JP McManus is one of the most famous owners in horse racing. His green and gold hoops are ever present on National Hunt racecourses across Ireland and Great Britain, but how did he acquire of all of his assets?
Born in Limerick, Ireland, McManus’ first job was at his family’s construction plant hire firm. Dubbed ‘The Sundance Kid’ he then went onto become a bookmaker at his local greyhound track.
After amassing a few amount of capital, JP later moved into the horse racing ownership and breeding sphere. In 1982 – alongside his wife Noreen, they purchased Martinstown Stud in County Limerick.
McManus’s first ever horse was called Cill Dara, and over several decades he has become National Hunt racing’s largest owner, with well over one hundred horses held in training, season upon season.
A plethora of top-class runners have sported his famous green and gold silks and the list of stars is long, but if you had to narrow them down to a top ten, this would probably be the most universally accepted line up of the best McManus-owned horses.
Greatest JP McManus Horses
1. Istabraq (14 time Grade 1 winner, including 3 Champion Hurdles)
2. Baracouda (A dual Stayers’ Hurdle winner)
3. Like A Butterfly (Won 12 of her 17 starts, including a Irish Champion Hurdle)
4. First Gold (A King George Winner)
5. Don’t Push It (An inaugural Grand National winner for McManus & AP McCoy)
6. Synchronised (JP’s only Cheltenham Gold Cup winner to date)
7. Binocular (Another Champion Hurdle hero)
8. Spot Thedifference (A cross-country legend)
9. Buveur D’Air (Triumphant in the 2017 & 2018 Champion Hurdles)
10. Minella Times (Rachael Blackmore giving McManus a second Grand National)
Crunching The Numbers
With an estimated net worth of more than €2bn, JP McManus is domiciled in Switzerland for tax purposes.
Although he has not paid income or capital gains tax in Ireland since 1995, he had paid the domicile levy for resident tax exiles who earn more than €1m and have property worth in excess of €5m.
After winning $17.4m in a backgammon match against Alec Gores, the US Internal Revenue Service took $5.2m sports betting tax from him.
Well known for his philanthropy, he recently donated €1m to every GAA county board in Ireland, while his JP McManus Charitable Foundation has donated €103m since 2000, and the JP McManus Pro-Am golf tournament has raised hundreds of millions more.
McManus and his good friend John Magnier earned a reported profit of €230m from the sale of their 29.4% stake in Manchester United to Malcolm Glazer in 2005. A full takeover of the Premier League club had been muted before the Glazer takeover.
Former United manager Alex Ferguson and McManus also fell out over the disputed ownership of the top class racehorse Rock of Gibraltar.
Recent Buys
As recent as January 2025, JP has been using his enormous buying power to assemble good teams for both Cheltenham and Aintree in the spring.
The New Lion was sold for an undisclosed sum to 16-time Champion Jumps Owner McManus by Darren Yates, and is now the strong favourite in our horse racing odds for the Turners Novices Hurdle at The Festival.
With the Dan Skelton-trained runner now joining the likes of Fact To File, Majborough, Jonbon, and more, who would bet against JP adding more Festival winners to his current 78?
