HRI issues 2009 industry figures Horse Racing Ireland today published the key statistics for Irish Racing in 2009, and they make grim reading. Last year saw significant contraction across the board in the Irish horse racing industry, with the headline figures being: - Attendances down 11% -Prize Money down 12% - On-Course Betting down 21% - New owners down 28% - Bloodstock sales down 32% There was a 12% reduction in total prize money, which remains the vital catalyst for economic activity in the industry by driving investment in bloodstock and providing the commercial incentive to put horses into training. A further major cut, down to €47.7m, has already been announced for 2010, meaning a return to 2002 prize money levels. Attendances at the 26 tracks fell by 11% from 1.392m last year to 1.237m in 2009, while on-course betting turnover declined significantly by 21%, with bookmakers (down 27%) faring worse than the Tote (down 13%). These figures reflect the extremely challenging economic environment faced by racecourses and on-course bookmakers. Participation in racing also dropped for the first time in many years, with a 4% fall in the total number of runners, a 6% drop in the number of individual horses which ran, a 10% decline in the overall number of owners and, most dramatically, a 28% reduction in the number of new owners. The most severe decline during 2009 was once again in bloodstock sales at public auction, which fell by 32% to €67.5 million. This represents a 62% decline compared to the 2007 figure of €176.5m, reflecting an Irish breeding industry now under major threat. Brian Kavanagh, Chief Executive of HRI, said: “On the positive side, 2009 was another year of remarkable achievement for Irish horses, trainers, jockeys and breeders under both codes. For the second successive year, Ireland produced the flat World Champion Racehorse in Sea the Stars." "Three of the top four flat horses in the world in 2009 were trained in Ireland and the top three were all Irish bred. This level of consistent success showcases our racing and breeding industry at the highest international level. In no other sport can Ireland claim such a level of elite achievement." "Horse racing and breeding is one of the few industries in which Ireland is rightly recognised as a world leader, due to its indigenous skills base and the tradition of enlightened Government policy.” He continued: “The recently published Dukes Report highlighted how the racing industry has become a significant employer with 15,500 jobs (excluding the betting industry) and an increasingly vital part of the struggling rural economy. However, this position is now under severe threat." "Staff cutbacks and redundancies have become a stark reality for many businesses within the industry, with an estimated 1,500 job losses to date and more inevitably to result from the further cuts already announced for 2010”. Kavanagh concluded: “With so many demands on Government finances, it is essential for the racing industry to become self-financing, as it is in most other countries. This can be done with a meaningful levy on betting, including all off-shore internet and telephone betting which has wrongly escaped the taxation net up to this point. In 2002, the Irish betting industry was turning over €1 billion and generating tax for the Exchequer of €68 million. Seven years later, whilst betting has increased to an estimated €5.5 billion, the tax take has declined to €30 million”.
