Hopeful signs in 2010 Racing Industry figures

Racecourse attendances and bloodstock sales in 2010 produced the first hopeful signs for the Irish racing industry since the downturn began.

The average attendance at race meetings in 2010 of 3,586 was the same as 2009, and bloodstock sales at €68m were marginally ahead on 2009.

These were welcome indicators of some levelling-off in an industry which is still feeling the full force of recession.

However many other key performance figures continued to fall:

· On-Course Betting down 10% to €164 million

· Total Prize-Money down 13% to €46 million

· Race Sponsorship down 17% to €5 million (excluding sales races)

· Average Horses in Training down 11% to 5,769

· Total Number of Owners down 9% to 4,667

· Total Number of New Owners down 13% to 776

Horse Racing Ireland CEO, Brian Kavanagh said: “2008 was the first year of contraction in the industry in fifteen years and the decline in attendances and bloodstock sales, key markers of the health of the business, accelerated in 2009. I welcome any sign of those trends tailing off. However, this is by no means a recovery, but a positive indication that racing can work its way through the challenges”.

The level of participation in racing continues to weaken, with new owners down by almost half since 2007, from 1,449 to 776, and total horses in training down from 12,188 to 11,136. This has direct effects on employment in the racing industry, which has already lost thousands of jobs. These trends pose a continuing threat to the skills base which underpins Irish racing’s success.

Betting on-course declined by a further 10% in 2010, giving an overall drop from €282m in 2007 to €164m in 2010. The on-course betting market is being hit by the fall in disposable income and the trend towards online and off-shore betting.

Kavanagh continued: “Reduced prize-money due to reduced funding has a negative knock-on effect throughout the industry. 2010 brought a realisation by all parties that online and telephone betting must be levied on an equal basis with the high street shops to ensure a meaningful return to racing. The commitment to introduce that levy has been made by Government and HRI urges progress towards its implementation, to give racing the means to drive real recovery and secure jobs throughout the rural economy”.

Number of Fixtures (inc NI) - Down 3.2% from 345 to 334

Number of Cancelled Fixtures - Down 13.2% from 38 to 33

Number of Races - Down 2.6% from 2,444 to 2,381

Number of Entries - Down 23.5% from 94,673 to 72,459

Eliminations - Down 48.0% from 21,928 to 11,356

Total Number of Runners - Down 8.0% from 33,240 to 30,590

Number of Individual Runners - Down 6.0% from 8,543 to 8,027

Number of Individual Winners - Down 3.1% from 1,782 to 1,726

Number of Individual Placed Horses - Down 3.7% from 4,103 to 3,951

Total Prize Money - Down 13.0% from €52.9m to €46.0m

National Hunt Prize Money - Down 5.7% from €24.6m to €23.2m

Flat Prize Money - Down 19.4% from €28.3m to €22.8m*

Total Race Sponsorship - Down 33.3% from €7.5m to €5.0m*

Total Race Sponsorship (excluding sales races) - Down 16.7% from €6.0m to €5.0m*

Total Attendances (inc NI) - Down 3.2% from 1,237,171 to 1,197,654

Average Attendance - No change, 3,586 in 2009 & 2010

Total Betting - Down 10.0% from €181.8m to €163.6m

Tote Betting - Down 4.0% from €47.8m to €45.9m

On-Course Bookmakers - Down 11.9% from €121.9m to €107.4m

On-Course SP Shops - Down 14.9% from €12.1m to €10.3m

Total Number of Owners - Down 8.6% from 5,107 to 4,667

Number of New Owners - Down 13.1% from 894 to 776

Total Number of Horses in Training - Down 4.3% from 11,638 to 11,136

Average Number of Horses in Training - Down 11.0% from 6,483 to 5,769

Bloodstock Sales at Public Auction - Up 0.7% from €67.5m to €68.0m

Point to Point Fixtures - Up 1.9% from 108 to 110

Point to Point Races - Down 11.2% from 923 to 820

*€3.96m of the €5.5m drop in the total value of flat races in 2010 was due to the discontinuation of the two Goffs Sales races (worth collectively €3.2m) and a significant reduction in the values of the five Classics and Irish Champion Stakes, where the combined prize money fell by €760k. The cessation of the two Goffs Sales races also accounts for a significant element of the reduction in the overall race sponsorship of €2.5m.