Terms & Conditions
Definitions
The following words shall have the meanings set out below:
- "Business" the business of forming, marketing and managing racehorse clubs as carried on by the Company under the trading name RacehorseClub.
- "Company" Equiclub Limited a company incorporated in England and Wales with incorporation number 13051565 whose registered office address is Lushington House, 119 High Street, Newmarket, CB8 9AE. ~"Racehorse" any horse (in whole or in part) acquired by the Company for the purpose of forming a Club.
- "Intellectual Property" all intellectual property rights now or subsequently owned by or licensed to the company (including without limitation) domain names, patents, trademarks and service marks (whether registered or unregistered), registered designs, unregistered designs and copyrights (and any applications for any of the same) which are used in connection with the business and all confidential information so owned and used.
- "Master terms and conditions" the terms and conditions set out in this document which govern all clubs and which take precedence over any Club Terms and Conditions.
- "Members" all such persons in one club who own shares in the same Racehorse club. The term "Member" shall relate to one person in such a club.
- "Share" means a share in the ownership club of a Racehorse for the agreed period with the Company as determined by the Company at its absolute discretion.
- “Subscription” customers who purchase a membership in any Racehorse club will be involved for 12 months from purchase date. At the end of the 12 months, members will be given the opportunity to renew or cancel their Share subscription.
- "Club" a racehorse club formed, marketed or managed by the Company for the purpose of the Business.
- "Club Terms and Conditions" all such terms and conditions issued by the company that govern one specified club alone and are described by the Company as being specific to that Club. "Terms and Conditions" means both the general terms and conditions and club terms and conditions in relation to any one club.
Contract
The Terms and Conditions form the basis of the contract between the Company and the Member. An application by a person to join a Club shall be deemed to be an offer to become a Member pursuant to the Terms and Conditions and such application shall only be deemed to be accepted when the company issues a written acknowledgement (such as the issuing of a certificate of membership) confirming that the person is a Member and that the club has been formed.
The club
The Club and all matters associated with it shall be managed by the Company whose decisions shall be final, binding on the Club’s Members and not open to query or appeal.
The Company will, from time to time, seek advice and guidance from such persons as trainers/vets/stud managers to help reach decisions but the Company’s decision shall be exercised at its discretion and be final.
The choice of racing silks, trainer, jockey and club name will be the Company’s decision alone.
The Company owns the Business and the Intellectual Property. The Company derives its income from managing the Club.
The Members are the valued clients of the business, and all client information is strictly confidential. The data relating to the company’s clients are protected by, and subject to The General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 GDPR.
The shares
A Share buys you a subscription to the ownership club of a specific racehorse for the duration of the current UK horse racing season (flat or race) from purchase date or until that Racehorse is retired, sold or otherwise disposed of by the Company in accordance with this agreement and acting in its absolute discretion. Such retirement may (without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing) arise from injury or other factors. At the end of the 12 months subscription, members will be given the opportunity to renew or cancel their subscription. In the event of a Club having a pre-determined termination date this will be indicated on the Club’s offer page (“the Term”).
THE COMPANY GIVES NO GUARANTEE OF THE PERFORMANCE OF ANY RACEHORSE. Some Racehorses are high performers and others are not, therefore RacehorseClub Share ownership should not be considered as an investment opportunity. RacehorseClub Share ownership should be considered for the purpose of entertainment only. Furthermore, because a Racehorse is a living creature, there can never be any guarantee that every Racehorse will perform sufficiently well enough to win races or to even make a Racecourse appearance.
A Share subscription cannot be sub-divided.
A Share subscription cannot be purchased by a person under the age of 18.
The Company alone determines how many Shares subscriptions are to be offered in a Racehorse Club.
When the Company accepts an applicant’s offer to purchase a Share subscription, it shall grant the ownership of that Share subscription to that applicant, subject to the Terms and Conditions.
Share subscriptions shall not in any way be transferred, transmitted, alienated, given, offered for sale or offered as a gift or otherwise disposed of except as expressly provided in the Terms and Conditions. The Share subscription may not be charged or offered or granted as security to anyone other than to the Company. The Share subscription may not be subject to any third-party rights or interests.
In acquiring a Share subscription, a Member does not acquire a share in the Company or the Company’s business or in the Racehorse itself, but in the Racehorse’s racing career during the agreed period with the Club. The legal and beneficial ownership of the
Business shall at all times remain vested with the Company absolutely.
A Member must only use his/her Share subscription for personal enjoyment and must not use the Share subscription for any commercial purpose.
Where a Share subscription is being purchased as a gift for someone else, the donor of the gift is required to nominate a recipient (at the time of payment) who shall be a person over the age of 18 and at the point of purchase, the nominated recipient shall automatically become the owner of the share subscription and shall be bound by these Terms and Conditions. All rights shall belong to the nominated recipient of the gift. This means that payments from the Company, including, for example, share of prize money will become due to the recipient, even though the recipient did not make the purchase.
Where the club is in the process of being formed and the number of Share subscriptions allocated to Members is less than the number required to form the club (as determined by the Company), the Company reserves the right not to proceed with forming the club and shall return all monies paid by the applicants. Alternatively, the Company may decide to re-advertise the club, and or to change the structure/financing of the proposed club. No person shall own a Share subscription or have any other right to or interest in the Racehorse until the Company notifies that person that he is a Member and that the club has been formed.
Where the company decides to proceed with the club but not all of the share subscriptions have been sold, the Company, at its absolute discretion, may sell Share subscriptions at a higher or lower sum than the original offer price. (Note: there are a number of factors that can affect the value of a Racehorse, including but not limited to; illness and/or poor performance on the racecourse. The value may increase if the Racehorse performs well on the racecourse or other Racehorses related in the family perform well). (Note: that any changes to the value of the Racehorse will be reflected in the Share subscription price at the earliest available opportunity but may not be changed immediately (the exact date of change will be at the discretion of The Company).
In the event of the death of a Member, prior to the dissolution of the club, all rights and liabilities attached to that Share subscription shall pass to the personal representatives of that Member’s estate.
The price payable by the Member for the Share subscription, covers all costs associated with racing and training the racehorse, for the duration of the Term of the club.
In compliance with Consumer Legislation the Member has the right to cancel a new contract for Club services that they enter into with RacehorseClub within 14 days of the date it is concluded (agreed). A Member can cancel their new share subscription purchase by returning their ownership share subscription in the racing club and membership pack by recorded delivery or another guaranteed delivery method within 14 days of purchase and RacehorseClub will refund their payment having made a nominal deduction for the cost of provision of the membership pack (The cooling off period). When concluding their contract for Club services with the Company, Members will be asked to confirm whether they consent to the commencement of the Club services prior to the expiry of the cooling-off period. If they do so consent, they will be able to participate in any prize money that the Racehorse wins from running in any race during the cooling off period. They will still be able to cancel; but, in accordance with Consumer Legislation, they will forfeit their right to a refund of the price they paid for their Share subscription as the Club service will have been provided. Members who do not consent to the commencement of the Club services during the cooling-off period will not be able to participate in any prize money that the Racehorse wins until the cooling-off period ends.
The Member shall own the Share subscription in the Club for the agreed period of a Racehorse’s career whilst it is owned by the Company.
Breeding rights in the Racehorse are expressly excluded. By purchasing a Share subscription, you do not acquire any right in the Racehorse itself or in any breeding rights of the Racehorse.
Where a share of prize money is due to the Member, this sum will be specified in the Member’s general account and can be claimed in the normal way at any time, or used in whole or part towards the purchase of another club(s).
The decision whether or not to send the Racehorse to the sales (or to offer for sale privately or to retire) shall (as between the Member and the Company) be the Company’s alone and not open to negotiation or debate.
The decision of whether or not a Racehorse is injured to such a serious extent that it can no longer race shall be the Company’s alone (having considered appropriate veterinarian advice) and not open to negotiation or debate.
A Member can request the Company to pay the whole or part of any credit held in the Member’s account at any time.
The Company reserves the right to offer the Racehorse for sale at public auction or by private sale of otherwise dispose of the Racehorse for any reason whatsoever and at any time. Although it is the Company’s intention not to sell any Racehorse within six months of purchasing it. A Racehorse is a balance sheet asset of the Company alone.
Where a Racehorse is offered for sale by auction, and then bought-in by the the new value of the Racehorse will be the total sum incurred in purchasing the Racehorse (eg price paid for the horse itself, auction house commission and incidentals plus transport costs).
When a Racehorse is sold, the sales sum received belongs to the Company and Members do not receive any share in the sales sum.
Costs
The price of each Share subscription in a Racing Club sold by the Company, includes all costs relating to that racehorse as follows:
- Capital purchase price of the racehorse. This is the sum originally paid for the acquisition of the Racehorse, including any commission and initial vetting/transport. (Note: Where the capital value of the horse is deemed, by the Company, to have increased or decreased since the date the Company purchased the racehorse, the price of a share subscription may be adjusted prior to the sale of a Share subscription.)
- Management and service provision fee. This figure includes managing, servicing and marketing the club.
- Racing costs. This includes training fees, entry/declaration fees, veterinary fees, jockey and training fees (whether in the UK or abroad).
- Mortality insurance. This amount varies per racehorse, depending on its capital value at the beginning of the club period.
Value Added Tax (VAT). Items a to d above are subject to VAT and this is currently set by the Government at a rate of 20%.
The all-inclusive Share subscription cost includes mortality insurance for the Racehorse during the club period. The insured sum shall amount to the value attributed to the Racehorse by the Company at the start of the relevant club period. The beneficiary of the insurance policy shall be the Company.
The Company has a public and products liability insurance policy in place, designed to protect Members against compensation claims and legal costs if a Racehorse causes injury/death to a third party and/or damage to property. The company meets the cost of this policy.
Miscellaneous
Most racecourses impose restrictions on the number of people allowed into the paddock and winner's enclosure, for health and safety reasons. The number of RacehorseClub Members in a relevant club, who want to enter the paddock, more often than not, exceeds the racecourse's figure. In such cases the Company holds a ballot to determine the 'owners badge' allocation. This may or may not be on a complimentary basis but whatever the case, applies to the one race on the card for which the relevant part-owned horse is running. Members may not enter the pre-parade ring area, even if they are in possession of an 'owners badge'. Entry costs to the racecourse are normally the responsibility of the Member. Note: the pre-parade ring is the area where Racehorses are saddled and then paraded, before they make their way into the paddock area. Persons entering any area of the racecourse on an unauthorised basis may be reported to the Stewards and this could result in a racecourse ban.
Any Member who is granted a racecourse 'owners badge' agrees to abide by the racecourse dress code. Gentlemen to wear shirt and tie when required. Ladies suitably smartly attired. Note: some prestigious race meetings (e.g. Royal Ascot) have extended requirements and these will normally be published on the RacehorseClub website or can be found on each racecourse's website.
Stable visits are organised from time to time and will be notified in advance on the RacehorseClub website. These stable visits can become oversubscribed, particularly with the top trainers. A ballot will be held for each visit if oversubscribed. Therefore, no guarantee of a place can be made. In a ballot, there will be no priority for early applications, so you can apply up until the published ballot closing date. A Member can occasionally bring one guest (more at some visits) but an entrance charge for each guest could be incurred. Some stable visits are not entirely suitable for disabled visitors and therefore accessibility needs to be checked prior to booking.
RacehorseClub may from time to time take photographs or video footage at the racecourse or at a stable event. By attending such an event, Members accept that such photography may take place and that it may be used by RacehorseClub in the public domain with no payment made to any participant. Members not wishing to appear, need to position themselves behind the camera but there are still no guarantees of exclusion. Members also need to be aware that various television companies will show live or recorded scenes at the racecourse or at a trainer's yard.
Where a declared Racehorse becomes a non-runner in a race, RacehorseClub will endeavour to relay this information to Members as soon as possible, but there could be occasions where we are unable to do this. All decisions relating to entries and declarations are made by the trainer, meaning a horse becoming a non-runner is beyond the control of RacehorseClub. Therefore, RacehorseClub cannot accept any responsibility or liability in relation to a Racehorse not running in a race. A Racehorse can be withdrawn from a race for a number of reasons, including the health/fitness of the Racehorse, or a change to the 'official going' (ground conditions).
All Intellectual Property, including, without limitation, all intellectual property rights relating to the image and name of any Racehorse, the RacehorseClub name, logo and the racing colours are and shall remain legally and beneficially vested with the Company alone.
The name of the Racehorse is subject to change, usually in situations beyond the control of RacehorseClub (for example, if the chosen name is rejected by Weatherbys, after the initial registration is submitted).
Racehorses may be owned in whole or in part by the Company and all references to ‘owned by the Company’ include both ownership in whole and in part.
Race prize money / trophies
Race prize money (the sum paid by Weatherbys/ Horse Racing Ireland in accordance with the British Horseracing Authority Rules of Racing or the Rules of the relevant racing authority jurisdiction) is distributed amongst the Members of the club concerned within 12 months save where a sum in excess of £200,000 accrues, in which case distribution shall be made within a reasonable period from the date of the company's receipt from Weatherbys/ Horse Racing Ireland.
Entry fees, jockey's riding fees, jockey's prize money percentage, trainer's prize money percentage are all deducted from the prize money amount published. The company will pay out the final amount cleared.
If a horse does not win any prize money in a race, the company will cover all entry fees and jockey's riding fees at no extra cost to members.
Trophies won will be retained by the Company and returned to the racecourse as required.
All prize money pay-outs will be made via PayPal. You will need to either have a PayPal account or set one up to receive your pay-out. Instructions will be provided by PayPal via email. Where PayPal is not available, pay-outs will be made via Bank Transfer on request.
The horse
Where applicable, a colt may be gelded, normally upon the advice of the trainer. The Company will make the final decision following such advice without calling for a vote from the Members.
Occasionally a Racehorse may fail to reach a reasonable racing standard and the Company may at its discretion enter the Racehorse in claiming or selling races. Upon the Racehorse being sold the club will close prematurely and (subject to the Terms and Conditions) the sum received for the Racehorse will belong to the Company. (Note: when a Racehorse is deemed to have little or no residual value, or, when in the Company’s opinion, it's in the best interests of the horse, to be retired from racing, the Company’s policy is to gift the horse for re-homing to a racehorse rehabilitation centre or elsewhere).
If the Company decides to retire a horse to a rehabilitation centre the Club relating to that Racehorse will terminate.
When a Racehorse is retired, it will either be sold or gifted, depending on the circumstances. Priority is normally given to the Members of the club Racehorse. If any club Member wishes to be considered for the gifting or purchase of any particular Racehorse that is being retired, an application needs to be made in writing, specifying the facilities available for keeping the Racehorse and details of the applicant's experience with horses. The premises will need to be checked out and a non-racing agreement signed with the BHA, barring the Racehorse from ever participating in horse racing again.
Unless specifically stated in the offer, the Company offers no guarantee that a yearling will be registered under the Plus 10 scheme.
Whilst RacehorseClub is often able to re-home a retired racehorse through its own network, there are times when a retired horse will be sent to a Rehabilitation Centre, and also times when there are additional keep costs/vet bills etc. to be paid after the club has finished, before the horse can be re-homed. Any of these costs are met by the acquisition price of the Share subscription.
The trainers and jockeys
Choice of trainer and jockey shall be the Company’s alone. The Company may decide to change trainer and or jockey for any reason whatsoever without notice to Members.
All decisions relating to training and racing are normally placed in the charge of the trainer whilst the Racehorse is in his/her care. (Note: the Company believes that an appointed trainer will be best placed to make assessments relating to racing and welfare issues.
The Company pays the trainer for his or her professional services and therefore normally does not interfere; however, the Company reserves the right to override any decision made by the trainer).
Waiver
The failure by the Company to enforce at any time or for any period any one or more of the Terms and Conditions shall not be a waiver of them or of the right at any time subsequently to enforce any or all Terms and Conditions.
Prevailing terms
If any provisions of the general terms and conditions at any time conflict with any provisions of the club terms and conditions, the club terms and conditions shall prevail.
Any person who is banned from entering a racecourse and/or 'warned off' by the British Horseracing Authority or similar authority, cannot become a client of RacehorseClub.
All text created by RacehorseClub (including, but not limited to, all horse reports and these terms and conditions), as well as all photographic images, both still and moving, including written and spoken words, are subject to copyright law and cannot be copied or transmitted in any format. The image and/or name of any RacehorseClub horse, in any format, cannot be exploited for any commercial purpose (whether or not for profit). These restrictions include the placing of material within social media sites, such as, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Force Majeure - whilst RacehorseClub is in the fortunate position of providing a large number of services online, there may be some occasions during an unexpected event (such as, but not limited to, outbreak of a disease or bad weather), that renders the company unable to provide some or all services. For example, events held at racecourses, stables etc. may be subject to postponement or cancellation.
RacehorseClub is owned by the Company, which has processes in place to comply with GDPR. For full information, please refer to the 'Privacy Policy' on our website, or available by request.
Updating your account
Name and address changes
Addresses can be updated in the members area and will be applied to your future orders.
Your name cannot be updated once an order is placed.
In extreme cases we can make name and address changes on past orders and customer accounts on your behalf. Changes will incur an admin fee of £25 payable in advance via PayPal. Changes may take up to 14 days.
Please direct requests to: info@racehorseclub.com