Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will be celebrating a tax-free five-figure sum from the Cheltenham Festival, with possibly even more to come. The Scotsman is part of a syndicate that owns several racehorses, with two successes so far in the races.

According to figures from Sky Sports, L'Eau du Sud's third-place finish in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday earned prize money of £42,440.

That was added to on Thursday with Regent's Stroll claiming another third-placed finish in the Jack Richards Novices' Chase, which earned Ferguson and his fellow owners another £14,788.

A 15th-place finish in the Kim Muir for Il Ridoto didn't earn any money, with only the top eight finishers taking prize money from the race. However, there is another chance to add to the prize pot on Friday.

Ferguson will see Maestro Conti run in Friday's Triumph Hurdle (1.20pm). The winner of the race will be rewarded with a £84,405 prize pot, with second taking £31,800, third £15,915 and fourth £7,950.

If Maestro Conti does come out on top, then that prize money, added to the amount already banked means that Ferguson's horses will have earned £141,633. But even without a result in Friday's race, his horses have already earned a total of £57,228.

That money will also be exempt from Tax due to a loophole. HMRC classifies owning a racehorse as a hobby activity instead of a commercial trade, meaning it's therefore not considered taxable.

Ferguson will not, however, be taking all of the money himself; OLBG report that British Horseracing Authority rules state that the trainer, jockey, stable staff and industry charities have to be paid. It's calculated that the ownership syndicate would take home roughly 78% of the gross payout.

In the case of Ferguson's ownership syndicate, that will equate to around £44,638 of the current earnings - or around £110,474 should Maestro Conti be successful.

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