Queen Elizabeth has won more than $9 million from this sport

Queen Elizabeth II is already worth about $550 million, making her the wealthiest monarch in Europe. Most of her net worth comes from property like Balmoral Castle and government money, but one of her hobbies also brings in a pretty penny.

The Queen is a proud lover of horses, but she doesn’t just settle on riding occasionally or watching horse races passively from the stands. She likes to get in on the action, putting her own horses up in competition. Between 1988 and 2017, Her Majesty’s horses ran in 2,815 races and won 451 of those, meaning those thoroughbreds win about 16 percent of the time. With those wins, she raked in more than £6.7 million ($9.4 million), and she’s now claimed a spot as the 11th most successful owner of horses racing on a flat course. Not too shabby! One of her best years was 2016, when her horses earned £557,650 ($784,050). Horses aren’t Queen Elizabeth’s only unique pets—find out why Her Majesty owns so many swans and dolphins.

Her Majesty doesn’t just leave the breeding and training up to her staff, but visits the breeding grounds once a year to keep an eye on her thoroughbreds, Harper’s Bazaar reports. She even takes time every morning to read the Racing Post, a daily newspaper that lists horse racing results and previews.

The Queen had her first riding lesson at just three years old, and she and her sister, Princess Margaret, received their own ponies when she was four—and Her Majesty’s love of everything equine hasn’t dwindled. At 91 years old, Queen Elizabeth can still be seen riding her beloved horses. That said, the money she makes off them is definitely a perk. Check out how much the rest of the British royal family is worth.

[Sources: Cheatsheet.com, CNN]

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