Trailblazing a new era in racing and engagement, miRunners is providing shares in the slot it has bought in this year’s Everest, offering venues and punters clubs the chance to dance with the billionaires.
MiRunners is steadily rolling out the new concept of micro-ownership to the horse racing industry. Five years in it has gone from pipe dream to having Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys recently describing micro-ownership at a global conference as “the future of the sport”.
To date miRunners has sold over 13,000 ownership units to thousands of people, and as part of building further awareness of the concept this year acquired a slot in Everest – the world’s richest race on turf – for the specified $880,000.
The slot was subsequently divided that into 1,000 miEverest ‘micro’ slots costing $880 each, being sold to individuals and pub punters clubs.
“Now we have billionaires taking on billionaires, but also real Australians,” says Steve Brown co-founder and CEO of miRunners. “It costs patrons very little to be a part of something that is history in the making.”
The Everest race will take place 17 October, and it is forecast patrons will be heavily engaged in the eight-week lead-up, driving foot traffic – particularly to those hotels with strong TAB offerings.
“We think it really works for pubs, and gives their constituents a reason to turn up and get together and have some interest,” adds Brown. “Instead of being a spectator they’re a player.”
The company reports around a dozen NSW pubs have already gotten on the game, including a posse from the Short portfolio.
Most venues are dividing their miEverest portion into even smaller shares, such as 10 at $88 each; Mark Chapman at the Royal Leichhardt has more than 20 patrons sharing one slot.
Purchasing a slot gets all stakeholders all the information along the way, including the whole inside story about the game, and horses getting bought and sold.
Importantly, stakeholders get: a pro rata share of prize money, exclusive access to special events (as possible during COVID-19 restrictions), exclusive content in the build-up to the big event, and a vote in the selection of the Everest horse.
Unlike sister race The Kosciusko, which is basically a sweepstake for punters to get a taste of ownership, slots purchased in The Everest are locked in.
Marty Short has been watching the growth of miRunners for a couple of years, but was prompted to get onboard after the excitement seen in the 750 out of 3,000 owners that turned up for Magic Millions on the Gold Coast in January, setting track records for trade and participation by an ownership base.
“It’s really quite innovative,” says Shorty. “Where else in the world is there a sporting league where you own your players?
“Myself and other hoteliers bought slots for our punters clubs. We put 10 people in per slot.
“It really gives that feeling of comradery … even if they can’t get together at the pub on a Saturday, they own a horse together and can watch and talk about it.”
MiRunners is working toward its broader goal, to champion the world’s first racing co-op – The Racing League (TRL) – scaling micro-ownership to a global industry.
Phase 1 of the TRL proposal projects 20,000 unique owners, and 40,000 for Phase 2.
“If we reach our year-five vision of 30 teams in 20 countries, that would see 150,000 unique, highly-engaged TRL owners,” notes Brown.
