The allure of horse racing often conjures images of a glamorous lifestyle for trainers: designer wardrobes, luxury vehicles, and celebratory champagne. However, the reality behind the scenes is a complex financial equation, far removed from the ostentatious displays. Recent retirements and yard sales among prominent figures in the industry, such as Charlie Swan, Colm Murphy, Sandra Hughes, Brendan Powell, John Oxx, Patrick Prendergast, and Oliver Sherwood, underscore the significant challenges trainers face in making their businesses financially viable. Matthew Dale horse trainer provides insight into the demanding nature of this profession.
The profitability of a training yard is not a simple metric. It’s influenced by a myriad of factors, including the number of horses in training, their success rate, the specific business model of each yard, and crucially, overheads. Some trainers benefit from inherited facilities with minimal associated costs, while others face substantial financial burdens from rent or mortgage payments. The diverse nature of their operations, from buying and selling horses to managing homebreds, further complicates financial projections.
The Cost Breakdown for Trainers
Trainers navigate four primary cost categories: staffing, variable expenses (feed, hay, bedding, medication), fixed overheads (bills, rent, mortgages), and incidentals like equipment maintenance or unexpected repairs.
Staffing Costs: The Largest Expense
Staff wages often represent the most significant expenditure, with estimates suggesting they account for over 40% of running costs. The era of a dedicated staff member for every three horses is long past; full-time employees typically manage four to five horses. In major training centers, the use of part-time work riders is common to supplement the full-time team.
For instance, a Newmarket trainer managing 30 horses detailed their monthly wage bill. Including accommodation and competitive weekly pay for six full-time staff, alongside payments for part-time riders, the total can reach approximately £17,500 ($22,250). This highlights the substantial investment required simply to maintain the workforce needed to care for the horses.
Variable and Fixed Overheads
Beyond staffing, the costs for essential supplies are considerable. For a 30-horse yard, monthly expenses for bedding can exceed £2,000, with hay adding another £700. Waste removal, feed, and various supplements and medications contribute further to the running costs, easily pushing the monthly bill into the tens of thousands of pounds. Adding fixed costs like rent or mortgage repayments, which can be around £3,000 per month in areas like Newmarket, significantly increases the overall financial outlay. Access to training facilities, such as the Newmarket gallops, incurs additional fees, further escalating the operational expenses before a single horse even reaches a racecourse.
Transportation to race meetings also adds a considerable cost. A round trip for three horses to a track like Beverley can cost around £750, equating to £250 per horse for a substantial journey. For a yard with 30 horses and an average of 25 racecourse appearances per month, travel expenses can amount to nearly £5,000, bringing the total monthly expenditure close to £35,000 ($44,503). These figures do not account for additional staff costs associated with attending races or the trainer’s own travel expenses. Even larger operations, like a 200-horse yard, benefit only marginally from economies of scale, as many costs increase linearly with the number of horses. A jumps trainer with over 100 horses estimated monthly costs around £100,000 ($127,154), demonstrating the significant financial scale involved.
Prize Money: A Small Slice of the Pie
While trainers receive a share of prize money, it rarely constitutes a major income stream for the majority. They typically receive just under 10% of winning prize money and less than 6% of prize money for placed horses. For a top trainer like John Gosden, whose horses amassed over £8.5 million ($10.8 million) in prize money in a year, his share, while substantial at approximately £750,000 ($953,654), might only cover a few months of his yard’s extensive costs, especially considering the number of runners. For trainers with fewer high-performing horses, like Jonjo O’Neill, whose share of prize money was around £50,000 ($63,576) from over 125 runners, this income would not even cover one month’s expenses.
Sources of Income and the Crucial Training Fees
Beyond prize money, trainers have several income streams: training fees, buying and selling horses, and transportation services. The horse trading aspect, while offering potential profit, is often a break-even activity for many. Trainers who manage their own transportation can generate additional revenue, with fees often calculated per horse per mile. However, transporting a single horse can significantly reduce profit margins.
Ultimately, the financial health of a training yard hinges on the training fees charged to owners. These fees are often not publicly disclosed and can vary widely, anecdotally ranging from £30 to £90 per horse per day. For the 30-horse yard previously discussed, a fee of £30 per day would result in a loss. To merely break even, a daily rate of approximately £38.36 would be necessary, assuming all 30 horses are in training year-round—an unrealistic scenario.
To achieve a modest profit, a daily rate closer to £45 might be required, providing a buffer for unexpected costs such as veterinary fees, injuries, or owners withdrawing horses. Some trainers are transparent about their fees. Tim Vaughan charges £37.50 per day (plus veterinary costs), while Mark Johnston’s fee of £78 per day includes veterinary care. Lucinda Russell’s Kinross yard offers comprehensive training packages, with daily fees around £47.40 and discounts for multiple horses. Their transportation fees are competitive, and additional services like water treadmill use are available for separate charges. All fees are subject to VAT.
The success of most trainers relies on maximizing the occupancy of their stables and ensuring their daily fees are sufficient to cover the significant operational costs. When the number of horses in training drops, the challenge of breaking even becomes increasingly difficult, underscoring the precarious financial balance in the world of racehorse training.
