He knows the return on his investment won't be enormous, but it was never about making money.

When the Nestles coach decided to sign up for a share in the Daniel Bowman-trained filly Fortunate Kiss, it was about having something to follow away from his beloved cricket.

Strauch is one of many dipping their toes into the world of horse ownership during the COVID-19 pandemic and has relished the chance to follow a galloper while Victoria battles through lockdowns.

Horse and greyhound racing has been allowed to continue without crowds during Victoria's lockdowns, in part due to animal welfare concerns if the industries were to shut down. Racing also tips an expected $4.3 billion into the state's economy and creates 33,800 full-time equivalent jobs.

"I think there's like three of us from work who are just in a big syndicate, there's about 20 of us," Strauch says.

"A few guys bought a bit more than others. I don't think we'll ever get anything back. It's just for the enjoyment.

"I've always liked (racing). I don't really punt that much but it's just good fun watching it and now we've got a vested interest. Especially in the past couple of COVID years, racing has still been going."

Strauch says the most he's paid in monthly fees was $23. He describes his syndicate is "no different to a punters' club" and said the syndicate manager frequently updated its members with a figure in a kitty, which would likely result in a group celebration if the three-year-old could add to her stakemoney.

Strauch says an app on his phone provides syndicate members with updates on the horse's progress and status. He praised Bowman for his ability to communicate with owners.

"It might be a picture, it might be her out in the paddock or it might be something saying 'she's got a sore leg, we'll monitor it'. There's no shortage of information," he said.

"Dan wouldn't know me - I'd say g'day if I saw him in the street - but his phone number is on the app and on his website (so he's accessible).

"The beauty of (horse ownership) is that anyone can do it. I think there's a stigma about it which suggests a share in a horse, if it's going to be any good, will cost you $5000 and $1000 a month. It can, but you don't have to spend that much.

"There might be a few rich blokes outside our syndicate but we're all just tradies and blokes who like a beer. Just regular people."

Jake Burgess' involvement in racing stretches a little further. The Warrnambool man turned Melburnian is part of two family syndicates - one with Warrnambool-based trainer Aaron Purcell and another tied up with another south-west trainer in Adam Chambers - and also works in sponsorship at the Melbourne Racing Club.

Burgess said the south-west was blessed with several quality small trainers who offered options for all budgets.

"Working in Melbourne, people are saying 'where are you from?' and when you say Warrnambool, people say 'oh wow, OK, horse racing central'," he said.

"There's trainers left, right and centre, the beach is there for them to use and there's just a really good feel around the community with horse racing. For people wanting to reach out and become first time owners as I think a lot have in COVID, we've got a wealth of options.

"I would personally say it's so much better to support a local trainer, if you're from the south-west if you have the opportunity to do so, because you're more likely to see the horse and that kind of thing. We're really lucky down there to have so many great options."

Burgess said his syndicate linked to Purcell was chiefly family friends while his other group, which has horses with Chambers, included his father Warren and uncles Jeremy and Matthew.

He said he felt interest in ownership swelling throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and metrics he'd analysed through his role at Melbourne Racing Club backed that theory.

"For example, when Adam (Chambers) and I went over to the Magic Millions in Adelaide back in March, you see the clearance rates on horses - which is essentially how many are being purchased - sale prices, all of that is holding really firm and you're seeing growth," Burgess said.

"Sale prices are sometimes higher than (expected). It shows there's probably a fair bit of appetite out there for people wanting to purchase horses and get involved."

Warrnambool-based trainer Symon Wilde said while yearling prices were up, his stable had been able to sell most shares to interested buyers.

"We ended up buying more horses than we've ever bought this year and we've been able to sell most of them, so surprisingly, it's been quite good," Wilde told The Standard.

"There's probably more people dipping their toe in the water for ownership. We've been able to move most of our horses relatively easily. There's still a fair bit of demand for horses in all price brackets. The real top-notch, tried horses, yearlings, cheaper yearlings."

Wilde said his stable still had about five horses open for owners to invest in.

He predicted lockdowns had "given people an interest".

"There hasn't been a lot of travel or other sports being able to go and I guess that's where people might have said 'I might grab a share in a horse'."

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