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51 Eligible for Irish EBF Auction Series Race Final

Horses purchased for €1,000 up to €70,000 are among the 51 entries eligible for the €120,000 Irish EBF Auction Series Race Final at Naas Oct. 15. The Irish EBF is the largest sponsor of races in Ireland.

“It's hard to win 2-year-old races in Ireland but this series is a great initiative,” trainer Noel Meade said. “The races are worth good money and to have the final at the end of it, it really is great. It is nice to be able to say to somebody that we have these races to run in and then the final at the end. The maidens are worth €20,000 and some of them are worth €25,000 and it really is great money without running into the top sires and the very expensive 2-year-olds.”

Also, Cork Racecourse will host the €50,000 Irish EBF Auction Series Nursery H. over six furlongs. The race is one of the Auction Series finals and worth€170,000.

“The Irish EBF Auction Series, now in its ninth year, is a booming success and hitting all the targets it set out to achieve when created by the Irish EBF board and HRI,” Joe Foley, Chairman of the Irish EBF said. “The main purpose of the series was to give valuable race opportunities to horses bought at the middle to lower end of the auction market. Now trainers and owners are sourcing yearlings to target at the series and with a good horse you can win significant prize money, increase their value, sell them on or target one of the two finals available to them. It's a win-win series.”

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Eade Says Attendances A Priority As HRI Release Six-Month Statistics

Horse Racing Ireland boss Suzanne Eade has put attendance figures towards the top of her priority list for the remainder of 2023 and hailed the resilience of owners against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis as the six-month statistics were revealed on Thursday.

Attendances have climbed 7.6% to 544,147 for the first six months of the year while sponsorship rose 4.8% to €4.4m with horses winning overall prize money of €30.6m. That is up 1% on last year's corresponding figures, despite a reduction in the number of race meetings by two to 176.

Eade commented, “I welcome these figures as a testament to the resilience of the Irish racing and breeding industry. On the back of consistent Government support, our industry continues to be a key contributor to rural communities in virtually every county, providing direct and indirect employment at every turn and a vital social outlet to so many people.

“Despite the increases in the cost of living, it is noticeable how well the number of horses-in-training is holding up and the increase in the overall attendance figure by 7.6% is certainly to be welcomed. Pushing for increased attendances at all 26 racecourses is a key aspect of our ongoing marketing campaigns and the undoubted interest in racing is again resulting in a greater number of racegoers, a trend we hope to see continuing into next week's Galway Festival and the key early autumn meetings at Irish Champions Festival and the Listowel Festival.”

Total Tote Betting (excluding World Pools) for the first half of the year is up 6.3% at €33.9m. The World Pool was incorporated at the Curragh on Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Day for the first time with 28 pool betting operators from around the globe wagering an additional €25.8m across the eight races. Total on-course betting reached €36.1m with on-course bookmakers handling €32.1m and on-course shops returning an overall figure of €4.4m.

The total number of horses-in-training during the period rose by almost 300 to 8,614 (up 3.3%), but the number of active owners fell by the same percentage to 3,843. The number of new owners registered in the first half of 2023 was 455.

While the Goffs Punchestown Sale and the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-up Sale performed well and there was a strong demand at the store sales, the figure for bloodstock sales at public auction overall fell by 2.4% to €61m.

Eade continued, “Field sizes, whilst still bearing very healthy international comparisons, are down marginally and it is vital that there is continued investment in the racing programme and prize money to ensure that we continue to attract and retain owners.

“The increase in the betting, both with Tote and the bookmakers, is a further boost for the industry. For the first time, we have two World Pool days, one in each half of the year, and on the back of the success of the initiative at the Curragh on Derby Day, we can look forward to Irish racing being back in the international spotlight for the opening leg of the 2023 Irish Champions Festival at Leopardstown in a little over six weeks' time. These days both raise awareness of the Tote and deliver a significant return to Irish racing.

“Another vote of confidence in the industry is provided by the numbers relating to the sale of horses at public auction. While an overall spend of €61m is slightly behind the same period last year, it is heartening that demand for Irish bred and reared horses continues to be strong across the board.”

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HRI Partners With Aer Lingus College Football Classic For Three Years

Horse racing will become part of the annual celebration of American College Football in Ireland featuring a Stars and Stripes themed race night at Leopardstown Racecourse after a three-year partnership was announced between Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.

The 2023 edition of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic game, featuring Notre Dame versus Navy at a sold out Aviva Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 26, is estimated to be worth €147 million to the Irish economy. The Leopardstown race night is one of approximately 50 official events taking place in the week preceding the game and will be held on Aug. 24.

U.S.-based buyers spent €18.8 million on 142 Irish Thoroughbreds last year, an increase on €2.1 million on the previous year's value, and the 2022 sales figures represent a 55% increase over the course of the past five years, when just €8.5 million was spent in 2018. Ireland's public bloodstock sales were worth €538m last year, the second highest in the world.

Private sales of Irish bloodstock in 2022 were estimated to be worth around €120 million, according to the HRI-commissioned Deloitte report – Social and Economic Impact of Irish Thoroughbred Breeding & Racing 2023 which was published last month. This places the total value of Irish bloodstock sales at €658m for last year. Over a quarter of all registered owners of Irish racehorses are based overseas and the US is home to approximately 20% (243) of these overseas owners making it the second largest overseas market for Irish racehorse ownership behind the UK.

Paul Dermody, CEO of HRI Racecourses and HRI Director of Commercial & Marketing, said, “The U.S. Bloodstock market is the biggest in the world, but the international reputation of Irish horse-breeding is driving significant interest from U.S. buyers and resulting in year-on-year growth in bloodstock sales to US buyers. The team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing are doing a fantastic job in attracting US buyers to Ireland and growing that segment of the overseas buyer market in both public and private sales.

“The ties between Irish and US horseracing have never been stronger with a host of Irish-bred Grade I winners in the U.S. in 2022 and the likes of Joseph O'Brien being backed by U.S. investors to set up a satellite yard in Saratoga in New York. HRI's partnership with the Aer Lingus College Football Classic will allow us to develop new avenues to connect with US buyers and further enhance our offering to US buyers.”

Tim Husbands, CEO Leopardstown Racecourse, said, “Leopardstown Racecourse and Aer Lingus College Football Classic have a mutual ambition to develop our respective sports by introducing new audiences. The creation of the Stars and Stripes Race Day is to develop a sporting event that celebrates the best Irish music, sport, and dancing with fun of an American tailgate party.”

Brendan Meehan, Commercial Director of ALCFC, said “Horseracing in Ireland is very popular and plays an important role in Irish–U.S. relations, so to have the Stars and Stripes race meeting in Leopardstown Racecourse on the Thursday evening before the game provides a wonderful opportunity for U.S. visitors to experience the fun, the ambiance and everything that Leopardstown has to offer.”

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Full Complement Of Irish Racecourses Agree To Media Rights Deal

All 26 Irish racecourses have approved the Racecourse Media Group (RMB)/SIS Media Rights deal and have authorised the Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) to sign the contracts on their behalf, AIR announced on Friday. The deal will begin on Jan. 1, 2024.

In May, 21 of the racecourses agreed to the deal, with Kilbeggan, Roscommon, Sligo, Limerick and Thurles Racecourses rejecting it. This week, discussions were held with AIR and the HRI Media Rights Committee, which resulted in the quintet of outliers agreeing to the proposal.

Chairman of AIR, Conor O'Neill said, “Firstly, I would like to commend and compliment the executive of AIR and HRI who have supported the Media Rights Committee to ensure that the very best deal in the marketplace has been obtained for Irish Racecourses and indeed the wider industry. I can confirm that Kilbeggan, Roscommon, Sligo, Limerick and Thurles have decided to join the other 21 racecourses today and sign that deal. Furthermore, I look forward to working SIS and RMG now and seeing it come to fruition.”

Horse Racing Ireland, CEO, Suzanne Eade added, “This process has been exceptionally thorough and has delivered a superb deal for all 26 Irish racecourses. Horse Racing Ireland will be working closely with all racecourses and our media rights partners SIS and RMG to maximise the future revenue streams under the new deal.”

On behalf of the five racecourses who signed today, Pierce Molony said, “Having satisfied our principal objectives, UIR has agreed to sign-up to the current media rights deal negotiated between HRI and RMG/SIS. In particular, the membership of UIR is pleased by HRI's willingness to implement a proposed memorandum of understanding for racecourses during future media deal negotiations, and a review of media rights, as referenced by the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, on 1st June last.”

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