News

Horse ownership - your greatest sporting triumph?

26th Oct 2011

*Sydney Morning Herald - Will Brodie

• October 25, 2011*

Wouldn't it be great to own a horse? This time every year you get the itch, watching all those big races, having a flutter on the best nags. Imagine if you didn't just bet on that good thing, but took home the trophies, framed pictures and prizemoney when it won?

Only problem is, thoroughbred racing is for the rich, and you couldn't afford a percentage of a tail hair of a well-bred beast. Right?

Wrong, according to the horse racing industry. The Racing Victoria guide to racehorse ownership is titled "Anyone Can Play This Game". It describes the thrill, the adrenaline rush of cheering home your winner as "more achievable than any other sporting triumph".

It is the language you'd expect after seeing all those well-dressed maniacs on spring carnival coverage jumping up and down, hugging and punching the air as their winner comes home.

But racing a thoroughbred - a hungry, injury-prone, highly-strung animal requiring elite training, special accommodation, expensive doctoring and transportation – is not a cheap activity. The average wage-earner can only afford to be part of a partnership (where up to ten people pay the bills), or a syndicate (where up to twenty people share costs and glory).

The industry quotes famous Cinderella stories like star sprinter Takeover Target, which was bought for $1250 and won millions, but the overwhelming majority of successful horses are well bred and expensive. The average cost of a youngster at the most recent sale – the 2011 Magic Millions National Horses in Training sale on the Gold Coast – was $41,206, with most of the projected stars raking in more than $100,000.

Costs vary widely depending on the purchase price of your horse and whether your trainer is a renowned metropolitan guru, or a low-profile bush battler, but you can expect to pay at least $1,000 per month for even a country-trained thoroughbred. Day rates for training alone range from $45 to more than $120.

The secret is to make it a team sport.

Many racing fans prefer the camaraderie of racing a horse with mates, or meeting fellow enthusiasts through a large group that shares costs. Syndication - putting together large groups of people in an ownership regime - is now a big business enabling less wealthy folk to "have an interest" in a racehorse.

And if you go with a country trainer based out of Melbourne, costs decrease dramatically.

Darren Galley from Country Racing Victoria races a horse trained by Darren Weir at Ballarat with 100 others, and says it costs him only $100 a month. The same horse with some city-based trainers could cost $250 per month.

If even these numbers are too steep, there are options.

Picnic racing offers an intimate, informal atmosphere, and the chance to see your horse up close in picturesque surrounds. Your nag at this level will be cheap to purchase – often being an animal which has failed to fire at 'professional' level, but vets' fees and basic costs will still be substantial.

You could always try Harness Racing. Pacers and trotters (standardbreds) are more hardy than thoroughbreds, racing an average of 11.2 times per season. They also last longer, many chalking up 100 starts and competing until their 10th year and beyond. According to the raceapacer.com.au site, a 5% share in a typical yearling can usually be purchased for somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000 upfront with ongoing monthly costs of around $80 per month.

The most lucrative harness races, the Hunter Cup and Victoria Cup are worth more than $450,000 and the average city race has a stake of $15,000 - or $5000 in the country. Harness racing has its Cinderella story – champion Shakamaker was purchased at the yearling sales for $3500 and he went on to win $2.3 million. It is by no means a minor sport, with more than $33.5 million in prizemoney distributed per year.

Greyhound ownership is even more accessible, and it operates under a more economical model. Since most of the cost of greyhound racing is in the training and preparation of the dog before it races, an up-front fee is paid, often in the vicinity of $5000. This covers the purchase of a well-bred pup, bought when three months old and the $35 to $80 per week training fees payable until it is ready to race, when the dog is 20 or 22 months old.

From that point on, there are no further costs, but any prizemoney won is shared 50-50 between the owner and the trainer. With the average city race worth $5000, it means two good wins recoups an owner's investment. A capable greyhound usually races for a couple of years, almost weekly, totalling 50-100 starts.

"If you can get one that's got a little bit of a ability, with the right trainer, you can certainly do OK out of it… there's not many owners who go on to be millionaires but they have a lot of fun they don't lose a lot of money," Greyhound Racing Victoria's Andrew Copley says.

"Probably the average person can afford it a lot more than to own a racehorse.

"The reality is that not every dog makes it to the track, but it's low-risk, you're not outlaying a hell of a lot."

Greyhound ownership is roughly split 60/40 between sole ownership and syndicates. Harness racing standardbreds are owned mostly in partnerships (55.7%), whilst 35.8% are owned by individuals.

The bottom line is that you and your family will have to have a passion for racing to handle even the more modest outlays required in racing non-human animals professionally.

But if you are careful, canny - and lucky - your yearly impulse to get involved may not prove to be such a bad bet.