A NATION
WHERE RACING
IS EMBRACED
Welcome to the Aushorse Investor’s Guide for 2025, which we hope makes a compelling case to get involved in Australian racing and breeding.
Racing a horse in Australia is a unique experience: our major racedays are a match for any on the planet, with huge crowds of passionate fans and owners; our prizemoney leads the world, with some 105 races worth $1 million or more in the coming year; we host more of the highest rating Group One races than any other jurisdiction; and we have more than 140,000 registered racehorse owners, a figure that dwarves every other nation.
Let us help you get involved.
Chief Executive Officer
A day unlike
any other
2024 MELBOURNE CUP WINNER – KNIGHT’S CHOICE
Switzerland winning the Coolmore Stud Stakes
The Melbourne Cup has transfixed Australian racegoers for more than 150 years – and the 2024 version didn’t disappoint.
A locally bred winner – sent off at 100/1 – out of a mare that cost just $1,000 and by a stallion that excelled over 1000 metres, rather than the Cup’s 3200. Add to that a winning jockey who is best known as a contestant on singing show, The Voice, and a crowd that topped 91,000: taken together, it was a heady mix.
The Flemington Carnival represents so much that is great about Australian racing, but it is just one of many events spread across the country and calendar that are worth celebrating.
A Winning Experience
Millions of Unrivalled Riches
When it comes to racing a horse, there are no other jurisdictions that allow anyone to enjoy ownership with such an opportunity to get a return.
This is best highlighted by the number of races worth A$1million or more: Australia hosted 105 such races in 2024, compared to 69 in the bigger racing jurisdiction of America and just 29 across the whole of Europe (including the UK and Ireland).
The Average Race Value Is $A53,797
The average race value, in the 2023/2024 racing season, was almost $54,000 – which gives owners a great chance of getting a significant return wherever they race a horse.
Such is the depth of prizemoney, in our last racing season 1 in every 43 horses had career earnings of more than $500,000.
As for those horses that had earnings over $1 million, 1 in every 132 horses hit that mark last season, compared to 1 in 345 in Europe.
On top of prizemoney, there are also significant bonus schemes that reward owners. These include $34 million in lucrative race series run by the two auction houses, Magic Millions and Inglis, as well as more than $63 million available in bonuses from state breeding schemes.
Suizuro has won over $ 660,000 despite never winning on a major racecourse. The gelding was one of 672 racehorses with career earnings over $500,000 in the 2023/24 racing season.
Ripcord – whose only two wins were at Listed level – was one of 220 horses to have career earnings in excess of $1 million in the 2023/24 racing season.
Fully Lit, a $60,000 yearling, highlights the riches on offer from sales companies bonuses, having earnt $1.6 million when he won the Inglis Millennium.
Sustained Growth
In the past five years, our prizemoney has surged by an extraordinary 36%, especially when contrasted with the comparatively modest 12% increase in American purses during the same period.
In the past decade our prizemoney has soared by 92%; in comparison, American purses are up just 16% in that time.
Racing and Breeding Excellence
Prizemoney is not the only metric where Australia leads the world. When it comes to action on the track, Australia hosts more elite races than any other jurisdiction. And that isn’t the Aushorse view, that’s according to International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA).
In 2023 – for the fourth year running – Australia hosted more of the world’s top 100 Group One races than any other country.
The World’s Top 100 Group One Races
The quality of these Group One races is built on the strength of the local breeding industry. If you look at the races that are considered Australia’s breed-shapers – The Golden Slipper, Blue Diamond, Caulfield Guineas and Coolmore Stud Stakes – they have all been won by locally bred horses for almost 20 years.
Of course, when it comes to speed Australia reigns supreme. In the past 20 years 16 of the world’s highest rated sprinters have been born and raised on these shores.
Royal Ascot Winners
Nowhere has that domination been more apparent than at Royal Ascot. The 2024 renewal of the King Charles III Stakes was another illustration: Asfoora, an Australian mare that had never won at the elite level in her home country, produced a blistering turn of foot to leave 16 rivals trailing in her wake.
That performance kept up an incredible record in Ascot’s top five furlong sprint: when Australian horses have lined up they have won half of them, a remarkable feat given the challenges of travelling horses across the globe.
Of course, as good as Asfoora is, on ratings she is some way behind the iron mare Bella Nipotina, who contested 14 races in 2024, winning four Group Ones, including the $20 million Everest.
Asfoora - 2024 King Charles III Stakes (1000m)
Nature Strip - 2022 Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes (1000m)
Merchant Navy - 2018 Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes (1200m)
Black Caviar - 2012 Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes (1200m)
Starspangledbanner - 2010 Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes (1200m)
The Australian Difference
The way horses are raised in Australia is unique. Our mares are kept outside year-round, including when foaling, allowing them to maintain their health and give birth in a way that mirrors the wild and reduces stress.
Our foals and yearlings are rarely stabled which, when combined with our low stocking rates – sometimes as few as one horse per 10 acres – means our horses are raised in the perfect environment to produce tough, strong athletes that love to run.
Our trainers also have access to some of the most diverse facilities in the world: from exercising on beaches, through bush tracks to racecourse gallops. All of which helps develop horses that are not only fast, but durable too.
Despite the riches on offer and the quality of our bloodstock, it is more affordable to invest in the Australian market than any other major jurisdiction.
Over the past three years, buyers who sought a leading prospect from the yearlings sales would have had to pay less here than America, Europe or the UK.
Unparalleled Bloodstock Value
Global Bloodstock Value Comparison
The Average Price For The Top 50 Colts And Fillies At Auction Over The Past 3 Years
With most major breeders in Australia offering their stock for sale, buyers also get the opportunity to access the best families in the Stud Book. This is seen in the number, of Group One winners that were available to buy as yearlings, which is higher than other countries.
Leading 2YO Colt Storm Boy
Demand for Elite Colts and Fillies
For owners lucky enough to race a colt that becomes a stallion prospect, there is no shortage of potential buyers. Many horses have been sold for valuations in excess of $30 million recently, including leading juvenile Storm Boy, who was purchased by Coolmore in a deal that could have topped $60 million.
Those buying fillies can also be assured of a strong market for the best broodmare prospects. In 2024 the 11 Group One winning mares sold off the track averaged close to $2.5 million, with Imperatriz making $6.6 million.
That demand is underpinned by international breeders, which is no surprise given Australian mares have produced elite international performers such as Warm Heart, Liberty Island and In Italian in recent years.
Australian Horses Making Their Mark
Of course, Asian buyers are also keen to buy Australian horses that have shown ability on the track. In the 2023-24 racing season a record 285 horses were exported to Hong Kong.
Where Racing Matters
In Australia racing is woven into the fabric of our society and embedded into communities across the country. We have more owners and more racecourses than any other country: all supported by a population of just 27 million.
With more than 140,000 registered owners, 1 in every 191 Australians has a share in a racehorse. No other country gets close to this level of engagement across society. With such a large ownership base, our trainers also lead the world in communication.
Australians also wager more on racing per capita than any other nation – which is why our prizemoney leads the world.
With this level of interest, 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 the stars of the show – whether it’s Winx or Black Caviar, Gai Waterhouse or James McDonald – are household names all over Australia.
International Owners
YULONG
Coolmore
CHINA HORSE CLUB
Northern Farm
TE AKAU RACING
Godolphin
HRH King Charles III
JUDDMONTE
Bon Ho
Sheikh Khalifa
CAMBRIDGE STUD
Qatar racing
SOL KUMIN
Gary Barber
Tony Fung
Teme Valley
LNJ Foxwood
Winstar Farm
STONESTREET STABLES
HERMITAGE
Liang Family
STARLIGHT RACING
ORBIS BLODDSTOCK
HIGHCLERE RACING
LEUNG FAMILY
Al Shaqab
Siu Family
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.
It is no wonder that so many leading owners from around the world are getting involved in Australia.
Contact Us
Should you require any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact the Aushorse team for impartial advice or information.
