horse race auction question

[nixxhome]

ok folks...I previously posted a ? on the horse races and received lots of help...I heard that horses can auction for anywhere from 50 to 500 bucks...anyone out there who actually participated in the auction? how's it run? do all 6 horses go for 500 or is that just , say, the last horse? any tips that can save me some $ ? thanks for the help! nick

[JDee]

While I have never bid or purchased a horse, it seems like the first horse or two lack bid participation and go cheaply. At least compared to the last one or two. At least it seemed that way....good luck......

 

Happy cruising....

[negc]

I think it really depends on the crowd and especially how many groups want to buy a horse, and how badly they want it. On the Jewel repositioning cruise, the first horse went for $400 or so and the rest of them went for about the same amount. Had there not been at least six groups who were determined to buy a horse, the amounts might have been less. The purse for the owners' race was about $2,600. They almost did not hold an auction because on the previous Boston to Canada cruises they did not find much interest among the passengers. Fortunately, we convinced the CD that this cruise contingent was more enthusiastic about the whole idea and we were proven right.

[Kimq]

I was on Brilliance in September 04. I bet on every single horse and ended up paying $75.00. Most went for less. I would have paid a lot more if it had started out more but the first horse went for $35.00. I did win the pot of over $200.00 but would much rather it been $2600.00.

 

Good Luck

and my advice is

Go for It!!!

[cruiseman_tx]

It just depends on the amount of interest. On our recent Brilliance cruise, a large group wanted the first horse and paid $680, 2nd horse went for $400, we got the 3rd horse for $250, and the last two went pretty cheap...with a total purse of $1600 for 5 horses. We, and another couple that went in with us, won the race, so we each got an $800 return on a $125 investment.

[MszKitty]

On the AOS in July, all the horses went for $400-$450.

[CallagDeb]

We were just off the Mariner, our family bid on a horse early in the bidding and got it for $250....the later ones went for more, the owners pot was over $1,800. Our horse came in second.....darn!

[iluvcruzin]

If you want to keep the costs down, get a group together. I've done this with tablemates and friends before. As others have said, the sequence of the horses effects the bidding price. #3 is a safe bid. I would guess average bid $250 from our experience. It's all about the fun. If money is truely an issue.. don't bid on them. Volunteer early to be a horse Jockey and have fun.

[Tra4]

We bought a horse on our Dec. cruise for 250. We really wanted to purchase one on our Mariner June cruise but every horse went over 500, some up to 800-900. So, we were spectators. If you plan on purchasing a horse, bring things to decorate him with!

[isujim]

We have participated twice and both times got a cruise critic group together and bought the horse together. First time horse went for $150 and the second time the horse went for $250. Won once and came in 4th the next time. By splitting the cost, our first investment was $20pp and the second time it was $25pp.

[calenta]

I know this has been posted before but cannot find the posting, so here it is again. Does anyone have pictures of the horses that gets decorated on the ship. I am thinking of maybe buying one but don't know how people decorate them. Thanks for your help.

[BuyReallyLow]

I would echo what has been said above - if you want to "own" the horse - try to get one early - they go cheaper. We waited and "owned" our horse for $750 - and our horse won! It made the drink bill at the end of the week much easier to handle.

 

Regarding betting? If you don't own your horse - do it opposite of how you normally might bet at a track - bet the Jockey!:cool:

[GranysT]

I "owned" a horse on our Mariner cruise last April. 4 of us from cc got together,and each put up $100 to purchase a horse. As others have said,bidding and pricing depends on the crowd,and how many are actually interested in purchasing. If there is a good crowd,and lots of interest they go high. Less interest,much lower. Sometimes the CD starts with horse #1 for first bid,#2 for second bid and so on. On our cruise,he laid out all the horses,and let each winning bidder pick the number horse they wanted. I wanted #4,as that is my favorite number. The bidding quickly advanced upward,and I had the top bid at $400. The CD said going once,twice,and just before he could say "Sold",an oriental gal piped up and bid $450. I couldn't go any higher than $400,so she got "my horse". I did get # 5 for my $400. They give each of us a bag of things to decorate with,but I had my own along. Dale Jr,#8, is my favorite Nascar driver,so I decorated my horse with #8. I had a cap and small T-shirt on it,and various other things. I was hoping there would be a lot of Nascar fans on board,and thus a lot of people rooting for my horse. It didn't work out that way. In fact,a lot of people ask"why do you have #8 on your horse if it's horse #5? Well Duh!! Anyhow,comes the race. They wouldn't let you "roll" into the finish line. In other words,you couldn't be 2 spaces down and roll a 2 and "win". If you rolled your needed # of spaces,you went to the finish line and waited.Your horse number had to come up again,for you to actually win. That enabled others to have the chance to catch you,and made it a more exciting finish. Wouldn't you know it, both the Oriental girl and myself were at the finish line together. I'm praying to hear #5,and number 4 came up. Darn,the pot was $2750 too. I knew #4 was a lucky horse. It was fun tho.

[rccruiser06]

My sister and I want to buy a horse on our next cruise, but my Mom is telling me you have to carry the horse with you everywhere on the ship. Is that true? I can't remember seeing anyone else carrying them around all week. I wouldn't mind taking it up on the pool deck during the day, but my Mom says you have to take it to dinner with you too. Are there certain rules that state that? Just wondering.

[Kimq]

I did take my horse to dinner the night before the owners race. You do not have to but it gets people cheering for you during the race.

[GranysT]

There are no "rules" that say you HAVE to carry your horse anywhere,except to the race,of course. The idea is,the more you display it,the more interest it generates.You want to encourage people to come to the race,and root for your horse.

[rccruiser06]

Thanks for the quick replies! I think we will be buying a horse this year! Maybe I'll make my Mom carry it around....just kidding! :) Now I have to think about how to decorate it! Thanks again!

[plannermom]

on the serenade over thanksgiving, the cruise staff was begging people to be jockies. i don't think there was any bidding and the horses definitely were not decorated. the only reason people volunteered to be jockies was that they were offering jockies free drink specials of the day. guess it depends on what ship you're on.

[pltag]

on the serenade over thanksgiving, the cruise staff was begging people to be jockies. i don't think there was any bidding and the horses definitely were not decorated. the only reason people volunteered to be jockies was that they were offering jockies free drink specials of the day. guess it depends on what ship you're on.

plannermom - you are describing one of the regular races. Racing takes place on both sea days, and during the regular races people are asked to be jockeys. The auction takes place at the end of the first day, and the Owners Stakes Race is at the end of the second day. The Stakes Race is when the owners are their own jockeys, all other races require volunteers!

 

By the way, we took our horse to dinner every night!! :) :)

[MszKitty]

When we were on Adventure of the Seas last July we bought a racehorse. I brought decorations from home to decorate the horse. We carried it around with us, taking it to dinner, the disco, the bars, etc.

What was most fun though, was the friendly rivalry we had going on throughout the week with 2 kids (19yrs old) that bought a horse also. They had become friends with my 2 daughters (19 & 24), so we saw them alot.

As it turned out, THEY won the owners race. Dang kids!...Not only did they have enough money to buy a $450 race horse, they ended up winning all the money!...LOL They won something like $2,400 (or $2,700...I don't remember exactly.)

[nixxhome]

....thanx for the response and help....looks like we'll try for an early horse and guage how many people are bidding....if there are less than 6 "serious" bidders we may be able to get one of the last horses at a bargain...whatever happens, our group will have a horse...we will bring him to dinner...we will feed him a high carb diet and watch him win! thanks again!...nick

[VikkiGarcia]

When we bought our horse we let our kids do the bidding. It seemed like we had less competition because everyone wanted to see my 9 year old get her horse. Just an idea.....

[nixxhome]

vikki....good idea....errr.....can I borrow yer 9 yr old?....my 15 yr old can probably swing it.....good idea!