The Salary of a Racehorse Owner
Owning a racehorse can be equally rewarding and challenging. Preparing a racehorse for competition requires creating a consistent training plan, providing necessary medications and inoculations and spending money to market the horse and enter races. Though racehorse owners are typically wealthy and a number of owners do it as a hobby, they can earn significant salaries from placing in and winning races.
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Salary Offsets
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A racehorse owner must pay out a great deal of money before ever earning a salary, which comes only once his horse enters a race. These expenses include paying for a trainer and jockey, which includes their moving and travel expenses and health and liability insurance. For instance, on a major Kentucky track trainers may earn day rates between $65 and $100, as of 2010, according to the website RaceHorseTrainers.com. Jockey rates can range between $50 and $75 daily or 10 percent of the "purse," or prize money earned by the owner. Additionally, owners must pay for daily labor costs, which includes straw and hay. Other expenses include horse supplies, veterinary care and liability insurance for the horse.
The Numbers
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Estimated prize winnings for racehorses was $106 million as of 2008, according to the website How To Invest Today. For some races, owners of the top six finishers receive prize money. Top horse races such as the Dubai World Cup and the Breeders Cup Classic can earn racehorse owners as much as $6 million and $3 million, respectively, for winning horses. Owners of horses with a history of winning and placing may receive appearance fees, or money for their horse to simply appear in a race. This amount was $1.5 million as of 2008, according to How To Invest Today. Sponsorships provide owners with additional income as major companies will subsidize the costs of training and maintenance of the horse in exchange for their business name or logo being worn by the horse. Major sponsors of horses include Anheuser-Busch and NetJets.
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The Reality
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Having a horse win a race is very comparable to hitting the lottery. Thus, the vast majority of racehorse owners never recoup their investment, let alone earn a salary. Horses can also break down during training or before a race, costing owners an opportunity to earn any placement or prize money.
Percentages
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Racehorse owners recoup their investment and earn their salaries largely by winning races. Thus, knowing the chances that horses can win is a critical aid to owners, particularly in helping to decide whether to enter the field. As such, the chances of a horse winning at least one race in a career is 45 percent, according to RaceHorseTrainers.com. This percentage lowers to 34 percent for a horse winning more than at least once in a career.
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References
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