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The Queen Has Earned Millions From Her Champion Horses

What a royal way to earn a living.

If we were betting folk, we'd put all our money on the Queen's horses every single race.

According to Hello magazine, Queen Elizabeth has earned a whopping £6,704,941 (about $11,200,000) from her champion horses over the past 30 years.

Queen Elizabeth II reviews the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery during their 70th anniversary parade in Hyde Park on October 19, 2017 in London, England.
Max Mumby/Indigo via Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II reviews the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery during their 70th anniversary parade in Hyde Park on October 19, 2017 in London, England.

Myracing.com compiled data on Her Majesty's horses' wins and losses, and reported that she recorded 451 race wins with a win percentage of 15.9 per cent in that time period.

Last year alone, the Queen banked £557,650 (about $930,000) from her prized horses — the most earnings she's ever taken home in a year. So far she has earned £413,641 (about $690,000) this year, so there's still time to beat last year's record.

Queen Elizabeth pats her horse Dartmouth after winning the 3.40 Hardwicke Stakes race.
Reuters Staff / Reuters
Queen Elizabeth pats her horse Dartmouth after winning the 3.40 Hardwicke Stakes race.

However, the Queen doesn't get to put all those earnings into the bank (sorry, royal offspring — no horse earnings for you!). According to Hello, the majority of the winnings go to the horses' trainers, which makes sense, as it's their hard work that turns those horses into champions.

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Out of all the horses she's ever owned, the Queen's most successful horse is Merlin, who has won three out of eight runs and has earned £21,768 (about $36,300), while her most successful horse based on winning percentage is Elector, who so far has a 100 per cent race win record.

In 2013, her horse Estimate took the Gold Cup at the Royal Ascot, the first time in the then 207-year history of the race it had been won by a reigning monarch.

Queen Elizabeth smiles as she stands with her horse Estimate after it won the Gold Cup during Ladies' Day at the Royal Ascot horse racing festival at Ascot, southern England, June 20, 2013.
Toby Melville / Reuters
Queen Elizabeth smiles as she stands with her horse Estimate after it won the Gold Cup during Ladies' Day at the Royal Ascot horse racing festival at Ascot, southern England, June 20, 2013.

Having learned to ride at the age of three, and given her first pony by her grandfather King George V on her fourth birthday, the Queen, at 91, still enjoys riding her horses and keeping up to date with equestrian news.

Just this past June, Her Majesty was spotted on horseback at Windsor Castle on the eve of the Royal Ascot, and in July she was photographed taking a leisurely ride with Prince Edward and his daughter Lady Louise Windsor.

April 1940: Princess Elizabeth out riding at the Royal Lodge, Windsor.
Getty Images
April 1940: Princess Elizabeth out riding at the Royal Lodge, Windsor.

According to Horse & Hound, the Queen has owned and bred horses that have been champions in their own right in eventing, showing, carriage driving, and polo.

"She loves the horses and loves to see them win," noted Katie Jerram, a leading show horse producer and rider in the U.K.

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