how much do most race horses make in a year?

Question

I saw that some that make up to a million dollars a year and i see some horses that make up to two hundred thousand a year and i just wanted to know the average amount most horses make.

Answer 1

Most Thoroughbred racehorses do not earn enough money to cover the costs of keeping them in training, much less what it cost to produce them and raise them to the point where they can get to the races.

Approximately half of all Thoroughbreds foaled never get to the races at all, and about half that do get to the races never win a race. So statistically, for the breed as a whole, approximately 25-30%.

There is a lot of statistical information available on Thoroughbred racehorses, and it can be an eye-opener.

Here, for example, is the statistical summary of the progeny of Storm Cat, the leading active stallion in North America today in terms of stakes winners, average-earnings index, graded stakes winners, and several other categories.

http://www.equineline.com/extendedcontent/bh.cfm?StallionRef=935962&rtype=stats&ASCID=1443262

There are lots of statistics on that page, but the most telling one is this: Storm Cat's Median Earnings Per Runner is $35,658.

That means that half of the offspring that get to the races of the best sire of runners in the USA earn $35,658 OR LESS during their careers.

In a word, wow. To keep a Thoroughbred in training for his lifetime is going to cost on the order of $25,000-50,000/year. So it's pretty safe to say that less than half of Storm Cat's runners fail to earn a nickel of profit for their owners as racehorses.

And the Storm Cats are among the best horses on the racetrack; they certainly receive the best care and training, and are produced from some of the best mares.

(The Median Earnings Per Runner figure is one of the best statistical tools in evaluating a stallion's progeny, because Average Earnings per Runner can be skewed if the horse has a few runners with very high earnings. Median earnings gives a more realistic picture.)

The Blood-Horse Stallion Register online http://www.stallionregister.com/ is a great tool for learning the realities of racing, because of all the statistics it contains. It's an eye-opener when you get to crunching the numbers, because one of the things you immediately see is that not many racehorses make enough money to pay for the costs of training them.

So why do people race horses, if those are the realities?

The biggest reason is that everyone is hoping to grab that brass ring, the "big horse" that wins the big races. The one horse that pays for all the ones that don't pan out.

Lesser reasons: to experience the excitement and fun of racing; because of the beauty of the horses; because of the prestige and "snob appeal;" and to participate in a sport with traditions going back in time almost 400 years.

But not usually to make money. Although you always hope that that foal you own, or the yearling you just bought, or the two-year-old you have in training, or the horse you've just claimed that you think you can improve, will be the next Big Horse. The hope of that, not the money, is what keeps people in racing going.

Answer 2

In horse racing there are haves and have-nots. Over half of all thoroughbred starters did not win a single race in 2005. The owners of those horse earned an average of $3,475.

A horse that won a race earned an average of $29,740.

I also think the average horse only makes about 8 starts in its career before it is retired. On average, a horse does not make enough to pay for the training bills and that is why they are retired.

Answer 3

Not that many horses retire at 3. Maybe a Derby winner or the Breeders Cup Classic winner - possibly an elite mare would be sent to the breeding shed at 3. Horse are generally still maturing at 3. Late summer or fall the good ones sometimes 'step up' to face older horses - 4 year olds and up. Really they are probably at their peaks from 4-6, but many run until they are 10 or 11.

Answer 4

there isn't really an average amount. the horses winnings all depend on how well it races, what races it has won, it's average placing, and so on.
but jockeys can make anywhere from $30 to $100 per mount if they do not place. with a winning horse a jockey can make 10% of the owner's winning money.
a "bad" jockey will usually make less or about 20,000 a year.
the record for purse earnings in one year by a jockey is $23,354,960 by jerry bailey in 2003.
but as a rule of thumb, a jockey' s real earnings are approximately 7% of the horses' earnings.

Answer 5

Horses don't make money, they get paid in grain and hay. Their earnings range between a few hundred dollars and a few million dollars. since most horses never make it to stakes company, they're usually racing for a $5,000-$15,000 dollars each time. Depending on whether they make it into the purse depends on how much they earn. I don't think you can put an average on how much they earn since they vary so widely but i'd say somewhere in the $5000-$10000 range. Less, and it's hard for them to pay for the training, feed, board and entry fees and if they don't pay for themselves, they're sold.

Answer 6

Most race horses make a lot of hay while the sun shines. Sadly, though, for most of them it doesn't shine for long.

Answer 7

Horses probably don't make money, since they are animals and all. Their owners and jockeys make money, though.