What Do Horse Racing Fans Want? irishracing.com’s state of racing survey reveals key changes demand A new survey by irishracing.com has found horse racing fans want the sport to be more affordable, fair and to return to its community roots. Respondents were given an open forum to answer the question ‘If you could change one thing about horse racing, what would it be?’ The survey attracted 389 responses and with some giving more than one answer to the question, we were able to analyse 530 answers and they have been broken down into nine key categories. Affordability and fan experience came out on top with 30% of mentions with prize money and ownership structure in second with 20.2%. Fairness, integrity and regulation complete the top three with 15.3%. The Results In Detail The Cost of Going Racing The message echoes earlier findings from irishracing.com’s State Of Racing Survey which found lower ticket, food and drink and accommodation prices among the top four reasons fans stayed away from the track. “Before you even start to bet or drink, you’re hit with the gate fee,” one fan wrote. However, a bit of digging shows that ticket prices have not moved a great deal in recent years. For example, a ticket to the Punchestown Festival has remained at €30 since 2019. However, as per the Central Statistic Office’s Consumer Price Index figures, inflation was at 0.9% in 2019, rising to 7.8% in 2022 before easing to 2.1% in 2024. Tickets are the same price but punters are feeling the pinch elsewhere leading them to think twice before parting with the hard earned cash at the turnstiles. Rewarding the Grassroots Just behind concerns around costs, 107 answers were around prize money and ownership structure. A strong call emerged for fairer prize money distribution. Many believe racing has become top-heavy, dominated by mega-stables and the big owners. Fans want higher rewards for smaller races, more opportunities for apprentices, and incentives for stable staff and syndicates. One fan noted the big owners “don’t need” all the prize money and the smaller trainers need support. Another called for “more support” for ownership syndicates. The domination of big trainers is something even the fair-weather fan can note without analysing the data. Willie Mullins was the leading National Hunt trainer in 2024 with 257 wins while Gordon Elliott was more than 50 behind and Henry de Bromhead a further 168 behind. It is the same story on the Flat. Aidan O’Brien won 131 races in 2024, 20 more than Joseph O’Brien in second place while Ger Lyons down in third ended the campaign with 67 victories. Restoring Fair Play and Integrity There was some overlap with levelling the playing field amongst trainers and owners with restoring fair play and integrity. Some called for trainers or owners to be limited to a certain number of horses a season to give others a better opportunity. The more common complaint in the restoring fair play and integrity category was around tackling corruption, non-triers and inconsistent stewarding. One respondent told decision makers to “properly tackle corruption” while others said better transparency was needed to “improve trust and fairness” across the sport. “It’s not an even playing field,” said a third respondent. “We need honesty back in racing.” Welfare Concerns While welfare concerns were cited by just 5.3% of respondents to our question around what can be done to get people back racing, it was cited by nearly double the percentage of respondents (10.2%) to this question. Calls included stricter safety measures, better aftercare, and more humane decision-making during injuries. Several noted that public trust depends on visible, verifiable welfare standards. “Improve welfare services to the horses — that’s what people care about,” said one respondent. These answers were not just focused on horses or jockeys — both were seen as equally important to respondents to irishracing.com’s State Of Racing Survey. Quality over Quantity Perhaps the neatest category was to improve the quality of racing. The message was clear — quality over quantity. Rather than filling meetings with lower-quality fare, many called for cards to be limited to seven races. HRI confirmed the fixture list for 2026 will see the number of meetings remain at 395 for the third successive year. This suggests it is unlikely that Irish racing fans will get what they want and quality will not be prioritised over quantity. Other comments in this category also called for more mixed Flat and National Hunt cards Of Ireland’s 26 racecourses, 17 can stage both Flat and National Hunt racing but mixed cards are rare. Notable examples include Killarney and Listowel’s Harvest Festival. The Image Problem Getting towards the bottom of our list, and some fans see a disconnect between racing’s tradition and its public image. It is a problem almost all sports in the country face. Keep the hardcore happy while attracting new fans. Answers here were seemingly directed at media stakeholders with calls to “improve media coverage to reach new audiences” and to “promote the sport without promoting gambling.” One of HRI’s three goals as detailed in the strategic plan for 2024-2028 is to “inspire and attract future participation nationally”. Whether that has the desired effect is yet to be seen, but it is something the governing body is aware of. Bookmaker Issues The state of the betting industry has been a hot topic in Ireland and the UK with the so-called ‘racing tax’ set to be implemented in the UK. Bookmaker concerns among respondents to irishracing.com’s State Of Racing Survey were a lack of fair odds and the demise of on-course bookmakers. Respondents also wanted the sport to be less reliant on betting sponsorships but the idea of uncoupling the two is likely to remain a fantasy. The Final Message Irishracing.com Editor Vincent Finegan says: “It is very positive to see so many members of our audience engaging with this question. “Horseracing fans tend to be very invested in the sport and the responses here indicate that many of them are well informed when it comes to challenges and issues that face the industry going forward.” One astute reader wrote “We’re all in this together but racing needs to start acting like it.” Fans have not given up. They want the sport to remain accessible while serving up better quality, fair racing which attracts new fans while maintaining the highest quality animal welfare standards. These are all things cited by HRI in their strategic plan for 2024-2028. The three goals were “Provide consistent and responsible care of our people, our horses and our environment. “Inspire and attract future participation nationally and internationally. “Nurture success at all levels throughout the industry.” The way the sport tackles these goals and achieves its aims is another question and we will have to wait and see in 2028 to see if HRI has been successful.
