Investor’s Guide
2024
Where Racing Matters
Welcome to the 2024 Aushorse Investor’s Guide. We believe there is no better place to race a horse than in Australia.
The experience of racing a horse in Australia is unique. It all comes down to our impressive prizemoney, which sees us host a million-dollar race every 3.8 days; the quality of racing, demonstrated by Australia hosting more of the highest-rated Group One races than any other country; and the engagement with the sport, which includes more than 100,000 people having ownership in racehorses. But the embrace of the sport goes beyond ownership – all the major racecourses are in the centre of the cities, creating an atmosphere on major days that is unsurpassed anywhere in the world.
Let us help you get involved,
Tom Reilly
Chief Executive Officer
A Day To
Capture The
Imagination
As the leaders reached the shadow of the post, three Everest favourites hit the line with just three-quarters of a length between them. The race that has rated as the world’s best sprint in five of the past six years had done it again.
Everest Day at Randwick typified so much of what is great about Australian racing and breeding: the performance of Think About It, a winner bred locally in the Hunter Valley vying with another Aussie-bred, Imperatriz, to be crowned World’s Best Sprinter and thus cement Australia’s dominance in this field; a big group of owners – more than 20 – who shared in a life-changing experience, witnessed by a sell-out crowd of more than 46,000 people (the majority of whom were aged under 35); and there was the little matter of the A$20 million in prizemoney, too.
But Everest Day is just one of many that provide a potent mix of great competition on the track, passionate crowds, and an overwhelming sense that you’re somewhere that celebrates thoroughbred racing.
A Winning Experience
Unequalled
Returns
When it comes to major races – and major prizemoney – Australia is second to none. In 2024 there will be 95 races worth A$1 million or greater – that’s the equivalent of one race every 3.8 days. This number has soared in the past decade, up from 21 in 2013.
Number Of Races Worth A$1 Million Or More
*EXPECTED FIGURES FOR GB, EU & USA BASED ON 2023
But it’s not just at the elite level that returns to owners have jumped up dramatically. In the past five years, total prizemoney across the country has increased by some 45% – by far the biggest rise of any major racing jurisdiction.
Prizemoney Growth Over 5 Years
The average race value in Australia is some
A$50,800
A hefty figure when one considers the large rural racing circuit that gives all owners – even those with an average horse – a good chance to recoup their expenses.
In fact, in the 2022/23 racing season, one in every 63 horses competing on Australian racecourses amassed career earnings in excess of A$500,000.
On top of the prizemoney, there are also significant bonus schemes that reward owners. These include A$53 million in state breeding schemes as well as lucrative race series run by the two major sales companies: Inglis and Magic Millions. Taken together, such schemes add A$83,500,000 to owner returns.
Claidheamh Mor (AUS)
Claidheamh Mor is the sort of horse anybody would love to own. While never placed in a stakes race, his Country Cup wins have seen his earnings top A$550,000.
Racing
Excellence
The quality of racing in Australia is unsurpassed – and this isn’t just the Aushorse view. Each season the world’s handicappers gather to rate the top 100 Group Ones, and in four of the past five years Australia has hosted more of these races than any other country.
World’s Top 100 Group One Races Over 5 Years
This excellence is earned, built on the back of our local breeding industry. Of course, we’re famed for our brilliant sprinters: it’s likely that Think About It or the eight-time Group One-winner Imperatriz will be crowned the world’s best, following on from their fellow Australian-bred hero Nature Strip, who demolished a quality field in Royal Ascot’s King’s Stand Stakes in 2022.
In fact, in the past two decades some 16 Australian-breds have been crowned as the world’s best sprinter.
World’s Highest Rated Sprinters
GB
AUSAUSAUSAUSAUSScenic Blast
AUSAUSAUSAUSAUSTerravista
AUSAUSAUS
IRE
USAIREClassique Legend
AUSAUSAUSElite
Performers
But superstars, such as Hong Kong’s champion Golden Sixty, demonstrate the versatility of Australian-breds. Similarly, 2022 Cox Plate-winner Anamoe was rated among the world’s middle-distance elite after becoming Godolphin’s all-time leading Group One-winner with nine top flight wins, while wonder-mare Winx was rated as the best globally throughout much of her career.
Shinzo (AUS)
2023 Golden Slipper Winner
If you look at the races that are considered Australia’s breed-shapers – the Golden Slipper, Blue Diamond, Caulfield Guineas, Golden Rose and Coolmore Stud Stakes – in the past 15 years all but one of these 75 races have been won by locally-bred horses.
An International
Influence
And the influence of Australian bloodlines is significant across the globe. In 2023 there were nine individual international Group One-winners out of Australian mares, including Japan’s best three-year-old, Liberty Island, and Warm Heart, winner of the Prix Vermeille and Yorkshire Oaks.
Al Muthana (AUS)
Deep Field (AUS) x El Daana (AUS)
Multiple Group One-winner in South Africa
Liberty Island (JPN)
Duramente (JPN) x Yankee Rose (AUS)
Multiple Group One-winner in Japan
Warm Heart (IRE)
Galileo (IRE) x Sea Siren (AUS)
Multiple Group One-winner in the UK and France
In Italian (GB)
Dubawi (IRE) x Florentina (AUS)
Multiple Group One-winner in America
Imperatriz (AUS)
I Am Invincible (AUS) x Berimbau (AUS)
Multiple Group One-winner in NZ and Australia
Liberty Island (JPN)
Duramente (JPN) x Yankee Rose (AUS)
Multiple Group One-winner in Japan
Warm Heart (IRE)
Galileo (IRE) x Sea Siren (AUS)
Multiple Group One-winner in the UK and France
In Italian (GB)
Dubawi (IRE) x Florentina (AUS)
Multiple Group One-winner in America
Imperatriz (AUS)
I Am Invincible (AUS) x Berimbau (AUS)
Multiple Group One-winner in NZ and Australia
Al Muthana (AUS)
Deep Field (AUS) x El Daana (AUS)
Multiple Group One-winner in South Africa
And the influence of Australian bloodlines is significant across the globe. In 2023 there were nine individual Group One-winners foaled down overseas from Australian mares, including Japan’s best three-year-old, Liberty Island, and Warm Heart, winner of the Prix Vermeille and Yorkshire Oaks.
Buying the best yearling prospects is never a cheap exercise, but the Australian market offers more value than any other.
Those sourcing a leading prospect from yearling sales – either colt or filly – would have paid less here than in either America or Europe in each of the past five years. And with the Australian dollar having decreased significantly in the past 12 months, 2024 offers international investors a wonderful opportunity to invest at the top end of the market.
Bloodstock
Value
Average Price For Top 50 Colts & Fillies At Auction
5 YEAR AVERAGE PRICE FOR TOP 50 COLTS (2019 – 2023) $USD
5 YEAR AVERAGE PRICE FOR TOP 50 fillies (2019 – 2023) $USD
Buyers can have confidence in the product. With most major breeders in Australia offering their stock for sale, there is an opportunity to access the best families in the stud book.
This is reflected in the number of Group One-winners that were available to buy as yearlings, which is higher than other jurisdictions.
Percentage Of Australian-bred Group One Winners Sold As Yearlings
*2020-2022
For those lucky enough to race a colt that becomes a stallion prospect, there will be no shortage of potential buyers. And this competition has seen many colts sell at valuations well in excess of A$25 million in recent years.
The market for well-performed fillies and mares is similarly strong: in the past three years, 23 Group One-winning females were sold at auction off the track for an average of A$2,205,000.
Forbidden Love (AUS)
Sold off the track for A$4.1 million in 2023
There is also incredible demand from Hong Kong buyers for Australian horses that have shown ability on the track. In the last racing season they imported 268 horses – the highest number ever. And while the vast majority of those sales were privately negotiated, a great many would have been for seven-figure sums.
AUSTRALIAN HORSES EXPORTED TO HONG KONG
A Sport
Embraced
Racing has been a key character in Australia’s story for more than two centuries. Across this island nation – in every state and territory – racing and breeding leave a large footprint. How else could a population of just 26 million support the world’s second largest thoroughbred industry?
Driving the industry are two key pillars: wagering and ownership.
When it comes to wagering, Australians bet more per capita on racing than those in any other country, while there are more than 100,000 people here who have at least one share in a racehorse – equating to one in every 254.
This high level of ownership means our trainers lead the world in communication, enabling owners to be part of the horse’s journey no matter how far away they are. This is reflected in the ever increasing number of owners based overseas.
International Owners
Gary Barber
Tony Fung
Teme Valley
Qatar racing
LNJ Foxwood
Sheikh Khalifa
HRH King Charles III
Northern Farm
Winstar Farm
STONESTREET STABLES
CAMBRIDGE STUD
SOL KUMIN
TE AKAU RACING
HERMITAGE
Liang Family
STARLIGHT RACING
JUDDMONTE
CHINA HORSE CLUB
Bon Ho
ORBIS BLODDSTOCK
HIGHCLERE RACING
LEUNG FAMILY
Coolmore
Al Shaqab
Siu Family
YULONG
With this level of engagement, it’s no surprise racing is a mainstream sport. Pick up a newspaper and you’ll see extensive news coverage, plus the race cards, every day of the week; turn on a television and the sport is broadcast on free-to-air; and go to a pub or bar and you’ll likely be able to have a bet while having a drink.
With this level of engagement, it’s no surprise racing is a mainstream sport. Pick up a newspaper and you’ll see extensive news coverage, plus the race cards, every day of the week; turn on a television and the sport is broadcast on free-to-air; and go to a pub or bar and you’ll likely be able to have a bet while having a drink.
And as for reach, the stars of the show – whether it’s Winx or Black Caviar, Gai Waterhouse or Chris Waller – are household names all over Australia.
And as for reach, the stars of the show – whether it’s Winx or Black Caviar, Gai Waterhouse or Chris Waller – are household names all over Australia.
Our governments also understand the importance of the industry, with each of the six states having a minister for racing. The combination of this ministerial responsibility and the competition between the states’ racing administrators means there is an ongoing commitment to ensure racing and breeding – as well as the 80,000-plus jobs they support – thrive across the country.
Our governments also understand the importance of the industry, with each of the six states having a minister for racing. The combination of this ministerial responsibility and the competition between the states’ racing administrators means there is an ongoing commitment to ensure racing and breeding – as well as the 80,000-plus jobs they support – thrive across the country.
Getting Involved
Getting Involved
For those looking to invest in the Australian bloodstock market, there is plenty of support to assist you.
The team at Aushorse regularly provides information to investors overseas, while members of the Federation of Bloodstock Agents Australia (FBAA) can provide you with personalised advice and act on your behalf at auctions and for private sales. The two major sales companies – Inglis and Magic Millions – also have bloodstock teams who are more than happy to share their knowledge.
In Australia, all major trainers purchase yearlings with the aim of on-selling to clients and they are always willing to hear from new investors. There are also tens of commercial syndicators – all of whom are licensed – who specialise in offering fractional ownership for those wanting to dip their toe in the market.
Contact Us
Should you require any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact the Aushorse team for impartial advice or information.
