I have a vague recollection that I went through a comparable example when Smarty retired, but the simularities between the owners & posts are such that it might bear repeating. Let's start out with the not unreasonable assumption that Alex's value as a stallion is the same as Smarty, $39 million. Next yr's premium for ASD/Fertility coverage, assuming there is capacity for the full amount, will be approx 8% of that, or $3.125 million. In other words, to race Alex as a 4 yr old, each of the 4 partners of Cash Is King stable, none of whom is "loaded", would have to write a personal check for $780k. In contrast, if he's syndicated at the end of this yr, each partner would receive a check for $9.75 million. That's a lot to ask relative newcomers to the game to sacrifice for the good of the sport. Even though I'm guessing this assumption is wrong, let's also assume the partners understand these numbers. The question then becomes what do they get in exchange for paying the $3 million plus premium. A chance to break even if Alex wins the BC Classic & just about every other race he enters, plus the possibility, as Ritchey points out, that his value as a stallion increases as a result of his 4yr old campaign. There's also the chance that his value decreases, something the owner of Giacomo understood when he sold a good portion of his breeding rights before the Bel. Let's arbitrarily set the increase/decrease at $10 million, in which case each partner would be looking at making a $750k bet at a little better than 3-1 on the upside. The problem is that the downside isn't capped by the amount of the bet, so it's entirely possible that you're out the $750k for the premium plus $2.5 million for the decrease in value. No matter how much one loves the game, that's a pretty hard bet to make, & it doesn't even take into consideration what happens if, heaven forbid, something happens to the horse. In short, the bottom line consideration driving these decisions as much or more than anything else is the cost & availability of insurance coverage, which dictates that you reach into your own pocket to pay a King's ransom for the privilege of forgoing vast sums of money, just so you can act in accordance with the best interests of the sport. It might happen this time around, but I wouldn't hold my breath.