valuable than squeezing out immediate profit[40:58]

Genetics, stallion quality, and limits of predictability

Asked whether genes matter more in human or equine athletes, Taylor suggests they probably matter more among humans because not all humans are bred to be athletes, whereas thoroughbreds are all bred to run[41:29]
He notes that every stallion in the thoroughbred industry was a very good racehorse, though some were better than others and thus attract better mares[41:04]
He gives Curlin as an example of a well-bred champion who received only high-quality mares and has become one of the best stallions in decades[42:22]
By contrast, the stallion Not This Time began at a modest $15,000 fee and covered relatively undistinguished mares, but has risen to a $170,000 fee after proving highly successful[42:06]
• Taylor says some stallions have a genetic switch that allows them to reliably pass on their talent, while others do not, and he calls this a great mystery

Stallion lifespan, breeding volume, and psychological management

Most stallions breed until they are over 20, with prime fertility and popularity between about ages 10 and 17[43:31]
Taylor recounts that in the 1970s and 1980s, before modern reproductive tools, top stallions might cover around 60 mares per year[44:54]
With ultrasound and hormone therapies that help time ovulation, the average number of breedings per successful conception has dropped from 3.5-4 to about 1.2[45:19]
As a result, some modern stallions can cover more than 200 mares per year[45:03]
He notes that concentrating so many mares under a few popular stallions squeezes out second-tier stallions and also creates large cohorts of offspring by the same sire competing in sales[45:26]
Taylor describes his late father's thinking on stallion psychology: stallions are hardwired to be territorial and aggressive toward other males near mares, so housing design affects their mental state[46:18]
• At Gainsway Farm, early designs put 30 stallions in one barn, leading to agitation when one stallion was taken to breed and others believed mares should be theirs, increasing aggression toward humans and horses
• The solution was to redesign into smaller barns with easy turnout, because his father believed horses should be outside unless weather or breeding schedule required shelter
At TaylorMade, each stallion has one barn-mate and an individual holding pen so they can walk out, eat grass, get sun, and roll between breedings[47:38]
Taylor jokes that this outdoor time is the horse's version of smoking a cigarette after breeding[47:47]
He explains that Not This Time has high libido and fertility and can breed three or sometimes four mares in a day, while other stallions may only handle one and need rest days[48:36]

Transparency and market access via public auctions

Taylor contrasts the transparency of thoroughbred auctions with the more private nature of markets for some other horse disciplines such as dressage[48:49]
He attributes thoroughbred transparency to the need for market efficiency when Keeneland is selling 4,000 yearlings, comparing the process to the NFL draft and scouting combine[49:49]
He lists tools used by buyers: videos, metrics, DNA testing, heart scans, and veterinary checks; without a centralized marketplace, he says it would be impossible to sell so many horses[49:29]
Taylor praises the inclusiveness of the industry, noting that grooms who earn wages at the sale sometimes turn around and bid on lower-priced horses themselves to resell later[50:23]
He says the starting gate is a great equalizer that does not care whether a horse cost $5 million or $5,000, and that small players can sometimes upset wealthier rivals[50:27]

Backstretch labor and immigration policy: Oscar Gonzalez and Mark Taylor

Oscar Gonzalez's background and the backstretch workforce

Oscar Gonzalez is introduced as vice chair of the California Horse Racing Board, a regulatory agency focused on safety for equine athletes, jockeys, and personnel[53:41]
He previously held senior roles at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and before that worked at Del Mar Racetrack in California with his immigrant grandfather from Mexico[54:02]
Gonzalez started young, establishing himself as a skilled groom caring for four or five horses, and then expanded into roles like night watchman and holding horses for farriers and veterinarians[54:21]
He says there is always a way to make an honest dollar around the racetrack[54:35]
Gonzalez notes that many track workers today are immigrants, mostly from Central America, and trainers must apply for visas to employ them[54:43]
He explains that H-2B visas are the primary category used on the backstretch but are subject to a numerical cap, while trainer operations can span multiple states with differing regulations[55:09]
He says H-2B operates like a one-size-fits-all program, requiring employers to prove no Americans want the jobs, and limits workers to three years before they must leave and reapply[55:26]
Gonzalez argues for immigration reform and imagines the racing industry as a potential model for a better system[55:45]
• He envisions success metrics including a well-trained workforce that allows employers to expand, workers who can engage in communities, start businesses, travel home for emergencies, and train new U.S.-born workers
• He emphasizes that addressing immigration will also require the industry to raise pay for workers

Mark Taylor on immigration policy and farm labor

Taylor says stricter immigration enforcement created fear among undocumented workers, who are vital to the horse industry's functioning[57:03]
During the Trump administration, TaylorMade began using the H-2A visa program to bring in legal foreign agricultural workers[57:49]
Workers are pre-screened and often referred by former TaylorMade staff; they typically come from Guatemala or Mexico and work 10 months per year in the U.S., returning home for two months[57:38]
Taylor notes that the government sets the hourly wage for H-2A workers and has been raising it, likely as a disincentive to hire foreign workers[57:49]
He says they cannot find enough domestic workers to fill all roles, so despite higher costs the program has been a big win by providing reliable, legally employed workers[57:59]
He reports that TaylorMade has increased its H-2A hiring annually and has not yet encountered a numerical cap under that program[58:14]

Kentucky's dominance in thoroughbred breeding and the live-cover rule

Why Kentucky remains the epicenter

Dubner asks Taylor how Kentucky has retained its status as the epicenter of thoroughbred breeding despite competition from other regions[58:25]
Taylor says many attribute it to the limestone-rich soil, which makes it easier to raise strong, sound horses there than in most places[58:54]
He acknowledges that modern nutrition helps elsewhere but insists Kentucky horses have better bone and strength[59:01]
He cites Florida's Ocala region as another strong center, especially for two-year-old sales, but says its climate and soil make raising good horses more difficult, demanding better horsemanship[59:10]
Taylor highlights central Kentucky's concentration of top veterinary clinics, blacksmiths, acupuncturists, masseuses, chiropractors, and other specialists readily available to treat horses[59:39]
He identifies stallion location as the number one reason for Kentucky's dominance, recounting his father's former boss John Gaines's view that stallions determine the industry's geographic center[1:00:02]
• He quotes Gaines's idea that if all stallions moved to Nome, Alaska, mares and the industry would follow, making that the new epicenter

Ban on artificial insemination in thoroughbreds

Dubner notes that artificial insemination is forbidden in thoroughbred breeding despite being common in other species and horse disciplines, and asks why[1:00:42]
Taylor recalls that his father, who started in the standardbred world where artificial insemination is allowed, strongly opposed bringing it into thoroughbreds[1:01:12]
His father believed that artificial insemination would allow overuse of a few top stallions and crowd out smaller stallions, effectively harming the breed's diversity[1:01:17]
Taylor notes the irony that, even without artificial insemination, reproductive technologies have still enabled some stallions to cover more than 200 mares annually, fulfilling some of his father's fears via natural breeding[1:01:12]
He agrees with Dubner that Kentucky breeders have a strong incentive to keep artificial insemination banned because it preserves the geographic concentration of stallions and mares in the state[1:01:39]
Taylor says he has not heard many others discuss this openly, but considers it a simple fact that other states would try to lure stallions with tax breaks if the mares did not need to travel physically[1:02:02]
He points out that tax revenue and economic activity linked to stallions give Kentucky a strong reason to maintain the live-cover rule[1:02:02]

Preview of upcoming Keeneland sale and economic signals

Dubner asks Taylor for a preview of the upcoming Keeneland September sale, including expectations and uncertainty factors[1:02:20]
Taylor recalls that the previous year had a lot of uncertainty due to the presidential election cycle and scheduled reductions in bonus depreciation for equine purchases[1:02:35]
He notes that a subsequent federal bill increased bonus depreciation for equine assets, which he sees as a driver of greater investment in horses[1:03:07]
He expresses optimism that Keeneland September can match or exceed last year's record gross of more than $400 million, though he admits he is always nervous[1:03:23]
He points out that there are about 1,400 yearlings by first-crop sires this year, compared to 800 the year before, including offspring of high-profile sires like Flightline and Life Is Good[1:03:45]
He also mentions rising stallions like Not This Time as part of a strong sire group supporting his positive outlook[1:04:03]

Closing and preview of next episode

Teaser for the Keeneland field visit and broader industry health

Dubner previews that the next episode will include an on-the-ground visit to the Keeneland September sale, where making the right purchasing decision can produce a highly lucrative breeding prospect likened to a living unlimited ATM[1:04:14]
He raises the question of whether a strong sales market necessarily means the racing sport itself is healthy[1:04:32]
He notes that racetracks and the industry spend significant time lobbying politicians, potentially as much as they spend worrying about their fan base[1:04:38]
Dubner signs off by encouraging listeners to take care of themselves and, if possible, someone else as well, and credits the production team[1:04:47]

Lessons Learned

Actionable insights and wisdom you can apply to your business, career, and personal life.

1

Deep domain expertise combined with sensitivity to individual differences can turn a risky, constrained profession into a long, successful career, as seen in how a jockey like Richard Migliore adapted his riding style to countless horses while managing extreme physical limits.

Reflection Questions:

  • • In your own work, where are you currently relying more on brute effort than on nuanced understanding of the individuals or systems you interact with?
  • • How could you deliberately develop a wider repertoire of approaches - your own versions of 'a hundred different hand styles' - to fit different clients, teammates, or situations?
  • • What is one area this month where you could shift from simply pushing harder to instead studying the personalities, constraints, or patterns that really drive outcomes?
2

Markets with highly uncertain outcomes can still be made investable when participants build structures that clarify incentives, share information, and prioritize long-term relationships over short-term gains.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where in your current projects are incentives misaligned in ways that might encourage short-term wins at the expense of long-term trust?
  • • How might you introduce clearer 'reserve price' style thresholds or transparency tools so partners know the range of acceptable outcomes upfront?
  • • What is one specific relationship in your business or career where you could consciously forgo a small immediate advantage to strengthen long-term collaboration?
3

Industries often depend on invisible labor and policy frameworks - such as immigration programs - and long-term resilience requires aligning those people's opportunities and protections with the sector's economic needs.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Who are the essential but least visible contributors to your success, and how well do you understand their constraints, motivations, and risks?
  • • If the regulatory or labor framework that supports your work changed suddenly, how resilient would your team or business actually be?
  • • What is one concrete step you could take in the next quarter to improve the stability, training, or recognition of the people who do foundational work around you?
4

Seemingly arbitrary rules and traditions, like the live-cover requirement in thoroughbred breeding, often embed powerful economic incentives that shape where value and activity concentrate.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What rules, norms, or 'that's just how it's done' practices in your field might be quietly determining where power and profit accumulate?
  • • How could you map the winners and losers of a key rule or standard you operate under to better understand its real function?
  • • Where could you experiment, even in a small way, with changing a process constraint to see how it alters who benefits and how resources flow?
5

Clusters of expertise and infrastructure - like Kentucky's dense network of farms, vets, farriers, and markets - can create self-reinforcing advantages that are hard for other regions or competitors to match.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What geographic or professional clusters are you currently part of, and what specific advantages do they give you that would be hard to replicate elsewhere?
  • • How might you more intentionally plug into complementary experts and services around you to create your own version of an 'economic cluster'?
  • • If you had to build a similar concentration of capabilities in a new place or team, what would be the first three roles or partnerships you would prioritize?

Episode Summary - Notes by Hayden

652. Inside the Horse-Industrial Complex
0:00 0:00