Can I Make Money Owning A Racehorse?
Is it possible to make money owning a racehorse? Yes, maybe and no. With a quality racehorse – yes. With a mediocre racehorse – maybe. With a poor racehorse – no.
Horseracing is a risky business. Some racehorses never make it to the races due to poor racing ability, sickness or injury. Some make it to the races but would rather take a nap than run. Some have the “herd instinct” and like to run in the middle of the pack. Some train like a Champion in the morning but never measure up in the afternoon during a race. Some train poorly in the morning and surprise everyone by running well in the afternoon. No one knows why. It is not an exact science.
Depending on where a racehorse is trained and raced, it costs approximately between $40,000 and $50,000 to keep it in training per year. How difficult is it to cover the cost of training? Well, a quality racehorse can cover it by winning one race per year, a mediocre one may cover it by winning two races, and a poor one needs to become a mediocre or quality racehorse. The majority of racehorses do not turn a profit for their owners. The majority of racehorses are not quality racehorses.
On the other hand, Champions must be crowned every year. All Stakes races must have winners. Some racehorses earn over a million dollars in a year. The winner of this year’s Breeder’s Cup Classic will earn $2,500,000. The second place finisher will earn $1,000,000. Some racehorses earn millions on the track and even more as a stallion. Who wouldn’t want to be associated with these racehorses? These are the few, the rare, the racehorses we dream about.
James R. McGlinn of ARRRRR STABLES has seen both ends of the spectrum with racehorses he has bred.
Lemons Ain’t Limes – trained brilliantly as a 2 year old and was written about in the Daily Racing Form before she made her first start. During her first race, as she was going for the lead, she chipped a bone in her knee, finishing 5th. She never was able to race again, never earning a single penny. She is now at his farm as a broodmare and is the mother of the racehorse ARRRRR.
Repent – a horse that was bred and sold at Keeneland Sales in Kentucky. Repent raced and won $1,255,660. He was one of the pre-Kentucky Derby favorites in 2002 before an injury stopped him from racing in the Triple Crown races. He is now a very successful stallion standing at stud at Vinery, LTD in Kentucky.
As was mentioned earlier, horseracing is a very risky business. Money can be made or there can be a total loss of capital. Somewhere in the middle is the norm.
Spending money on the ownership of racehorses should be done with recreational or speculative money only.
The benefits of owning a racehorse can be:
- the tremendous fun and excitement that goes along with being an owner
- getting close to the beauty of this great sport of horseracing
- appreciating the racehorse as an athlete, which it assuredly is
- being inspired by the passion for competition that racehorses possess
- being able to be around the people who put their lives, their love, their sweat and their tears into these marvelous animals.
Undoubtedly you could come up with more reasons for being involved, but these are some of the reasons we at ARRRRR STABLES love horseracing and why we have become involved with it.
