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Anecdotal Findings Although none of the facllities provide an ideal model of the Intended Washingtor-i State facllity,.there appear to be a number of "truthsn about horse park finances and management that were derived from our interview process: • The quality of management Is critical to financial success of the facility. • Management must be entrepreneurially, rather than bureaucratically spirited. • The critical managerial goal is to capture show dates. • The major sources of revenue are: stall rentals, facility or ring rents, bedding sales, parking, concessions, and RV facilities. • It Is important that procurement be done through private sector. processes, rather than through state or municipal processes. • The vast majority of facilities are public/private partnerships. • Estimates of profitability are consistently about one in tw~lve facilities. Hence, the vast majority of faci1lties are subsidized. • Public sector subsidies are typically in the range of 15%•25% of costs, although some range as high as 45%. They are justified on a basis of econ~mlc Impact and/or "spillover benefits," secondary economic benefits that accrue to the Jocation or reg,on~ • A facility cannot make capital and interest payments and even dream of breaking even. The vast majority of facilities have associated foundations to raise private sector funding for capital or to subsidize operations. • Private sector fund raising is far more difficult and far less successful than one would imagine. • It Is better to concentrate fund raising on individuals rather than on foundations. • Launches usually run 5.S years behind Initially expected schedules. • Profitable facilities have typically had the same managing director for more than eight years. 21