Horse racing is an extremely competitive sport that has been around for centuries.
While the Kentucky Derby is easily one of the most popular horse races in the United States, several races occur throughout the year and across the country.
Whether you want to involve yourself in horse racing, make bets, or just enjoy the sport, you might come to realize that doing so can be quite expensive.
What makes this time-honored sport so expensive though?
Why Is Horse Racing So Expensive? (10 Reasons)
The average price of becoming involved in horse racing is well into $100,000.
The cost of a racehorse and entering a stakes race, alone, can push your budget well over $100,000.
Certain factors like the price of a horse, training costs, and the races, themselves, make horse racing a very expensive hobby.
Let’s look at these factors in more detail.
1. Racehorse Prices
One of the biggest expenses you’re going to need to pay to get into horse racing is buying a racehorse.
Not every horse you see on the farm is suitable for racing.
Race horses are very specific breeds.
They’re bred specifically for racing.
They have the right endurance, stamina, and speed to make waves at a race.
These types of horses don’t come cheap.
The average price of a racehorse is around $75,000.
You can find some racehorses for cheaper prices, but you can also find them for much higher prices.
For example, a horse that comes from a champion’s line will be far more expensive.
That’s because it’s clear that the horse has good breeding.
Any foal that comes from that horse has a good chance of inheriting its genes to become a winner, too.
You can’t race without a horse, and if buying a racehorse is too expensive for you, then horse racing, itself, is too expensive.
2. Training Costs
Your horse won’t perform well on the track if it doesn’t undergo training.
Horse race training is also quite expensive.
That’s because you’re working with specialists who are trained to condition horses for racing.
They have knowledge and expertise that few people possess.
Because they work in such a niche market, they can charge a good deal of money.
The average price of a horse trainer is around $120 a day.
This can quickly become expensive.
If you have your horse in training every day of the month, you’re looking at paying several thousand dollars each month.
Of course, the good news is that your horse won’t constantly be in training.
They need breaks to recover and relax.
Once they condition themselves, the training becomes more of a workout to ensure they maintain their fitness level.
As such, you’ll probably pay a lot of money for the first year or two, but then decrease that amount a little as the horse becomes more fit.
Horse training is expensive for several reasons.
Besides working with the trainer, themselves, the trainer also usually has a staff that helps them.
The fee you pay also pays their employees.
Horse trainers will also cover vitamins, supplements, and feed.
Since they need to make sure that the horse is eating the right kind of food, they usually end up taking care of that part of its upbringing themselves.
Essentially, horse training is expensive because you have to pay both for the trainer’s services and costs.
3. Vet Costs
If you want to ensure your horse is in top form, you’re going to have the vet at your ranch often.
A vet ensures that the horse isn’t injuring itself during its training and that the horse isn’t ill.
Because horses are large, complex, creatures, it takes a skilled vet to treat them.
Racehorses, in particular, are even more important.
A good vet can help keep a racehorse in great shape and help it develop healthily.
The problem with vets is that they’re expensive.
A visit from the vet can cost you anywhere from $200 to over $1,000 each month.
If your horse picks up something and becomes ill, you can expect to pay the vet even more.
The vet isn’t the only one who will be coming to your ranch either.
Horses need horseshoes to protect them.
You’ll often have a blacksmith, or farrier, who will come and make shoes for the horse.
That can cost around $80 to over $100 each month, too.
Since racehorses spend a lot of time on their feet and running around, they also tend to wear out their shoes frequently.
As such, you can expect a lot of visits from your local farrier.
You can also expect visits from the dentist and a chiropractor to ensure the horse’s teeth and spine are healthy.
The last thing you want is to have a sick horse on your hands or an injured horse after spending so much money on it.
Their services ensure your horse stays healthy.
Horse racing is expensive because of the various medical costs you’ll need to pay each month.
4. Jockey Wages
When it comes to the actual race day, you’ll also need to pay your jockey.
You can’t race a horse without a jockey.
Jockeys have mounting fees that usually cost anywhere from $80 to over $100 per race.
If you have several races you’re running across a week or month, you have to pay your jockey for each race.
Jockeys sometimes partner with a specific organization, but they usually work as freelance contractors.
They’ll make a contract with an organization and race for them for a specific number of races or for the season.
If you plan to put your horse in a lot of races, you will be paying your jockey a lot of money.
Jockeys also get a cut of the prize money should they win.
It only makes sense since they’re the ones riding the horse to victory.
In most cases, a jockey receives 10% of the prize money for first place in a race.
If the prize is over a million dollars, that’s a good payday for a jockey.
It also means that you’re taking home a little less money.
Jockeys are expensive because they often buy and bring their own gear and equipment.
They also pay for their own training, although they might join your horse trainer now and then to become used to riding that particular horse.
Jockeys are also known for being short and light.
It means there’s less weight for the horse to carry, so they can go faster or become tired less quickly.
Since it takes a certain stature to become a jockey, not everyone qualifies for the job.
As such, jockeys have some leverage when it comes to their fee.
If they know that they’re the shortest or most qualified jockey in the area, they can ask for a high mounting fee.
Horse racing is expensive because of the cost of paying a jockey.
5. Insurance Costs
Just like owning a home or car, you’re also expected to have insurance on your horse.
It makes sense since horse racing can be dangerous.
For one, the actual race itself can be deadly.
Horses might trip during the race and seriously injure themselves.
The stress of the race, crowds, and the other horses might also cause a horse to panic and hurt itself.
Training can even injure a horse.
Because of the risk of injury, insurance is important.
It can help reduce your medical costs.
That said, insurance, itself, can be pretty expensive.
The average horse insurance policy costs anywhere from $150 to almost $300 a year.
Since you’re racing your horse, your insurance policy might be even more expensive since the risk of injury is higher.
The good thing about horse insurance is that it usually doesn’t cover just medical costs.
In particular, it covers equipment used by the horse, too.
That also includes farming equipment you use to care for your horse.
Sometimes the insurance policy can cover other livestock you own, too.
Clearly, having horse insurance is beneficial.
However, horse insurance also makes horse racing expensive.
6. Race Entry Fees
Races aren’t always free to join.
A lot of the smaller races tend to be free to join.
These races are useful for helping your horse become used to racing.
They also give you an idea of how your horse is going to perform during some of the bigger races.
You might discover that it needs a bit more work on its stamina, for example.
To enter some of the bigger races, you also need to accumulate a certain number of points.
To earn those points, you need to win smaller races or place well in them.
When it comes to racing in the big races, however, that’s when you need to also pay large fees.
To enter one of the biggest races, the Kentucky Derby, you’re going to need to pay a $25,000 entry fee.
Then you’ll need to pay another $25,000 starting fee.
If you want an early nomination, you’ll need to pay $600.
If you choose to receive a late nomination, you’ll need to pay $6,000.
Entering your horse into some of the bigger races can cost a good deal of money.
If you don’t win or place well in those races, that’s a lot of money that ends up going to waste.
If you do win, however, then that’s an incredible payday for you.
As such, entering your horse into a race can be quite a gamble.
Horse racing is expensive because you have to pay big fees to enter some of the more popular races.
7. Travel Costs
Making it to a race will cost money, too.
There are races all over the country.
There are even races in other parts of the world.
If you want to participate in as many as you can, you will need to travel.
It’s highly unlikely, after all, that you happen to live close to some of the best races in the country.
As such, you need to contend with traveling costs to engage in horse racing.
That can be quite expensive, too.
For one, you’re going to need a good trailer to transport your horse.
Since your horse is worth a lot of money, and you’ve been investing a lot in it, you want to ensure that the trailer is comfortable for it.
Otherwise, your horse might panic and hurt itself.
Aside from the cost of an expensive horse trailer, you can also expect fuel costs to be high.
Dragging a horse trailer around can be expensive since it makes your truck use more fuel.
The further the race is, the more expensive the fuel costs.
Then you’ll have hotel costs, food costs, and feed costs for your horse to consider, too.
All those costs make traveling to races quite expensive.
8. More Likely To Lose Money
While most racehorse owners hope to claim the Kentucky Derby prize, few do.
It can take several attempts before finally winning anything big
That means you’re usually more likely to lose money on your investment than make it.
As such, not a lot of people get into horse racing because they want to make a living from it.
It’s usually more of a hobby.
Since you don’t always recoup your losses, it makes horse racing quite expensive.
9. Hobby For The Rich
As mentioned earlier, horse racing is often more of a hobby than a way to earn a living, and it’s a hobby usually reserved for the wealthy.
While some racehorse owners have managed to make a living on racing horses, they usually have some sort of other income to cover their costs.
For anyone else who is trying to get into horse racing but doesn’t have a lot of wealth, the costs of starting may be too expensive.
Not everyone has $50,000 or more to spend on a racehorse.
10. Auction Sales
A final reason horse racing is expensive is when you buy a horse through an auction.
While horses, themselves, are usually expensive, where you buy the horse also makes it expensive.
Going to a personal owner is usually cheaper.
They have a set price that they want to sell the horse at.
If you go to an auction, however, the price of a horse can skyrocket.
If multiple people see potential in a horse, they might outbid one another and make the horse extremely expensive.
Auctions can provide you with great deals, but they can also make a horse’s price quickly inflate.
Conclusion
Horse racing is an expensive sport.
Due to the costs of the horse, the costs of the race, and the chance that you might not make money on your investment, it might be too expensive for a lot of people to try.
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