Australia will host more million-dollar races than America and Europe combined in 2025; while locals are also embracing the sport with more than 140,000 people owning a share in a racehorse.
These statistics and more are included in the latest Aushorse Investor’s Guide, which is released today. The annual Investor’s Guide pulls together the latest information on the Australian industry and is essential reading for anybody involved in racing or breeding globally.
“The industry in Australia is in a strong position with the firm foundations of a great funding model and deep support from across society, which is borne out in the number of people here who want to be involved in ownership,” says Tom Reilly, chief executive of Aushorse.
This ownership penetration is unlike anywhere else in the world, with 1 in every 191 Australians owning a share in a thoroughbred.
It is not just in prizemoney and ownership that Australia leads the way, but also the quality of racing: in four of the past five years Australia has hosted more of the top-rated Group One races than any other jurisdiction.
And while there will be 105 races worth $1 million or more in 2025, the sport is well funded at all levels. In the past racing season, the average race value across Australia was $53,797.
This depth of prizemoney meant that 1 in every 43 horses that competed in the last racing season had career earnings in excess of $500,000, with 1 in every 132 having won seven figures in prizemoney.
Despite the riches on offer, the Guide shows that it is more affordable to invest in Australia than in Europe or North America, with the price of the top colts and fillies significantly lower than in other yearling markets.
In the past three years the average cost of the top 50 colts at Australian yearling sales was US$793,560, compared to $1,151,225 in America and $1,006,681 in Europe. For fillies, the average across the top 50 was US$684,603, compared to $853,525 in America and $911,386 in Europe.
“I get a lot of people asking me about the Guide and already in the past month there have been prominent investors from Europe and America asking for the stats as they look at their investment plans for 2025,” added Reilly. “The Guide is also very popular with trainers and syndicators here and is a great tool for them when engaging their clients.”
The Investor’s Guide is available at Aushorse.com.au and has been designed to be easily viewed on mobile devices.
Inglis chief executive of bloodstock sales, Sebastian Hutch, complimented the publication, saying: “As we’ve seen with the recent Spring Carnivals in Melbourne and Sydney, the spectacle of the racing here in Australia is simply incredible.
“The Investor’s Guide does a great job of showcasing that, but also making clear that Australia is unparalleled in terms of prizemoney, as well as bloodstock availability and affordability.”
Magic Millions managing director, Barry Bowditch, said: “The Investor’s Guide puts forward a compelling case as to why there is no better place to invest and race horses than Australia. It’s a great document to have released as we get closer to kicking off the sales season on the Gold Coast next month.”
As well as being available in a digital version, printed copies of the Investor’s Guide will be posted with the Aushorse annual magazine to some 4,500 major players in the global bloodstock industry. The Guide is also translated into Chinese and sent to every owner in Hong Kong, as well as many of the major owners in mainland China.
