Australia’s most famous mare is making what can only be described as a victory lap this weekend as she takes to the track for the final time.
The seven-year-old Winx was sold in 2013 for $230,000 and has earned her owners 10 times that figure throughout her career, becoming Australia’s highest-earning racehorse.
The sell-out Championships race on Saturday at Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse marks the end of an extraordinary period in Australia’s racing history, as Winx will strive for her 33rd consecutive win.
If she wins, she will have amassed more than $26 million for her owners throughout her career.
“She lights up breakfast TV, she’s on the cover of all the newspapers, she’s just been an absolute phenomenon, and she’s poetry in motion,” Adam Watt of racehorse syndication business Dynamic Syndications told Your Money Live.
She’s even made it onto the cover of Vogue this month.
Watt believes that the mare’s six-year career has been so impactful that it transformed Australia’s racing industry.
He said Winx’s extraordinary popularity and her predecessor Black Caviar’s 24 consecutive wins have done wonders for the industry’s image in Australia.
“They put racing in a positive light. They’re on the front pages, on the cover of manga and zines, and show people that racing’s fun, exciting, and affordable.”
It’s also racehorse syndication, which has taken off in recent years. Punters can now claim a stake in a horse for as little as $500.
“We’ve seen over the last six years that people investing into racing is up 26 percent, there are close to 100,000 individual owners in the racing industry here in Australia, and our prize money levels are at record highs,” Watt explained.
Watt said that horse racing prize levels have jumped around 86 percent in the last decade alone.
“Racing’s never been better placed.”
As for whether Australia will see another racing horse like Winx, it remains to be seen.
“It’s very hard to say… That’s the great unknown about our industry. Whenever someone puts a bridle on a horse, it could be the next Winx or Black Caviar… Phar Lap, who knows,” said Watt.
“That’s why it’s such a great game to be involved with.”
