Aushorse Investor's Guide promotes opportunities in Australian ownership

Cover image courtesy of Sportpix

The 2024 Aushorse Investor’s Guide has been released. The guide is essential for industry participants and potential local and overseas investors as it highlights the strength and opportunity afforded to those investing or looking to invest in the Australian racing and breeding industry.

The 2024 Aushorse Investor’s Guide provides the statistics and facts in an easy-to-decipher format. As Tom Reilly, chief executive of Aushorse, told The Thoroughbred Report, it paints a vital story to the success and health of the local industry.

“I believe this is our sixth year presenting the Aushorse Investor’s Guide to participants or potential investors here in Australia or overseas. We’ve got an incredible story to tell in Australia, and it’s one of Aushorse’s important roles to pull the narrative and information together to present to people in a way that makes it accessible and understandable,” he said.

“Not only that, but the guide really celebrates the incredible industry we have here in Australia. We don’t see the same document for other countries, so we’ve tried to make everything as easy as possible for people to have the facts.

Unmatched millions

Australia has an unmatched 95 races worth 1 million dollars or more, equivalent to $1 million race every 3.8 days, which has soared from the 21 $1 million races in 2013. Additionally, Australia has seen the most prizemoney growth over five years, at 45 per cent, with the next closest pursuer being Ireland at a 21 per cent growth.

Not only are investors being rewarded, but Australia’s best racing is consistently holding up on the world stage. The handicappers of the world gather to rate the top 100 Group 1s, and in four of the past five years, Australia has had 121 Group 1 races rated in the top 100.

Twenty-eight more than Great Britain, followed by the United States of America and Japan.

“It’s incredible that there are close to 100 races with a million dollars or more next year, but it’s also really important that the average race value has also soared, giving all owners a chance to get a return on their investment.

“The $1 million-plus race figure has more than quadrupled in the last 10 years. So, it’s been a huge, huge rise. Those races with the prizemoney are headline races and generate much interest. Of course, they’re still very hard to win, but for potential investors, it’s key for them to know there’s a lot more of them in Australia than there is elsewhere.

“Overall, they are important races for the whole industry. Whether that’s for trainers buying horses to sell to their clients or syndicators, they can have confidence there are substantial rewards on offer.”

Strength across the board

Not only is the top-end holding up, but it’s incredibly important to note that the bottom and middle tiers also provide, on average, a return on investment for participants.

The average race value in Australia is $50,800. The 2022/23 racing season saw one in every 63 horses competing on Australian racecourses, amassing career earnings of over $500,000. On top of the prizemoney, Australian owners can utilise significant bonus schemes.

Among those are VOBIS (Victoria), BOBS (New South Wales), QTIS (Queensland) and others that provide $53 million to eligible connections. Additionally, owners of horses purchased from Inglis or Magic Millions are rewarded with lucrative race series that add $83,500,000 to owner returns.

Sprinters, milers, champions!

Unsurprisingly, flying the flag are the Australian-bred sprinters, which the dual Group 1 and The Everest hero Think About It (So You Think {NZ}) and the eight-time Group 1 winner Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) are strong contestants to be crowned the world’s best sprinter.

They join a strong lineup of 16 Australian-bred horses that have achieved the feat in the past two decades. The Champion Hong Kong-based Silent Witness (El Moxie {USA}) in 2006/07 was the first Australian-bred, and the latest was the recently retired Nature Strip (Nicconi), who also achieved two titles in 2021/22.

Gallery: Think About It and Imperatriz, strong contestants to be crowned the world’s best sprinter, images courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Along the way, the legendary Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) dominated from 2010 to 2013. She is joined by the blazingly fast Chautauqua (Encosta De Lago), Lankan Rupee (Redoute’s Choice), and Terravista (Captain Rio {GB}), among others.

It hasn’t only been Australia’s sprinters who have impressed. Hong Kong’s International Meeting on Sunday demonstrated the versatility of the Australian-bred when the 8-year-old Golden Sixty (Medaglia D’Oro {USA}) was at imperious best, claiming a third success in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile.

The global superpower Godolphin’s all-time leading Group 1 winner was the Australian-bred and raced Anamoe. Of course, the Champion mare Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) figured prominently among the best globally.

Gallery: Legendary sprinters Black Cavier and Winx, images courtesy of Sportpix

Not only is the Australian-bred hailed for their ability on the track, they are lauded and desired by the world’s best breeders. In 2023, nine individual Group 1 winners were foaled overseas from Australian mares.

Japan’s best 3-year-old and G1 Japan Cup runner-up Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) is the daughter of the Australian Group 1 winner Yankee Rose (Manhattan Rain). While Sunday’s G1 Hong Kong Vase-placed Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who also claimed the G1 Prix Vermeille and the G1 Yorkshire Oaks in Europe, is from a multiple Australian Group 1 victress in Sea Siren (Fastnet Rock).

Return on investment

Highlighted in the 2024 Aushorse Investor’s Guide as clear evidence of the returns Australian owners can achieve is the Gemma Rielly-trained Claidheamh Mor (Dundeel {NZ}), the 5-year-old has never been placed in a stakes races but has accumulated prizemoney of over $500,000.

The investor's guide also illustrates it’s simply more accessible to buy and race bloodstock than any other major racing jurisdiction. The average price for the top 50 colts and fillies at auction sees colts come in at $764,986 and fillies at $573,976.

Further underlining the opportunity afforded to Australian investors is that between 2020 and 2022, 65 per cent of Australian-bred Group 1 winners has been sold as yearlings at public auction.

Colts that become stallion prospects have seen their valuations well over $25 million in recent years. Twenty-three Group 1-winning fillies or mares were at auction off the track for an average of $2,205,000. Demand for Australian bloodstock from buyers in Hong Kong is at an all-time high. The last racing season saw the jurisdiction import the highest number of Australian thoroughbreds at 268.

It all bodes well for the Australian industry as a thriving one for people to participate in and engage in.

“With the average prizemoney in Australia continuing to go up, it really gives everyone a chance to own a racehorse and get a return on their investment. We know how hard it is to win a Group 1 or to win one of those one-million-dollar races, but there’s a lot of prizemoney down through the grades in Australia even if you haven’t got a headline horse.

“It allows investors to get a return on investment, and I think it’s so important that yes, we have these million-dollar races but also that the average race prizemoney is increased as well. So, it’s been vital for Aushorse that in our investor's guide, we reflect the strength across the board.

“We want the high-end buyers, but we also want to push and drive participation into all sectors, and that’s been prominent in the feedback we get from syndicators, trainers and auction houses, who really look forward to sharing the guide with their clients.

“The goal is to recommend to all that Australia is an exciting place for horse ownership, and we feel the guide provides a compelling case.”

Sebastian Hutch, Inglis’ chief executive of bloodstock sales, agrees with Reilly regarding the importance of the Aushorse Investor's Guide.

“It does a great job selling the Australian thoroughbred industry to both international and domestic audiences. It contains so much compelling information,” Hutch said.

“It is referenced throughout the year by the Inglis team when discussing the Australian bloodstock market with participants or prospective participants, whether domestic or international.

“It is undoubtedly the most effective document of its kind that I have seen published anywhere in the world.”