A portion of the $10 million winner’s share of the Saudi Cup purse earned by Senor Buscador last weekend went to a Saudi Arabian businessman under a two-race “lease” of the horse that also includes any earnings from the upcoming $12 million Dubai World Cup, according to the owner and breeder of the horse, Joe Peacock Jr.
The novel arrangement, which does not include any equity, breeding, or management rights to the 6-year-old horse, was signed two days prior to the $20 million Saudi Cup, the world’s richest race, said Peacock, who bred Senor Buscador with his late father. Peacock declined to provide precise details of the deal, but he said that the Saudi businessman, Sharaf Mohammed S. Al-Hariri, received a “minority” portion of the purse winnings and the right to race Senor Buscador under his own silks.
“Sharaf took a chance, and he put up a significant amount of money to take that chance,” Peacock said. “It worked out for him, and it worked out for us.”
The existence of the deal was first reported by Thoroughbred Daily News.
The agreement was inked amidst a backdrop of increasing Saudi involvement in the world of horse racing since the Saudi Cup was inaugurated in 2020 as part of the kingdom’s aggressive effort to expand its influence in sports around the world. Those forays include ownerships of major sports teams and the controversial establishment of a rival tour to the Professional Golf Association, called LIV, in which the value of the athletes’ contracts far exceed the revenues for the tour.
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With the signing of the deal, Senor Buscador became the third U.S. horse to be targeted by Saudi interests in the lead-up to the race. Late last year, Defunded, the winner of the 2023 Hollywood Gold Cup and Californian Stakes, was bought by Dr. Muhaideb Abdullah Almuhaideb’s HDB Racing Stable to race in the Suadi Cup. Then, a month later, Prince Faisal bin Khaled Abdul Aziz al Saud bought a minority interest in White Abarrio, the winner of the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Defunded finished seventh, and White Abarrio, the morning-line favorite, finished 10th. Senor Buscador won the race by a head at odds of 13-1 in an international commingled pari-mutuel pool.
Peacock said that he began getting inquiries from U.S. agents who said they were representing Saudi interests just after Senor Buscador finished second to National Treasure in the Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 27. (National Treasure finished fourth in the Saudi Cup.)
“I was getting all these calls from people who were telling me that there are a bunch of Saudis interested in acquiring a part of the horse, because they like to see their silks in the race, and that money is no object to them,” Peacock said.
Peacock said he had no interest in selling any part of the horse, but that he made counteroffers to some of the agents in which the buyers could acquire a right to a portion of the horse’s earnings in the race. He said he received no interest in those offers until the Saturday prior to the Saudi Cup.
Peacock, who lives in Texas, had already had his Lexington attorney, Joel Turner, draw up a contract based on his idea of a racing license. The contract was signed by representatives of al Hariri later that week.
“It happened really fast,” Peacock said. “It was purely a business decision on my part. It was a way for us to hedge our decision to run.”
Under the agreement, the lease will expire once Senor Buscador runs in the Dubai World Cup or is returned to the U.S., whichever is sooner, Peacock said. Senor Buscador was shipped to Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Monday, and he is expected to remain at the track until the Dubai World Cup on March 30.
The deal also allowed Senor Buscador to run in al Hariri’s silks, which he did. Peacock, however, retained ownership rights to any “original” trophies from the Saudi Cup or the Dubai World Cup.
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“Would I have loved to see him in my silks winning the Saudi Cup? Sure,” Peacock said. “But it’s not that big of a deal. The Saudi nationals really want to see their silks in their national race, so be it.”
During the lead-up to the race, a number of Saudi publications incorrectly referred to al Hariri as the horse’s owner, a situation that Peacock said he found “frustrating.”
“But it’s all ironed out now,” Peacock said. “I am the owner, Todd Fincher is the trainer, we make all the decisions, and it’s been that way all along.”
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