Horse racing fan Austin puts money where his mouth is

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It can be tough for a footballer to have different interests away from the game that they play each week.

After all, for most fans, even if they’re trying to be supportive, the only concern is about what happens to their team each week. Did they win? Did you play well? That’s all that matters and any outside influence can be seen as a distraction, particularly if results start to go badly on the pitch and it puts the individual in a position where they may attract excessive and unfair criticism.

When you combine those factors with the fact that football is a short career, you can totally understand why some are reluctant to focus on anything that isn’t their job until they finally hang up their boots.

However, one man who has publicly shared his passion away from football is Charlie Austin.

The former QPR striker, who is now in the Premier League with West Brom, was a favourite at Loftus Road for his goal-scoring exploits over a two-and-a-half-year period that included helping the R’s to the top-flight, following that dramatic play-off final win over Derby County.

Away from the pitch though, one of Austin’s main interests comes in the form of another sport – horse racing. The 31-year-old can regularly be found on social media speaking about meetings that take place up and down the country and he spent time at the Cheltenham Festival earlier this year, where he saw Al Boum Photo win the Gold Cup, which he’s already 6/1 ante-post favourite for in the horse racing odds for the 2021 running at the festival.

Yet, the ex-Swindon Town man has shown his love for the sport in a different way – by putting his money where his mouth is. Austin is part of a syndicate that he co-founded called Excel Racing Limited that have seen them invest in owning different horses.

And, that has brought them success in recent years, with Another Batt securing several high-profile wins for the team in recent years both in domestic races, as well as in Turkey and Dubai. As a result, they have been in a position to continue to invest in the horses and they have spent £120,000 to land a son of Excelebration in the past.

Therefore, it’s clearly something that Austin plans to do for the years to come and he and the rest of the team will hope to continue to grow as they strengthen their portfolio in trying to make an impact on the biggest stages around.

Ultimately, Austin still has a lot of football left in his legs and his focus will be on playing his part in trying to keep the Baggies in the Premier League. But, when the day comes that he has to stop playing, you can be sure that the striker will be seen at more meetings and festivals up and down the country as he tries to make his mark in the horse racing world with his new role.