Need new friends? Just buy a rising star

Women are increasingly joining the ranks of racehorse owners across the country trying their luck at the sport.

Trainer Danny O’Brien with syndicate owners Nina O’Brien and Rianna Ponting with Need New Friends. Picture: Tim Carrafa.

From the butcher to the baker, everyone who talks to Rianna Ponting knows she owns a racehorse.

Growing up, Ms Ponting was never interested in horses but she says the decision to buy the filly Need New Friends with a group of 10 mothers from her children’s school has changed her life.

The 18 months since has been a steep learning curve for the first-time owner, especially with the support of husband Ricky “Punter” Ponting — the former Australian cricket captain — and close friend Nina O’Brien, married to horse trainer Danny O’Brien.

“Ricky and I go to the races every year but it wasn’t until this year that I fully appreciated what goes into it all. It’s been incredible to learn about the industry,” Ms Ponting said.

The school mums are not the only ones to see the appeal of racing, with women increasingly joining the ranks of racehorse owners across the country trying their luck at the sport.

And many of the women owners and industry veterans are attributing the explosion in female ownership to the financial incentives on offer at the Magic Millions January race day on the Gold Coast. 

Eight years ago, the Magic Millions launched its Racing Women’s initiative to encourage more women to get involved behind the scenes. The simple premise, a $500,000 prize pool for wholly female-owned or leased horses in the two-year-old division, was an immediate success, attracting interest locally and internationally and growing each year — 1199 horses have been registered under the initiative.

Building off this success, Magic Millions co-owner Katie Page has expanded the prize this year to the three-year-old division, with an extra $250,000 added to the prize pool. Ms Page, who has been active in the racing industry for 35 years, said it was important to break down the perception that racing was a “boys’ club”.

“There was this perception that racing was so male that women weren’t welcome, but it was purely a perception. I had to figure out how to break down that barrier,” Ms Page said.

“It’s just been phenomenal. You go to the races now and you just see a lot more women in the mounting yard watching their horses, taking their horses, giving the jockey advice with the trainer. It’s just sensational.”

Ms Ponting said the experience had been an incredible opportunity to get more involved in a sport she and her husband can now share and spend time with friends. “We’ve had lunches to name the horse. We went down to Kyneton for its first race, and she won. We’ve watched it from the pub when she raced in Bendigo.

“It has changed my life, it has just been so much fun.”

This year, more than 200 two-year-old horses registered for the Magic Millions 2020 Racing Women’s Bonus. More than half are first-time owners.

Three-year-old Need New Friends is one of the first horses in the running for the new $250,000 Racing Women’s Bonus, on offer to the first four all-female-owned horses in finishing order on top of the $2m in prizemoney.

O’Brien, who was behind Vow And Declare’s Melbourne Cup-winning run last month, is training Need New Friends, and after it missed out on a win by a fraction at Moonee Valley in December, it will need success at Flemington next weekend to qualify for the Rising Stars race.

Eligibility for this year’s race has closed.

The Magic Millions races will take place on January 11.