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GAIN The Advantage Series Returns For 2024 With Nine Races

GAIN The Advantage Series will be supported by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and GAIN Equine Nutrition for the fourth consecutive year, it was announced on Monday. In 2023, the trainer league was clinched during the final leg by Tipperary-based Andrew Slattery, who secured the overall prize of €5,000 worth of GAIN equine products.

Building on three successful years, the 2024 series includes nine races which will be run for points over a variety of conditions to cater to different trainers and horses throughout the Flat season. All races in the series will continue to benefit from a 50% increase in prize-money.

The series will commence at Cork on Sunday, April 21 and then proceed to Leopardstown, Navan, Ballinrobe, Tramore, Down Royal, Tipperary and Killarney. The series finale will be hosted at Naas on Thursday, September 19.

“This initiative has truly thrived over the past three years, becoming an integral part of our commitment to supporting the thoroughbred racing and bloodstock industries, which are vital to our business,” said Philip Gilligan, GAIN Equine Nutrition's Irish country manager.

“The series' success stems from its inclusive recognition of all stakeholders involved. Not only does it offer increased prize-money for owners, but it also acknowledges the hard work of trainers through the league table, as well as breeders and the dedicated stable staff. On behalf of our team, I extend our heartfelt best wishes to all connections involved. Here's to an exciting and successful year ahead!”

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Richest Race Ever Run at Gowran Park Headlines New Spring Series

A new Spring Series of median sires races has been added to the Irish Flat racing calendar for 2024 and beyond in what is a significant boost to the three-year-old programme for middle-distance horses. In an announcement made by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), the Irish European Breeders' Fund (Irish EBF) and Gowran Park Racecourse on Monday, the Spring Series will conclude with the €200,000 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Gowran Classic–the richest race ever held at Gowran Park–on Bank Holiday Monday, June 3.

Three-year-olds with a median price of no more than €75,000 will be able to take part in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Gowran Classic, with entries for the race, run over nine and a half furlongs, set to close on Wednesday, March 13. The winner will receive an automatic free entry into the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh on Sunday, June 30. This applies to both colts and fillies.

Six races, each worth at least €25,000, make up the series which offers total prize-money of €330,000. The Curragh, Navan and Cork will host four maiden races between them–two for fillies only–and each of these races will be restricted to three-year-olds whose sires achieved a median price of not more than €50,000 in 2022.

A median price of €75,000 will apply to runners in the €30,000 Irish Stallions Farms EBF 3yo Spring Series Race held at Roscommon on Monday, May 13. The same median price restriction will apply to runners in the €200,000 series finale.

There will be free entry, sponsored by Irish Stallion Farms, for all racegoers at Gowran Park on Bank Holiday Monday, June 3 and the racecourse's manager, Eddie Scally, said, “Gowran Park are really excited to host the inaugural €200,000 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Gowran Classic, the region's richest Flat race.

“This race will form part of an action-packed day both on and off the track this June Bank Holiday Monday with live music and a massive family fun day. We hope the Gowran Classic will attract all the top trainers and riders from both Ireland and abroad and see for themselves the warm Kilkenny welcome.”

Joe Foley, chairman of the Irish EBF, added, “Irish Stallion Farms already sponsor two successful series for two-year-olds, the auction and median series with 27 races in each and a combined value of nearly €850,000.

“We felt it important to develop a similar series for later developing middle-distance three-year-olds; hence the Spring Series was initiated with the valuable €200,000 race at Gowran as its centrepiece. We look forward to seeing this three-year-old series grow and develop and are delighted to support Gowran Park racecourse in particular, who are investing heavily in their facilities.”

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Richard Pugh Leaves Role With Tattersalls Ireland To Join HRI

Richard Pugh and Freya Hammer have been appointed to the Racing Department of Horse Racing Ireland, HRI announced on Thursday.

The former is now the head of Racing and Insights and will report to the director of Racing, Jonathan Mullin. Previously with Tattersalls Ireland since 2012 and their director of Horses-in-Training Sales since 2015, he will be responsible for the management of the Racing Department and the Race Planning Function. Pugh will also cease in his role of director of Point-to-Point Services, which he co-founded in 2003.

Hammer is the new senior data insights manager and will begin her role in May. She will report to the head of Racing & Insights. Her earlier roles include Flutter from 2018 and she is currently trading business insights manager at BoyleSports, which she joined in 2022.

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HRI Reports “Strong” Figures In 2023 Despite Dip In Owners And Attendance

Horse Racing Ireland chief Suzanne Eade says the figures posted in 2023 in relation to on-course betting, commercial sponsorship and public auction bloodstock sales points to a solid year for the industry as a whole in Ireland.

However, in the full-year statistics released by HRI on Thursday, it showed that the total number of active owners in Ireland has fallen by 1.2% to 4,698 and racecourse attendance figures have also dipped compared to the numbers posted in 2022.

Total on-course betting, including Tote, rose to €80.5m in 2023, an increase of 5.9%. Bookmaker betting on-course increased by the same percentage to €69.8m, a figure comprising €59.9m, up 5.1%, in the betting ring and a turnover of €9.9m in the on-course SP shops, up 11.2% on the previous year.

Total Tote betting, incorporating the World Pool meetings at the Curragh on Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Day in early July and the opening day of the Irish Champions Festival at Leopardstown in September, has risen by 9.6% to €78m. Betting on-course with Tote is up by 5.6% to €10.7m. Off-course betting receipts amounted to €102.6m, a slight increase on last year's figure of €102m.

There was also a rise in the figures relating to commercial sponsorship. That figure rose by 8.8% to €6.3m with EBF sponsorship coming in at €2.67m, up 3.1% on last year. Bloodstock sales at public auction increased by 7.5% to €231.5m, the value of Irish-foaled export horses sold through auction is €333.7m while the number of countries to which Irish-foaled horses were sold at auction was 33.

Eade said, “These figures more than demonstrate that the Irish racing and breeding industry remains in a strong position despite recent challenges and the cost-of-living crisis that now extends into its third year.

“Each has posed a particular threat and yet, with the support of Government and the industry's continued ability to attract foreign direct investment, the figures continue to hold up. A rise in the owner retention rate and in the number of horses-in-training point to a healthy product and will drive employment within the sector.

“Reported attendances in 2023 fell back by just under 1% to 1.236m. However, it was hugely encouraging that attendances at the major festivals were strong throughout the year.”

While the total number of owners fell by 1.2% to 4,698, the number of syndicates has risen by 4% to 858. The number of companies registered as owners in Ireland is up 3.3% to 158. The number of new owners is down by 1.6% to 805 but encouragingly, the owner retention rate has risen to 73.7%, up 1.2% on last year.

Both the UK and the USA were deemed as key areas of focus for the Ownership Department and it is significant that the ownership base has risen in both countries, with a total of 357 UK-based owners, an increase of 7.5%, and 107 owners resident in the USA, up from 90 last year. The 2023 economic impact report, carried out on behalf of HRI by Deloitte, shows that Irish racing and breeding attracts over €550m in foreign direct investment each year.

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