Racing's woes outlined by Meade The affects of the economic downturn were brought into stark reality by Noel Meade as the trainer outlined the significant drop in numbers at his Co. Meath stables on the RTE Radio 1 programme The Business this morning. Many smaller trainers have quit in recent times but the current problems have had a major impact on even the most successful of yards. Meade, the leading National Hunt trainer for nine successive years up to the 2006-07 season when he amassed a total of 102 wins, has seen his horse and staff numbers fall dramatically in the past few years. “At the height of the celtic tiger we would have had between 120 and 140 horses but that is down to 65 now. As a result our stable staff has had to be reduced from 45 to 18,” said Meade. He added: “Alot of syndicates have felt the pinch and been disbanded, while a good few of my owners were developers and builders. Most of those are gone now.” The Castletown handler is currently second in the NH trainers championship with nearly 900,000 in win and place prize-money and 47 wins. He emphasised the need to put racing's finances on a secure footing, pointing out the “trickle down effect” good prize-money has for everyone involved in the industry right down to the stable lad.
