Guggenheim v. Commissioner

46 T.C. 559, 1966 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 65
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedAugust 9, 1966
DocketDocket No. 4416-64
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 46 T.C. 559 (Guggenheim v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Guggenheim v. Commissioner, 46 T.C. 559, 1966 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 65 (tax 1966).

Opinion

Simpson, Judge:

Respondent determined deficiencies in income tax of $78,061.47 for the taxable year 1958 and $322,298.91 for the taxable year 1959. The only issue for decision is whether petitioner’s sale of shares in a syndicate relating to the stallion “*Turn-To”1 resulted in his receipt of ordinary income or whether such sale was a sale or exchange of property used in a trade or business as defined in section 1231 (b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.2

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts were stipulated, and those facts are so found.

The petitioners are Harry F. Guggenheim and the Estate of Alicia P. Guggenheim, deceased, Harry F. Guggenheim, Dorothy J. Holds-worth, and Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. of Hew York, executors. When used in the singular, “petitioner” refers to Harry F. Guggenheim. Harry F. Guggenheim and Alicia P. Guggenheim were husband and wife and filed joint income tax returns, using the cash method of accounting for 1958 and 1959 with the district director of internal revenue, Manhattan, N.Y. Alicia P. Guggenheim died on July 2,1963.

Petitioner is the senior member of the mining firm of Guggenheim Bros., the editor and publisher of Newsday, and. is, and has been for a number of years, engaged in the business of breeding and racing thoroughbred horses under the name “Cain Hoy Stable.”

*Turn-To is a thoroughbred stallion that was born in 1951 and purchased by petitioner on July 31, 1952, as a yearling, for $20,000. In 1953, *Tum-To won the Garden State Stakes, then the richest race in the world for 2-year-old horses, and his total earnings for the year exceeded $175,000. During the first part of 1954, racing as a 3-year-old, *Turn-To won over $100,000. However, after winning the Flamingo Stakes in Florida during that year, *Turn-To suffered an injury and was thereafter held and used by the petitioner for breeding purposes.

On April 12,1954, *Turn-To was sent by petitioner to stand at stud at Claiborne Farm, Paris, Ky., which is owned and operated by A. B. Hancock, Jr. :;:Turn-To remained at Claiborne Farm until December 5,1960, on which date he was sent, by the decision of the petitioner, to Spendthrift Farm, Lexington, Ky., which is owned and operated by Leslie Combs II. *Turn-To has since been kept at Spendthrift Farm. Both of these farms are independent establishments unrelated to petitioner, and both farms stand many horses of their own, as well as horses owned by other horse breeders.

*Turn-To’s stud fee for a “service” or “season” was $3,500 for the 1955 breeding season.3 In his first year at stud, *Turn-To sired the colt First Landing, which was foaled in 1956 and won the Garden State Stakes in 1958. The total winnings of First Landing exceeded $750,000. Other successful colts sired by *Turn-To include Waltz, Hail To Reason, Rideabout, Sir Gaylord, Cyane, Dead Ahead, Hoist Him Aboard, and Lucky Turn.

When a horse first goes to stud, its stud fee is predicated in large part on its prior success in racing, and after the horse has been at stud for a sufficient number of years that its offspring are actively engaged in racing, the value of a stud horse and its stud fee are based on the quality and number of its offspring and their success at the race track.

Due to the success of *Turn-To’s offspring in racing, *Turn-To’s stud fee was increased to $5,000 for a season in 1959. The advertised fee for a season in 1960 was $10,000. Since 1960, seasons have been sold for $12,000, $12,500, and $15,000. The value of the stallion also increased. In 1955, petitioner insured * Turn-To for $200,000; in 1958, the insurance on his interest in the horse was increased to $500,000; and, in 1960, to $850,000.

It is customary in the thoroughbred breeding industry to agree to require payment of the fee for a stud service only when the mare is known to be pregnant, and the usual agreement provides that the fee is to be returned if the mare does not bear a live foal as the result of the breeding.

The petitioner reported as ordinary income the following amounts from *Turn-To’s stud fees: $59,500 for 1955, $63,000 for 1956, $63,000 for 1957, and $63,000 for 1958. Petitioner also bred several of his own mares to *Turn-To during these years.

In January 1958, petitioner entered into five agreements, which were alike except for the name and address of the party of the second part, with five different individuals. Under these agreements, petitioner retained “complete, sole and exclusive right of management and supervision” of :!;Turn-To. The parties of the second part received the right to breed one thoroughbred mare each year to * Turn-To for the rest of *Turn-To’s life. For years when *Turn-To can be bred less than five times, the parties of the second part are to draw lots for the available seasons. The owners of the lifetime seasons have insurable interests in their rights under the lifetime seasons agreements. Annual rights to breed with *Turn-To can be sold by the owners of the lifetime seasons, and the lifetime seasons can be sold or assigned to third parties. Petitioner received, during 1958, $22,500 under each of these agreements.

On October 20, 1958, after First Landing won the Garden State Stakes, petitioner entered into an agreement, captioned “*Tum-To Syndicate Agreement,” with 15 persons who executed counterparts thereof. The agreement was the result of arm’s-length dealing with persons who were not related by blood or marriage to the petitioner. Pursuant to the agreement, each of the 15 individuals or entities agreed to pay petitioner $40,000, $10,000 of which was payable in 1958 and the balance payable subsequently. The payments were made as agreed, and petitioner received $150,000 during 1958, $420,000 during 1959, and $30,000 in subsequent years. Petitioner reported the amounts he received under this agreement as being taxable as long-term capital gains. In this connection he included in his net long-term capital gains amounts aggregating $148,317.07 for 1958 and $415,287.78 for 1959.

The *Turn-To Syndicate Agreement purported to sell undivided interests in the stallion. It provides that the ownership of *Turn-To shall be in 35 shares, petitioner retaining 20 shares (5 of which were reserved for fulfillment of the lifetime seasons) and the 15 individuals or entities each purchasing 1 share. Each of the 35 shares is on an equal basis with all other shares and is indivisible, with only a full share representing ownership of an undivided one-thirty-fifth interest in *Turn-To.

Under the agreement, *Turn-To must stand and be kept and maintained at such farm or breeding establishment in central Kentucky as the petitioner shall select. Petitioner, or his designated representative, has the complete, sole, and exclusive right of management and supervision of *Turn-To. Petitioner paid the prevailing rate for the keep and maintenance of the stallion, and all costs and expenses incident thereto, from the date of the agreement through January 1, 1960. Since January 1,1960, each shareholder has been obligated to pay his proportionate share of all charges, costs, and expenses incurred for the keep, maintenance, and advertising of the stallion. This proportionate share amounted to $135.34 in 1960, $163.32 in 1961, $149.74 in 1962, and $169.96 in 1963.

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Guggenheim v. Commissioner
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
46 T.C. 559, 1966 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 65, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/guggenheim-v-commissioner-tax-1966.