Shadow Empire

Chapter 1183 Conflict and the New Year

Old man Herbert immediately stood up, his eyes wide open!

The narrator over the loudspeaker exclaimed in surprise, "Wang Defa, what happened?"

"Number 7, the Golden Bullet, crashed directly into Number 11, the King. Oh no! There was a collision between the two horses. Fortunately, they didn't stop and continued running, but there's no doubt that this collision interfered with their fight for the championship!"

"The Kings originally had a high probability of winning the championship, but because of this minor collision, their performance was affected, and their chances of winning the championship have dropped significantly."

"We see that Black Lightning, which has been in second place, has started to accelerate. It quickly overtook 'Big Star', which is currently in first place, and is accelerating wildly with a lead of three body lengths over the others!"

"The King is continuing to catch up. We've seen its fighting spirit. It has already surpassed 'Big Star' and is now two body lengths behind Black Lightning!"

"It's still chasing relentlessly, and you can see it's unleashing all its power. Could a miracle happen?"

"My God, the King's explosiveness is too strong. This is a side of him that he has not shown in previous games."

"Perhaps sensing the immense pressure from behind, the black lightning's speed is constantly increasing..."

A little over a minute later, Black Lightning crossed the finish line first with a not-so-huge lead of half a body length, followed closely by the King.

Old man Herbert could no longer contain his anger, and he led the people away from the stands in a hurry.

Reporters on the sidelines began taking pictures of the champion. The rider of Black Lightning also led it to the sidelines, and his entourage began to wipe the sweat off the horse to prevent it from catching a cold in the wind.

Having won a championship, its value has skyrocketed. Many people have now made up their minds to obtain its life essence no matter what, to breed the next generation of racehorses with outstanding genes and win future races for themselves.

Compared to the level of attention given to the Black Lightning, the King clearly didn't receive as much attention.

That's how sports events are. Whether it's a human competition or a horse race, people's focus is usually on the champion, not on the second or third place winners or those who did worse.

The rider, holding the king's hand, stared at the rider of Black Lightning with some hostility in his eyes. He knew very well that if it weren't for the slight collision between the golden bullet and him, which affected the king's running posture and mental state, they could have crossed the finish line in first place!

Now, everything is ruined!
Horse racing is indeed important, but the jockey is equally important. If a jockey can win a Grade 1 race, he can establish himself in the industry and secure a livelihood for life.

Even if Lawrence Farm no longer needs him, he can go to other farms or horse farms to become a rider, riding instructor, or even a horse trainer.

Having a championship title and not having a championship title are two completely different things.

Although they will have the opportunity to participate in various competitions and compete for more championships next year and the year after, this championship was clearly in their hands, but it was taken away by some despicable means!
Old man Herbert rushed into the arena, walked up to the rider of the Black Lightning, and shoved him hard.

The cowboys who were giving Black Lightning a treatment immediately rushed over, and the two groups began a tense standoff, which piqued the reporters' interest even more.

"You despicable sons of bitches, you stole the championship from me using such underhanded methods, are you happy now?"

A reporter immediately asked, "Sir, what do you mean by saying they used underhanded means to steal the championship?"

The reporters were excited at the thought that such an ordinary interview could lead to a big news story.

The owner of Black Lightning also arrived with his men, hoping to make a fortune from this horse!

"What the hell are you talking about?" He walked forcefully to the old man Herbert's side, ordered his men to drive away the reporters, and his eyebrows shot up.

"If you have evidence, go and submit it to the Jockey Club. If you don't have evidence and keep making things up, don't blame me for suing you!"

Before old Herbert could say anything, he had the rider lead Black Lightning away.

Match-fixing is indeed quite common in the horse racing world, and if this conflict causes some problems, it may affect his income.

They had no intention of getting entangled with old man Herbert, but this matter was definitely not over yet!

Back in the tunnel, the owner of Black Lightning asked the horse broker, "Will this old man be in any trouble?"

The horse broker shook his head. "I've already inquired around. It's a farm in the countryside of Likale that has never been involved in horse racing before. Maybe they've made some money and want to give it a try."

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems. If a semi-novice wants to join us, they have to follow our rules."

"In the field of horse racing, we are the professionals!"

A satisfied smile spread across the face of the owner of the black lightning bolt. "In case they complain to the horse racing association..."

The horse racing agent patted his chest and assured him, "He has no substantial evidence. We also have people in the horse racing club, so don't worry."

The Federation has thousands of horse farms, and possibly more, all of which primarily focus on breeding excellent riding or racing horses.

Those large horse farms have abundant resources and complex backgrounds; some are even well-known internationally.

However, there are also many small horse farms that are not very famous and have never produced any champion racehorses.

There are simply too many of these small horse farms. Too many people have seen the crazy profits in this industry and want a piece of the pie, but most of them end up just being background figures.

Lawrence Farm, a horse farm I've never heard of before, and probably not even one that primarily breeds racehorses, why would they care?
The federal government is a society that values ​​relationships and interests. If you have connections and are willing to pay, there's nothing you can't get things done.

While they are called horse racing brokers, they are more like horse racing intermediaries, helping people solve various problems related to horse racing.

Bloodline cheating, champion buying and selling, as long as the money is enough!
Old man Herbert's chest heaved with anger as he looked at Lance approaching. "They have to pay the price!"

Lance did not refuse; from any perspective, he needed to make these people pay the price.

"Leave it to me."

It's not difficult to figure out who these people are; the horse "Black Lightning" needs to be registered with the racecourse before it can race.

Entering a race is no simple matter for a horse; there are many forms to fill out and a considerable registration fee, so basically no one tries to cheat. Every racehorse that participates in a race is documented, especially the champion, which has a separate file.

Tom easily contacted the people at the horse racing club with his connections, and they retrieved the files.

"What do you plan to do?" Tom asked, already knowing what had happened when he handed the file to Lance.

How should I put this?

It's very common; there are shady dealings in politics, let alone in sports.

Lance took the file folder, glanced at it, and handed it to the person next to him. "They had a dream, and now I'm going to tell them that the dream is over!"

In modern society, information is always a very important factor. When Lance obtained the registration information behind the horse Black Lightning, he quickly figured out who its owner was.

A professional horse racing farm has produced dozens of horses that have won Group 1 races, including one double crown winner.

The annual profits are astonishing, amounting to tens of millions. Of course, there are also significant expenses behind this. Each stable only has three or four horses, and it is necessary to ensure that their food is nutritious and meets scientific feeding standards.

Nutritionists, horse trainers, all sorts of workers—it's a huge industry with thousands of employees.

Moreover, not every investment will yield a stable return. Perhaps the racecourse has carefully cared for dozens of racehorses this year, investing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, but in the end, they did not win a single good ranking. In that case, the entire batch of horses is basically scrapped, and the loss will be very heavy.

He wasn't trying to acquire the company, nor was he trying to compete with them in the industry; he just wanted to let these people know that they had done something stupid.

Black Lightning, draped in a cotton armor, was loaded onto a special truck. His owner sat in another vehicle, and everyone in the truck wore smiles.

"I have already contacted two second-tier competitions for next year. As long as we can continue to win the championship, our mating fee will probably be more than 10,000 yuan."

Upon hearing this number, the horse farm owner smiled with satisfaction. More than a hundred matings a year would amount to more than a million, and there were no extra expenses or burdens, just normal feeding.

The new income of over one million a year can sustain the business for at least five to seven years. As Black Lightning gets older, its mating costs will decrease, eventually reaching only two or three thousand.

But as things stand, this is related to his income of tens of millions over the next seven or eight years, so how could he not be satisfied?

In recent years, the racecourse has not had any outstanding racehorses. Black Lightning is already the best racehorse they have bred. If they fail again this time, they will face great financial pressure.

Therefore, it's worthwhile to use a little trick.

This is much easier than training a racehorse to win a championship—just buy a champion with money.

Starting next year, Black Lightning will be able to start making money consistently, and the money they earn will be reinvested in the operation of the horse farm. This is their job and their life.

Black Lightning's racecourse is located in Jinzhou. After this competition, they returned directly to the racecourse and left Xinjin City. All that's left is to wait for the start of some first and second-tier races next year, and then send the racehorses with good conditions from the racecourse to participate in the competition, hoping to achieve some good results.

Even if it's only five hundred or a thousand, it's still acceptable; it's better than nothing.

"By the way, you can ask the people at Lawrence Farm if they're selling their 'King'. That horse is better than Black Lightning, and we can try to get it to work out further; it can bring us more money."

The horse racing agent smiled and noted it down. "I'll talk to them. How much are you planning to offer?"

The racecourse owner considered for a moment, then said, "Three hundred and fifty thousand."

Buying a horse for 350,000 sounds a bit unbelievable, after all, how much does a human life cost?
This is something the lower class can never imagine, and it's also something the upper class tries to keep from the lower class, making them realize that their entire life's hard work is not even worth as much as one of their little gadgets.

Even less than a horse, the beliefs of the lower classes will collapse, leading to a series of changes in society.

The vehicle quickly disappeared at the end of the road. They had to go back to prepare for the races in the spring three months later. Every champion, whether it was a Grade 1 or Grade 2 race, was like another cash cow for the racecourse that could last for ten years.

As for Lawrence Farm?
No one takes it seriously.

Old man Herbert also took "King" back. They also need to prepare for the "Southern Racing Championship" next spring, a Class A event in the southern region. Since "King" has already proven itself, it should participate in more races and achieve more rankings while it is at its peak.

But this matter is certainly not over yet.

A few days later, the owner of Black Lightning received a call from the horse racing agent.

"They rejected your offer, so I raised the price to 400,000, but they still refused and even yelled at me," the horse broker said, his voice tinged with grievance.

The ranch owner sighed, somewhat disappointed. "Since they're unwilling to sell, that's fine. The money has already been transferred. We'll contact you again if there's anything else."

After hanging up the phone, the horse ranch owner walked to the window and looked out at the vast horse ranch, which was divided into small sections.

Even in winter, the horse farm is exceptionally lively, and the owner looks at his "empire" with a satisfied smile on his face.

As the New Year approaches, the city is filled with a festive atmosphere.

The festive atmosphere is not strong in the countryside, but it is much stronger in the city.

Capital will always find a reason to take money out of people's pockets, and a sense of ritual is the best solution.

During holidays and festivals, going out for a meal and buying New Year's gifts are all marketing methods that can always lead to spending some money.

In this atmosphere, people began to say goodbye to the old year, a year in which many things happened: the end of the war, fluctuations in the financial markets, an economic upswing, and the general election.

Lance actually wanted to go back to the farm, where his wife and children were, but he couldn't go back because of the New Year.

For some, the New Year is a time to relax, but for others, it means tension and uncertainty.

They need to be prepared for a terrible new year!

(End of this chapter)