American Pharoah’s Value Would Skyrocket With Triple Crown Win

Posted Under: News by Jim Murphy on 5th June 2015

Every horse racing enthusiast know that top equine contenders are worth a lot of money. That being said, should American Pharoah win the Belmont Stakes–completely the Triple Crown in the process–his value would skyrocket to an astronomical level.

American Pharoah’s real value won’t come at the racetrack though. The real ‘return on investment’ for his owners will come at the breeding shed. American Pharoah has already earned a hefty amount of money and his current resume will make him a highly sought after stallion. He’s got six wins in seven career starts–all six wins coming in stakes races. Five of his six wins are Grade One victories and he’s earned $3,368,000 by virtue of his four victories this year.

His potential earnings as a stud horse make this three million look insignificant. A Triple Crown victory will make him even more lucrative but there’s an upside limit to what his on-track accomplishments can do to his stud fee. The real influencing factor, however, is his performance as a stallion. If his offspring begin to produce at the racetrack then he’ll bring in a ton of money.

At this point, if American Pharoah’s progeny win races *then* a Triple Crown resume would boost his value. It’s hard to speculate on a stud fee at this point but experts suggest that it could be $100,000 to $150,000. Thoroughbred racing consultant Reiley McDonald explains the dynamic: “At the end of the day, the real money in these horses is when they become proven stallions, [which] have offspring that are running in the top races. People then pay multiples of the starting fee when they started off the race track.”

All of this could boost American Pharoah’s value to $100 million or higher. McDonald says that the real boost in his value came in the Kentucky Derby. A Triple Crown victory or a Breeders’ Cup win could marginally increase his value but racing as a four year old has ‘negative EV’: “his value will also increase if he wins the Breeders Cup. So if he were to win all four of these going forward, he’s done his duty and now his value is worth significantly more as a stallion. If they stand him as a Triple Crown winner for $100,000 to $150,000 and breed 150 mares to him, and from that group gets 85 percent live foals. If you do the math, that’s significantly more than what he can make as a race horse during the season.”