NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - How do you make a small fortune owning thoroughbreds? Start with a large fortune.
That may be the oldest joke in horse racing, but it's true. In fact, it's hard to think of a worse investment than buying a race horse.
Smarty Jones might have been that rare exception, had he become the first horse to win the Triple Crown since 1978. With a win, Smarty would have taken home some $2.1 million from the races, plus an extra $5 million bonus for winning all three together.
But as Smarty's failure at Belmont Saturday showed, if that kind of money has you daydreaming about buying a horse of your own, maybe you should pull back on the reins a bit. It costs a lot just to get in the race.
For starters, buying a horse that may one day be a starter ranges from $7,500 on the low end to well over a million dollars. Robert Flynn, the executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, pegs the mid-range at $25,000 to $50,000.
And buying a horse is only the first of many expenditures. Like you, horses wear shoes, which cost between $50 to $60 a pair and need to be changed every other week.
That's a minor expense compared to $50 to $100 a week for routine vet check-ups and $70 to $100 a day for training fees.
The total bill should come in between $800 and $2,000 a month, according to Jon Constance, a member of the 10-man partnership that owns Funny Cide, last year's almost-Crown winner. Flynn, however, says monthly maintenance costs run closer to $3,000 in the New York metropolitan area.
Run, baby run
The odds of making it to Belmont -- or to the Kentucky Derby or Preakness -- are just about as long as odds can be.
There are 21,367 registered three year-old starters, according to the Thoroughbred Times. The Belmont has a maximum field of 14 horses.
Entering the races is also a costly endeavor. Both the entry and starting fees for the Belmont and Preakness are $10,000, or a total of $20,000 a race. You'll need another $30,000 to cover the entry and starting fees for the Derby.
Even if your horse wins the top prize at the Belmont, you'll have to share it with the other top five finishers.
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 If Smarty Jones wins at the Belmont Stakes he will be a triple crown winner. CNN's Josie Burke reports on the upcoming race.
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Last year's winner, Empire Maker, took home $600,000 while his nearest challenger, Ten Most Wanted, earned $200,000. An $110,000 prize went to third-place finisher Funny Cide, Dynever won $60,000 after coming in fourth, and fifth-place Supervisor garnered $30,000.
Skim off 10 percent commission fees for both the jockey and the trainer and the rest of the winnings are yours. But if you're not the sole owner, you'll have to split it with your partners.
Constance says he received a check for $40,000 from the Kentucky Derby -- where the top horse earned $800,200 last year-- after all the fees were paid, costs were deducted and earnings were divided between each of the investors.
Smarty Jones' stocks -- click here
A strong finish in a high-stakes race can determine how much a colt garners in stud fees, something that wouldn't apply to geldings like Funny Cide.
One horse can mate with 80 to 90 mares a year. With fees ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for each live foal born, most owners are happy to let their stallions get busy.
Even so, only a handful of horses ever make enough to offset their upkeep. But between race earnings and stud fees, some owners are able to recoup just enough to prevent Running with the Wind from becoming Running Away with All My Money.
Owning a racehorse, Flynn says, lets "you go from being a fan and a spectator to being a player." In the end, that may be where the value of racing lies.
"When you go to a barn in the morning and bring your family with you, and your kids see it, it's like a mini-vacation," he said. "For those two minutes, all your problems seem to go away."
The 136th Belmont Stakes takes place on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
--The original version of this story ran April 29, 2004.
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