Triumph For Individual Investors: Over 2,500 Owners Celebrate As Their Horse Wins Preakness Stakes

Racehorse Seize the Grey took the lead at the 2024 Preakness Stakes on Saturday and never looked back, capturing the Triple Crown event at 9 to 1 odds. A $2 bet on the gray colt to win paid $21.60. The win was unique in another way: 2,570 individual investors bought micro shares of the horse through the website myRacehorse. 2023 Kentucky Derby champ Mage had a similar ownership structure.

How It Works: According to the company's website, myRacehorse offers shares in racehorses to those 18 and older in qualifying jurisdictions. Investors' exposure is limited to their initial investment, without any additional fees.

Investors can visit the horses in the barn, participate in the winner's circle if their horse wins an event, and are entitled to a portion of the profits from the horse after it is retired.

The Individual Investor: Horse ownership has traditionally been reserved for the ultra-wealthy. Companies offering micro shares of horses allow individual investors to consider themselves owners of a racing thoroughbred. 

Shares of Seize the Grey originally sold for $127 a pop and will yield $157 a share from the win, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. Owners will also be entitled to future stud fees, which are likely to be substantial.

Most investments in horses are very unlikely to make a profit; the company itself admits this. However, fraction shares still provide a unique opportunity for individual investors to enjoy the various perks of horse ownership. 

This is not so different from the participation of retail investors in the financial markets. Interest among retail investors in equities such as GameStop Corp GME and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC demonstrates the increasing interest of ordinary, non-institutional individuals to participate in the world of investing.

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Image generated using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.