Steppenwolfer could earn big money for owner

Low paid $375,000 for the 3-year-old racehorse from Kentucky last year at a public auction.

The colt has earned $561,520 in its racing career, highlighted by a $200,000 payday for a third-place finish at the May 6 Kentucky Derby.

That’s just the beginning.

After likely one more year on the tracks, Low said, Steppenwolfer will settle into a stud career, impregnating mares for people who hope to breed the next great racing champion. Low said Steppenwolfer might command as much as $25,000 a pop as a stud given his racing accomplishments to this point.

That amount could increase if Steppenwolfer has a strong showing at the June 10 Belmont Stakes in New York. The Belmont Stakes is the third leg of the American horseracing Triple Crown. Steppenwolfer skipped the Preakness Stakes on May 20 in Baltimore to prepare for the Belmont.

Steppenwolfer’s stud career could last for 15 years. If he covers 80 to 100 mares a year, which Low said is possible, Steppenwolfer could earn close to $37.5 million for his sperm.

“Racehorses are born to race, so it’s really what he wants to do. I’m sure he’d like to be a stud, too,” Low chuckled.

Racehorses aren’t the only types of horses that produce revenue for people in the Ozarks. There’s business to be had in buying, breeding, boarding, training, riding and showing the expensive animals.

See SBJ’s June 5 issue for more on the horse business in the Ozarks.