A new Owners' Plan with the aim of increasing the number of horses in training in the country, a key priority for the organisation's president, Guillaume de Saint-Seine, was announced by France Galop on Wednesday.
Although the number of active owners in France has increased by 600 in the last three years, the number of horses in training, and therefore the number of runners, has gone down. France Galop report that this situation is due to the fact that a number of new owners opt for shared ownership. Though some of them go on to have their own colours, there are fewer owners that own their horses outright, while the number that own more more than 20 horses has halved over the last 10 years.
The plan puts forward 50 initiatives to try and reverse these trends, focusing on two key areas; client experience and development. The ultimate goal is to reach 10,000 horses in training in France, with the aim also being to increase the number of racehorse owners by 1,000 by the end of 2026.
“The members of the Marketing Committee have developed, along with the Marketing Department, a pragmatic approach when drawing up this Owners' Plan, to stringently monitor the initiatives that will be rolled out over the next two years,” explained Charles-Hubert de Chaudenay, chairman of the Marketing Committee.
“We would like to promote racehorse ownership in all its forms and support the racing industry by helping to increase the number of horses in training in France. We are confident about the positive effects that this plan will have over the medium term.”
Elie Hennau, who will become director general of France Galop on April 15, added, “Given the strategic issues put forward by the Owners' Plan, I would like to get involved in the Marking Committee's project immediately, before I officially step into my role. I have great ambitions for this strategic plan as I take on this new position, as it is the fruit of a collaboration between racing's stakeholders and France Galop's staff.”
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