Tackling a myth: poor returns for owners – and it's even worse over jumps

The revolt against poor prize-money has prompted me to challenge one of the great myths of racehorse ownership in Britain – namely that owners can expect a return of around 28p for every £1 they spend on training fees. This is quite clearly an exaggeration.

The 28p figure is arrived at by dividing total prize-money by the number of horses who ran during the season but such an average is hugely distorted by the superstar horses who win £100k plus. Using the median figure is far more indicative of the real return owners can expect.

During 2018, 11,565 horses ran on the Flat. The median horse (5,782) on the prize-money list won £2,433, which after deductions would amount to around £1,946. Assuming an annual training fee of £24,000, that would mean a return of 8p for every £1 spent on training fees. National Hunt is even worse. The median horse won £1,128, which after deductions amounts to a heady £902 or 3.75p for every £1 spent.