Les logiques d'évaluation d'un bien singulier. Le cas des chevaux de courses

This paper is about market values and the attempt of actors to identify precise assessment criteria used to elaborate understandable evaluation models. The paper deals in particular with race horses. Horses sold on the auction market are accounted for their market value. These assets can be considered as singular due to their intrinsic specificity. Ambiguous and unmeasurable, the criteria of assessment raise the question of fairness, relevance and predictability of assessment models. This paper provides a qualitative and quantitative approach which allows for understanding the valuation process for different kind of investors and their impact for an emergent market.