HRI Fact Book 2006 - Horse Racing Ireland

INTRODUCTION
06
Brian Kavanagh,
Chief Executive of
Horse Racing Ireland
On behalf of Horse Racing
Ireland, I am pleased to
present the third edition of
the Irish Racing Fact Book. We have
updated and extended a wide range
of statistics for the racing industry
in Ireland, ranging from fixtures and
attendances to the output of the
breeding sector.
2006 was another good year for
Irish racing, exceeding the 2005
record performances across a
number of sectors. Attendances
at Irish racecourses achieved an
all-time high of 1.45m despite the
competing attractions of the World
Cup and Ryder Cup and a number of
severe weather episodes which saw
15 meetings abandoned in Spring
and very difficult conditions in
September and December.
The festival meetings, particularly at
Punchestown and Galway, exceeded
expectations, while the Curragh, in
addition to its record breaking Derby
weekend, drew 10,000 racegoers
to the inaugural Shelbourne Hotel
Goffs Million Meeting. That meeting
also provided the platform for an
unprecedented celebration of Irish
racing, which brought together the
stars of Flat and National Hunt racing
past and present and proved the
highlight of a memorable day. We
are delighted to include details of the
day’s activities in this publication.
No one could have imagined at the
start of the year that Irish trained
horses would actually surpass the
2005 total of nine Cheltenham
victories with a historic ten, including
once again the Gold Cup, the
Champion Hurdle and the Champion
Chase together with the Aintree
Grand National in April. In Flat racing
Irish-trained horses kept nine of our
twelve domestic Group One races at
home and two English Classics were
won by Aidan O’Brien, including the
2000 Guineas and the Oaks. Overall
we won seven English and four
French Group One races.
of the vibrant demand for Irish
Thoroughbreds at home and abroad.
Total on-course betting grew by
10.8% to €262.4m and the current
indications are that off-course
betting for the year will have
exceeded €3.3 billion.
Prizemoney grew by 5% to €55m
and sponsors continued to give
their vote of confidence to Irish
racing, increasing their contribution
by 8.1% to €8.1m. There is a
broad consensus that the current
prizemoney levels have helped to
encourage owners and trainers to
buy the best horses, keep them in
training in Ireland and compete in
the top races at home and abroad.
This in turn provides employment
throughout the regions and helps
us to retain and build an unequalled
equine skills base.
Following the positive response to
previous editions of the Fact Book,
we have enhanced and enlarged
this version and would welcome
any suggestions you may have for
additions or improvements.
The value of Bloodstock sales at
public auction in Ireland grew by
31.5% from €145.6m to €191.5m,
providing further confirmation
Brian Kavanagh,
Chief Executive of
Horse Racing Ireland
5 YEAR TREND 2002-2006: 2002 2006
• No of fixtures up 14% from 279 319
• No of races up 13% from 1,994 2,268
• No of runners up 12% from 28,252 31,596
• Total Prize Money up 20.1% €45.5m €55m
• Attendance up 12.4% 1,286,914 1,447,245
• On-Course* betting up 26% €208.3m €262.4m
• Tote Betting up 32% €37.5 €49.6m†
• Off course betting (on all events) up 113% €1,569m €3,349m¥
• No of foals born up Ð17.5% 10,214 12,004
• No of Stallions at stud up 16% 356 414
• No of horses in training up 22% 9,080 11,109
• Commercial sponsorship (incl EBF) up 38% €5,891,647 €8,131,600
* Includes Tote, On-course Bookmakers and On-course SP shops
† Includes co-mingling out
¥ Estimate
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