The Survival Stakes

There is a lot of doom and gloom about the outlook for Ireland’s 26 racetracks on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic. Closures have been forecast as racing faces into an uncertain future behind closed doors with little certainty about the public being allowed return anytime soon. Amidst talk of crisis, though, will a period of behind closed doors racing really be such a bleak financial proposition for the majority of tracks?

Boiled down the question revolves around how many of the 26 rely on attendances, and the hospitality and corporate business bound up in that, for their bottom-line viability.

It is obviously important to Punchestown for its five-day festival. Crowds make up a significant part of Leopardstown’s income on a number of occasions through the year. The same applies to Galway and Listowel for their major festivals, maybe, to an extent, Killarney too. Then you have ‘outlier’ venues such as Ballinrobe and Kilbeggan. Fairyhouse only reaches a double-figure attendance once a year for the National. The Curragh seems to be in a category of its own in most respects.

But the most important bottom-line element for every track in Ireland is media rights income. It's not hard to see why when, prior to lockdown, even a run of the mill fixture was worth about €60,000 to a track under the deal with SIS that sees pictures pumped into the near 9,000 betting offices in Britain and Ireland. That figure can rise significantly depending on the quality of race.

It doesn't apply now with shops closed. What does however is increasingly lucrative revenue from streaming rights to online services. One track official believes they can be worth up to another €30,000 for even an ordinary meeting. So, if it costs about €30,000 to stage any fixture, even the roughest calculation suggests a track previously came out well ahead without much consideration for people through the gate. In fact, it might even have been a saving not having to account for the public.

It means the most crucial decision for most Irish tracks is not when crowds return but when the near-8,000 licensed betting offices in Britain re-open. The earliest that can happen is July 4 when restrictions on ‘retail’ outlets are predicted to be relaxed by the UK government. News that Ireland’s betting shops are expected to open on June 29 will only encourage hopes in that regard.

The deal with SIS over betting shop pictures stands, albeit an unknown factor being how big an impact on turnover there will be from social-distancing restrictions when shops do reopen.

But that only serves to underline further the increasing importance of streaming to an online audience starved of other opportunities to bet on live sports. It should make for interesting discussions between SIS and the tracks. However it means that come July, the media rights train could reach some kind of steam quite quickly again. And that would make a behind closed doors scenario sustainable for a lot of tracks.

All of them have day to day expenses such as wages and maintenance that still must be covered even when racing cannot take place. In that regard they are no different to many other industries. A lot of sectors are dipping into reserves to cover costs in the hope of returning to normality sooner rather than later. Many will argue their case for state aid and possibly avail of the low interest rates available.

It's a far from ideal scenario and laced with uncertainty. But in comparison with other sectors it makes the model that racecourses can present appear enviable. The majority of the 87 fixtures lost between March 24 and June are set to be rescheduled. Those that aren't will see Horse Racing Ireland supply a €25,000 cancellation fee. That's no mean consolation if it costs thirty grand to stage a meeting.

HRI has insisted throughout that tracks had been prudent in their capital borrowings prior to the coronavirus public health emergency. That presumably includes the four tracks it is responsible for itself. Although racing will be confined to nine tracks next month, racing's June 8 return gives it a commercial head-start that will be the envy of many other entertainment and leisure industries.

Pointing out such a context isn't to underestimate the challenges the country's racecourses face. Theoretical arguments about how Ireland is overpopulated with tracks per head of population are a luxury when your livelihood is tied up in them. Certainly the commercial future overall is unpredictable. But on balance plenty might feel the racecourse game has more going for it in the survival stakes than a lot of others.

The June 8 return date means the eyes of the sporting world and more will be on Naas. Since the outlook doesn't look good for most other major sports resuming any type of competition anytime soon it presents both opportunity and responsibility for Irish racing. In reputation terms it is important that this is seen to be done right. That means the industry's 'conquer and divide' instincts really should get parked for a bit.

It appears that owners aren't on the essential list of those who can attend a meeting under the stringent protocols. That is upsetting quite a few people. Since owners are indeed the lifeblood of the sport this exclusion has generated a fresh sense of indignation in some ownership circles. They feel they should be the exception to the rules. The problem is of course that there are plenty others who feel themselves exceptional too - it's hard to believe but even journalistic access is being restricted!

By definition the context to behind closed doors racing is of the mend and make do variety. The only thing truly exceptional in all of this are the circumstances. Not only will it have to make do for the foreseeable future all elements of the racing game should feel fortunate it can be done at all.

Encouragingly though it appears one thing might be returning to normal.

Apparently Department of Agriculture inspectors are ready to get back on the beat inspecting racing yards. That is after a prolonged period when they didn't want to know anything about such visits given the circumstances of the wrangle between trainers and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board's head of security, Chris Gordon.

We only learned about that when Gordon mentioned it during his successful High Court defamation case against the trainer's body. Prior to that there was barely an official peep about such a withdrawal of cooperation. It brings to mind stories of tiny green shoots and all that.