Michael Lischin and Anya Sheckley, the husband and wife owners of Dutchess Views Farms in New York, will begin next week dispersing 26 yearlings, weanlings, and mares that are part of four large partnerships they started about seven years ago.
The dispersal begins at the Aug. 12-13 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred yearling sale where four horses have been entered as part of the Vinery Sales consignment. At this point, the remainder of the stock may be offered through the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Fall mixed sale Oct. 16.
"Partnerships are great because they spread the risk and enable people to own parts of a lot of horses, so they learn and see a lot of activity," said Lischin, who has owned Dutchess Views Farm, near Pine Plains, since 1998. "If you own 100% of one mare that doesn't provide a lot of action, but if you own 10% of 10 mares, then something is always going on.
"We still think partnerships are great, but at this point for us we want to leverage our experience with a smaller group of mares that we own 100%."
Dutchess Views never actively pursued racing and breeding partnerships, according to Lischin. Instead, they evolved through associates who boarded horses at the farm and by word of mouth.
"We are very flexible. People come here and we go with the flow. If you wanted to breed and race, that's what we'd do. If you wanted to breed and sell, we breed and sell. If you just wanted to race, we will put together a group of foals to race," Lischin said.
The partnerships bred and raced New York-breds exclusively, and Dutchess Views owned 25% of every horse. Dutchess Views did not charge any additional fees to manage the partnership.
"The benefits to us were to have the horses boarded here where we could manage them and have a base of good clients," Lischin said. "They worked out well because we were flexible. It encouraged people to get more involved, rather than trying to do it on their own. Almost everyone we have worked with we've helped stay involved in the business and expand their involvement."
The four yearlings to be offered at the Saratoga New York-bred Preferred sale are all out of stakes-producing dams. They are:
• Hip 398, a Frost Giant colt out of Purely Excessive (In Excess), the dam of five-time black-type stakes winner and stakes producer Very Vegas and graded-placed, stakes winner Manhattan Dan.
• Hip 440, a Union Rags colt out of Significant Other (Not For Love), who produced New York stakes winner Marriedtothemusic.
• Hip 487, a colt by Big Brown and out of Valid Proposal (Prized), the dam of multiple stakes winner Roman Candles.
• Hip 586, a filly by Freud and out of French Link (Orientate), the dam of New York Breeders' Futurity winner Dr. Shane.
The rest of the horses to be auctioned include 13 New York-bred foals by Mineshaft , Violence , Orb , Blame , Freud , Bellamy Road , Big Brown, and Posse; six stakes winning and stakes-producing mares; and four other yearlings by Big Brown, Mission Impazible , and Posse. Several other mares and foals are available privately as well.