You don't need to be rich to own a Kentucky Derby horse — fractional shares start small and pay real money

The 2026 Kentucky Derby is this Saturday, May 2. Some radical presumption betting connected horses to beryllium a lower-class signifier of gambling, but races similar the Kentucky Derby are successful a league of their own, financially speaking. The contention draws wealthier investors and dishes retired $5 cardinal successful prizes (1).

However, you nary longer request to beryllium ultra-wealthy to triumph a decent magnitude of wealth from the Kentucky Derby.

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Just arsenic you tin bargain fractional shares of stocks done investing platforms, you tin present bargain fractional shares of horses.

This alternate concern strategy isn't for everyone. But it has imaginable for a large instrumentality connected investment.

How fractional ownership works successful equine racing

Fractional ownership, oregon a "claiming partnership," involves buying a tiny involvement successful a unchangeable of horses. For example, you could wage $10,000 to ain a 5% involvement successful a unchangeable of 5 horses. Rather than putting each of your wealth connected 1 horse, you dispersed your wealth crossed 5 "assets." (2)

"This is simply a tangible plus wherever owners are encouraged to sojourn their horses astatine the barn," capitalist and columnist Rob Isbitts wrote for barchart. "It's a level of entree to the front-row enactment that a modular brokerage connection simply cannot provide." (3)

Several platforms springiness you entree to fractional ownership of horses, including Morning Line (4), MyRacehorse (5) and Zilla Racing Stables (6).

MyRacehorse breaks down however fractional investing successful a Kentucky Derby equine would work. The level uses the illustration of you betting connected a equine entered successful a Maiden Special Weight contention successful the Kentucky Derby (7).

In this example, MyRacehorse says the mean "purse money," oregon full prize magnitude awarded for the apical respective winners (8), for a Maiden Special Weight is $100,000, and 60% of the purse wealth goes to the first-place horse. (Note: the purse wealth for the Maiden Special Weight connected May 2 is $120,000, but the magnitude changes, and we're utilizing the fig provided by MyRacehorse (9).)

In the script that your equine wins, you would pouch 70% of the money, with 10% going to the jockey, 10% to the trainer and 10% to the manager.

So, 60% of $100,000 is $60,000 successful gross earnings. Then, 70% of $60,000 is $42,000 successful nett earnings.