THE most expensive racehorses in history give most footballers a run for their money.
Top, top earners make their big money at stud, like Galileo, the legendary sire thought to be worth £180million.
But top stallions-to-be swap hands long before that.
And despite tens of millions being exchanged, some horses fail to live up to the hype.
Here, SunSport looks at the most expensive racehorses ever.
Fusaichi Pegasus (2000) – £53.7m
No one can come close to the former Kentucky Derby winner.
FuPeg – the nickname given to him by fans – was a sensation on the track in 2000 and huge things were expected of him when he went to stud.
Coolmore, run by billionaire ex-Man Utd shareholder John Magnier, bought the horse – who is honoured with his own gold statue in Japan.
But he was a dud at stud and eventually his charge for covering a mare was dropped to just £3,500.
He was retired for good at the end of last year.
So You Think (2010) – £37.5m
Coolmore strike the rich list again, this time with their purchase of the five-time Group 1 winner.
A descendant of the legendary Sadler’s Wells, the New Zealand-bred thorougbred shot to stardom with victories in the 2009 and 2010 Cox Plates, two of the biggest races in Australia.
He also won the Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot in June 2012 – his final race – before going to stud.
Shareef Dancer (1983) – £28.6m
Shareef Dancer only raced five times in his career, earning £144,331 with wins in the Group 1 Irish Derby Stakes and Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.
In 1983, the horse, owned by the late Sheikh Maktoum, was sold for £28.6m, then a record price for a stallion prospect.
But he was described as being ‘mediocre overall’ in his stud career.
The Green Monkey (2006) – £11.5m
There is a strong argument to be made for The Green Monkey being the biggest failure of the lot.
Bought for £11.5m, he never won a race.
The descendant of Northern Dancer ran just three times and never came better than third after being bought in January 2006.
After retiring he went to stud in Florida where he serviced mares for a lowly £3,500 a go.
He died aged 14 in 2008 due to a hoof condition.
Seattle Dancer (1985) – £9.4m
Coolmore make the list for a fourth time thanks to the purchase of this yearling in 1985 – the most expensive ever at the time.
However, he never won a Group 1 race, went to stud in 1988 and tragically died of a heart attack aged 23 in June 2007.
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