2020 Bloodstock Yearling Sales

Ellerslie Races

The Auckland Racing Club (ARC) meeting on Saturday 25 January 2020 at Ellerslie Racecourse signals the start of a busy week for the Thoroughbred Racing Industry in New Zealand. This is then followed by the week long Karaka Yearling sales.

The ARC hosts a 6 race meeting, headlined by the Karaka Million 2 Year Old and the Karaka Million 3 Year Old Classic races. With a total of $2,340,000 up for grabs as stakes money on the day, it is New Zealand’s wealthiest Thoroughbred race meeting. 5 of the 6 races hold Listed or Group status.

Karaka Bloodstock Sales

The Karaka Yearling Sale kicks off at 11.00 am on Sunday 26 January 2020. The Book 1 premier lots sell through until Tuesday 28 January.  There are 677 lots catalogued in Book 1 that all have the ability to qualify as a ‘standout yearling’.  This allows new entrants into the breeding industry the ability to gain future income tax deductions for their investment.

The Book 1 yearling sale is followed by Book 2 on Wednesday 29 January and then concludes on Friday 31 January with Book 3.

Breeding or Racing Investment

If you’re wishing to enter the exciting industry of Thoroughbred racing, you need to determine if you are investing as a hobby or a business. Simply purchasing an animal does not qualify your investment as a business. The investment must be part of an ongoing breeding entity, or classified as a ‘standout yearling’ purchase from Book 1 to obtain income tax deductibility of expenses.

The GST regime has its own set of rules which on occasion are not aligned with income tax guidelines. This can make things tricky to navigate from a tax point of view.

If you would like to ascertain whether you are buying a Thoroughbred to race as a hobby or as part of a breeding business, please contact me for a more thorough discussion.

Tony Brown

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