Steppenwolfer has company in local horse business

He paid $375,000 for the 3-year-old racehorse from Kentucky last year at a public auction.

The colt has already earned $561,520 in its racing career, highlighted by a $200,000 payday for a third-place finish at the May 6 Kentucky Derby.

That’s just the beginning.

After likely one more year on the tracks, Low said, Steppenwolfer will settle into a stud career, impregnating mares for people who hope to breed the next great racing champion. Low said Steppenwolfer might command as much as $25,000 a pop as a stud given his racing accomplishments to this point.

That amount could increase if Steppenwolfer has a strong showing at the June 10 Belmont Stakes in New York. The Belmont Stakes is the third leg of the American horseracing Triple Crown. Steppenwolfer skipped the Preakness Stakes on May 20 in Baltimore to prepare for the Belmont.

Steppenwolfer’s stud career could last for 15 years. If he covers 80 to 100 mares a year, which Low said is possible, Steppenwolfer could earn close to $37.5 million for his sperm.

“Racehorses are born to race, so it’s really what he wants to do. I’m sure he’d like to be a stud, too,” Low chuckled.

Man’s new best friend

Low has some cohorts in the racehorse business.

Smith Calhoun of Springfield Ready Mix Co., John Youngblood of Youngblood Nissan Chrysler Kia, Charlie Chappell of Chappell’s Tire and Allen Poindexter of Allen’s Mechanical all own racehorses.

“I’ve always enjoyed being around horses,” said Youngblood, a 25-year horse business veteran who owns two racehorses and six broodmares. “I do it also to make money.”

Youngblood, who is friends with Low, wouldn’t disclose his horse-business financials.

‘All different types’

Racehorses aren’t the only types of horses that produce revenue for people in the Ozarks. There’s business to be had in buying, breeding, boarding, training, riding and showing the expensive animals.

“I feel like across the nation there’s just more and more people getting involved with all different types of horses,” said Shan Wilson, who has found success breeding and training Arabian show horses. “I don’t know that the Ozarks is necessarily extremely highly concentrated compared to other parts of the country, but certainly there’s a lot of involvement with all different types.”

Wilson opened Chrishan Park in 1988 with his brother, Chris Wilson.

The brothers charge $725 a month for boarding and training. They currently have about 70 clients at Chrishan Park facilities in Springfield, Kansas City and Indianapolis. The business serves customers from across the nation, with about 40 percent of its clientele coming from Springfield.

Walter and Sharon Stevens of Stevens Farm in Marshfield breed around 50 Paint horses for pleasure and show each year. Their horses are sold for as much as $6,000 each.

Ava-based Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association has more than 8,200 members with more than 75,000 horses. The association holds two shows annually, with its fall show drawing more than 6,000 people to the small Douglas County town.

Breeding business

Shan Wilson also helps facilitate the breeding of about 25 foals yearly, though he doesn’t own the two stallions that he stands for stud. One stallion, Manage, commands a $2,500 stud fee. Wilson, for his part, charges 15 percent of the stud fee for collection efforts and $300 for shipment.

While Low purchased Steppenwolfer, he also breeds racehorses.

Low lives at Primatara Farm, 285 acres just north of Springfield that houses his breeding operation.

He employs five people there to operate Primatara’s 16 broodmare stalls and 20 yearling stalls.

Low takes his mares to Kentucky for breeding, then brings them back to Primatara with their foals for 18 months, at which time the offspring are either sold or retained for training as racehorses.

Low wouldn’t disclose his annual equine expenses or earnings. While it’s been a passion of his since 1995 – he’s owned about 150 horses in that time – he said he maintains bottom-line business discipline in running the farm.[[In-content Ad]]