Owning a Racehorse in Wales

Horse racing is a sport with a long tradition in Wales. Organised events here date back to the 18th century, with large crowds flocking to the meetings.

The sport continues to thrive today, with some of the biggest events in the UK taking place in Wales, including the Welsh Grand National, Welsh Champion Hurdle and Finale Juvenile Hurdle.

If you have always wanted to get closer to the sport, racehorse ownership here would give you the chance to do that. As an owner, your horse runs in your designated colours, you get input into which races they feature in, and you get access to the owners’ and trainers’ lounge.

Unfortunately, the costs involved in owning a horse are often the factor that prevents horse racing fans from fulfilling their dream. If this is the case for you, there are horse racing syndicates which allow you to purchase a share in a horse. This means you can still enjoy many of the benefits and thrills associated with ownership for a much lower cost.

One of the racehorse ownership syndicates that allow you to buy a percentage into a horse is RaceShare. The ownership is set up with the British Horseracing Authority, the governing body in the sport, as a registered syndicate. The costs you pay for the full year include training fees, service fees and the capital value of the horse.

Great Welsh Racecourses

If you live in Wales, you will likely want your horse to run locally. In Wales, three fantastic racecourses operate under Rules. These are Bangor-On-Dee, Chepstow and Ffos Las.

https://twitter.com/Chepstow_Racing/status/1607655067384938497

Chepstow is the most high-profile racecourse in the country. It hosts both Flat and National Hunt races, which means there are meetings at the South Wales venue across the calendar year. Their biggest meeting is the Welsh Grand National which takes place annually on December 27th.

Bangor-On-Dee is in the north of Wales, just outside of Wrexham. It is a smaller National Hunt racecourse, which has its advantages, as it means you can get closer to the action, particularly as an owner.

Ffos Las is another dual-purpose racecourse in which both Flat and jump racing take place.

Their biggest race of the year is the Welsh Champion Hurdle in October.

Some Excellent Trainers in the Country

When you own a racehorse, you get to decide which trainer you would like to use. If you want to visit your horse regularly at their stable, you may want to consider a local Welsh trainer. 

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Proper stayer! Win My Wings wins the £80,000 Vertem Eider Handicap Chase at <a href=”https://twitter.com/NewcastleRaces?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@NewcastleRaces</a> for <a href=”https://twitter.com/mania450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@mania450</a> and <a href=”https://twitter.com/CWilliamsRacing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@CWilliamsRacing</a>! <a href=”https://t.co/ugEmtElj3s”>pic.twitter.com/ugEmtElj3s</a></p>— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) <a href=”https://twitter.com/AtTheRaces/status/1497594061015953408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>February 26, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Rebecca Curtis, David Evans, Tim Vaughan and Christian Williams are just some of the leading trainers who are based in Wales. The latter of those is a trainer who is on the up in the sport. Last season, he dominated many of the staying chases in the sport, with wins coming in the Eider Chase and Scottish Grand National at Ayr.

If you are lucky enough to own a horse that progresses to the highest level, maybe one day you could win the Welsh Grand National and have your name embedded onto the role of honour in the great Welsh sporting event.