Irish racing buoyed by increase in attendances, new owners and horses-in-training

Irish racing was buoyed on just about every level on Monday when it was revealed attendances, new owners, horses-in-training, bloodstock sales and on-course betting all increased last year.

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) released the 2019 Irish horse racing and breeding industry statistics and there were plenty of positives to pull out.

The number of horses returned in training in Ireland – a key driver of employment – rose for the third time in four years, with a 3 per cent increase in 2019.

New owner registrations were up by 6.8% year-on-year with more than 850 new racehorse owners registered. The bulk of these new registrations (600) were sole owners and partners, as well as 216 new syndicates.

Demand for Irish horses was strong with sales and exports increasing in value and volume terms.

Meanwhile, commercial race sponsorship and contributions to prize-money by racecourses continued to rise strongly - growing by another 17.3% during the year.

More than 1.3 million people attended race meetings in 2019 and on course betting increased by 4.5% year-on-year.

Perhaps the most significant figure for 2019 was the fact that, following a series of changes in betting tax arrangements, off course betting duty receipts collected by the government in 2019 amounted to €95million.

These receipts, which have grown from €26m in 2014, comfortably exceeded the Exchequer funding provided for horse racing of €67.2m.

Brian Kavanagh, HRI Chief Executive, said: “Horse racing generates a very significant return to the rural economy in Ireland and a positive international profile for our country. None of this success could be achieved without the support provided by the Government.

“2019 was a good year for Irish racing, however the industry requires long-term certainty of funding to be able to plan strategically, not least in the context of the challenges provided by Brexit.

“The increased revenue from betting tax provides the basis for such a long-term funding mechanism and Horse Racing Ireland will engage actively with the incoming Government in the coming month to achieve this objective.”

He added: “Increasing ownership and participation is a strategic priority for Horse Racing Ireland and 2019 delivered healthy increases in the number of new and total owners and, consequently, the number of horses-in-training.

“It was very positive to see 216 new syndicates registering with Horse Racing Ireland in 2019. Our analysis shows that an average syndicate has eight members and the syndicate model is a cost-effective and fun way for people to get involved in horse ownership.

“Further analysis has shown that these 216 new syndicates have horses in training with 110 different trainers and it is encouraging that the increases we are seeing in racehorse ownership are being felt all over the country.”

A successful Christmas period brought the total number of racegoers for the year to just over 1.3 million.

“Attendances in 2019 were strong and the popularity of racing as a spectator sport was backed up by a 3.2 per cent increase year-on-year,” Kavanagh said. “For the first time in a decade in 2019 Horse Racing Ireland returned with a television advertising campaign and that has been warmly received.

“With the assistance of various Horse Racing Ireland capital development schemes, our racecourses have invested strongly in upgrading facilities. As well as the obvious contribution this makes to local economies, it has also served to make racecourses more modern and comfortable for racegoers.

“There remains much to do however, and Horse Racing Ireland will continue to work hard on ensuring the best possible customer experience. This year will see the completion of the roll-out of the Racecourse Free WiFi scheme.”

“Encouragingly, there is a continuing attraction of Irish-foaled horses to international buyers. As well as the increased sales figures, we see confirmation of this with the fact that Irish-foaled horses sold through auction were exported to 32 countries. The horses themselves are their best advertisement and this statistic is a tribute to the quality of the Irish horse and its global reputation for excellence.”

Prize-money grew by 4% to €66.06m and Kavanagh said: ”There will be a further slight increase to €68m in 2020, but we want to do more.

“Commercial sponsorship and racecourse contributions to prize-money continued in a strong upward trend. Increases in 2016, 2017 and 2018 have been followed by a significant rise last year with commercial sponsorship and racecourse contributions to prizemoney up by 17.3% from €5.2m to €6.1m.

“One area of prize-money policy which worked well in 2019 was the introduction of a new €500,000 fund between 20 Grade 2 and Grade 3 racecourses to help increase the value of their feature races. These increases enhanced the quality of feature racedays at many of our smaller, vibrant racecourses around the country.”

Soon after Kavanagh had spoken, Fairyhouse announced that BoyleSports, Ireland’s largest independent bookmaker who has sponsored the iconic race since 2014, will continue to put its name to the richest contest in Irish jumps racing for another four years.

The 2020 renewal of the €500,000 BoyleSports Irish Grand National which also marks the 150th anniversary of the race, is the centrepiece of the three-day Easter Festival at the County Meath track.

This year, the Easter Festival runs from Saturday April 11 to Monday April 13 and the BoyleSports Irish Grand National will go to post at 5pm on Easter Monday.

Peter Roe, General Manager of Fairyhouse Racecourse said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with BoyleSports, especially for the 150th anniversary of the race. The BoyleSports Irish Grand National is a truly iconic Irish sporting event with such a long and illustrious history so we are thrilled to work with an indigenous and innovative Irish brand such as BoyleSports who have been involved in the betting industry for over three decades from their base in Dundalk.

“We have exciting plans to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the BoyleSports Irish Grand National over the entire three days of our Easter Festival and we look forward to working with BoyleSports to deliver a very special racing and social experience for all our customers.”