652. Inside the Horse-Industrial Complex

Freakonomics Radio

How does Kentucky keep itself atop the thoroughbred industry? Is a champion stallion really worth $200,000 per date? And how many hands can one jockey have? (Part two of a series, “The Horse Is Us.”)

• SOURCES:
  • Emily Plant, thoroughbred researcher and statistician.
  • Jill Stowe, professor of economics at the University of Kentucky.
  • Mark Taylor, president of Taylor Made Farm.
  • Oscar Gonzales, vice chair of the California Horse Racing Board.
  • Richard Migliore, head racing analyst for Fox Sports and New York Racing Association, retired jockey.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Horse racing industry braces for crackdown on illegal immigration," by Ximena Bustillo (NPR, 2025).
  • "Conceptualizing the Kentucky Horse Industry as an Economic Cluster," by Lori Garkovich (Bluegrass Equine Digest, 2009).

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