The 2019 Irish horse racing and breeding industry statistics were released by Horse Racing Ireland on Monday. During the past year, the number of horses returned in training in Ireland rose 3% to 8,949, with new owner registrations up by 6.8% to 851 new racehorse owners. These were split into 600 new sole owners and partners and 216 new syndicates. Commercial race sponsorship and contributions to prizemoney by racecourses continued to rise also, growing by 17.3% in 2019. There were over 1.3 million people who attended a racemeeting in 2019 and on course betting rose 4.5% compared to 2018. Following a series of changes in betting tax arrangements, off course betting duty receipts collected by the government amounted to €95 million, which is well over the €67.2 million provided by the Exchequer.
“Horse racing generates a very significant return to the rural economy in Ireland and a positive international profile for our country,” said HRI Chief Executive Brian Kavanagh. “None of this success could be achieved without the support provided by the Government. 2019 was a good year for Irish racing, however the industry requires long-term certainty of funding to be able to plan strategically, not least in the context of the challenges provided by Brexit.
“The increased revenue from betting tax provides the basis for such a long-term funding mechanism and Horse Racing Ireland will engage actively with the incoming Government in the coming month to achieve this objective.Increasing ownership and participation is a strategic priority for Horse Racing Ireland and 2019 delivered healthy increases in the number of new and total owners and, consequently, the number of horses-in-training. It was very positive to see 216 new syndicates registering with Horse Racing Ireland in 2019. Our analysis shows that an average syndicate has eight members and the syndicate model is a cost-effective and fun way for people to get involved in horse ownership. Further analysis has shown that these 216 new syndicates have horses in training with 110 different trainers and it is encouraging that the increases we are seeing in racehorse ownership are being felt all over the country.
“The rise in owners was reflected in an increase in horses-in-training, both for the number of individual runners in 2019 (5.7%) and for the number of total runners on the track (5.4%). The Ownership Department in Horse Racing Ireland continues to work closely with the racecourses to ensure that racehorse owners in Ireland have a good experience. We need to keep those improvements going and ensure that prizemoney and minimum race values remain competitive. Owner retention (i.e. those active for two consecutive years) in 2019 was 75%, the highest rate it has been since 2007, so the strides made in owner experience and the commitment to prizemoney are paying off.”
Kavanagh continued, “On the track, Irish-bred horses continued to succeed at the highest levels internationally and the value of Irish-foaled exports in 2019 was up by over 6% to €279.1m. Bloodstock sales at public auction also posted an increase year-on-year, by 2.4% to €165.3m. These figures are all the more welcome given the damaging uncertainty in the market created by Brexit. The hope is that with certainty creeping into the Brexit process for the time being anyway, the gains made in 2019 can be replicated and built upon in 2020.
“Encouragingly, there is a continuing attraction of Irish-foaled horses to international buyers. As well as the increased sales figures, we see confirmation of this with the fact that Irish-foaled horses sold through auction were exported to 32 countries. The horses themselves are their best advertisement and this statistic is a tribute to the quality of the Irish horse and its global reputation for excellence.”
For the full horse racing and breeding statistics, go to www.hri.ie.
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