U.S. Equestrian Industry

The equestrian industry has a major impact on the U.S. economy and jobs, notes Tropical Racing.

To consider with authority: Tropical Racing is a thoroughbred racing company that cultivates and promotes the growth of its assets with resources in all facets of the thoroughbred racing industry.

As such, the company conducts its business primarily through three functions: horse ownership syndication; horse training, breeding and racing; and pinhooking.

Pinhooking is a term that describes the practice of buying a horse at one stage of development and selling it at the next.

According to the American Horse Council Foundation’s 2017 National Economic Impact Study, the horse industry contributes approximately $50 billion in direct economic impact to the U.S. economy and has a direct employment impact of 988,394 jobs.

In addition, the horse racing industry itself contributes $38 billion in direct wages, salaries and benefits.

From these direct effects, the horse racing industry’s contribution extends to other sectors of the economy.

Tropical Racing reports that the sum of these knock-on effects results in an estimated total contribution of the horse industry to the U.S. economy of $122 billion and a total employment impact of 1.7 million jobs.

Equestrian Industry

More specifically, the U.S. racetrack market was valued at approximately $16.7 billion, according to Statista 2020.

The horse industry reaches the far corners of all 50 states.

Thus, the industry’s impact is generated from the smallest rural areas to the largest cities.

Certain activities, such as breeding, training and maintenance, traditionally take place in more rural areas, while racetracks and horse shows have generally operated in more urban areas.

There are an estimated 7.7 million horses in the United States, with an estimated 1,224,483 racehorses, according to the American Horse Council Foundation study.