Horse Racing Ireland Friday released statistics that showed the country's bloodstock sales, racecourse attendance and on-track betting have increased during the first half of 2015, but race entries, numbers of horses-in-training and numbers of owners have dropped.
Bloodstock sales provided the highlight of the figures, being up 7.4% to €39 million from €36.3 million this time last year. Horses in training, however, has decreased by 6.8%, while active owners are down 5.5% and new owners registered dropped 6.5%. HRI has decreased administrative costs for owners and trainers, by 17.5% this year and 10% last year, and purses are up 9.6%. In addition, race sponsorships are up 6.25%.
“While most of the figures are positive, we are concerned with the horses in training and ownership figures, which remain a priority for improvement,” said Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of HRI. “There are signs of a real recovery in the domestic economy, which will lead to further buyer confidence and we have increased the resources in Irish Thoroughbred Marketing to ensure that ownership is facilitated and encouraged as the recovery continues.”
A look at racecourse attendance trends showed total attendance and average attendance to both be up 3.9%, and fixtures up 3.2%. Total on-course betting is up 3.6%, with much of that growth coming from on-course bookmakers (up 4.8%) and off-course tote Irish pools (up 35.9%).
“Tote's on-course turnover declined marginally in the first six months of 2015 due primarily to a drop in racing festival performance compared to prior years and falls in turnover on smaller midweek fixtures,” Kavanagh explained. “The majority of Tote on-course turnover is generated in the second half of the year, so there is every possibility that the decline will be reversed by year end. It is positive that growth in international betting into Irish pools was up by almost 36%. This channel continues to develop, with new partners coming on board and existing partners increasing their turnover on Irish racing.”
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