Brave new world for horse racing

THE Irish horse racing industry will die if it fails to attract more women and young people to racing meets, according to Mr Denis Brosnan, the chairman of the Irish Horseracing Authority. The IRA this week produced a five year strategic plan to improve the image and performance of the industry.

Attendance at racecourses was almost solely by middle aged men and older. If the attendance profile did not change, "then in 10 or 20 or 30 years, there will be no one left to go racing", the IRA said.

The GAA and the IRFU had improved the facilities at their grounds in recent years yet the same old stands, toilet facilities and catering facilities exist in the racing industry and we believe that people will still come racing.

Growth would come from the promotion of horse racing as a leisure pursuit, said IRA chief executive Mr Noel Ryan.

The main element of the five year strategic plan is a £30 million capital development fund for upgrading and modernising Irish racecourses.

The racecourses will have to match all investment pound for pound and the bulk of the investment will go to those courses which have the best potential for increasing betting, attendances and sponsorship.

Eighty per cent of the fund will be spent on the eight key race courses in Ireland: the Curragh, Leopardstown, Fairyhouse, Punchestown, Mallow, the planned new Limerick racecourse at Greenmount and the two major festival tracks at Galway and Listowel.

Although there would be nob "overnight" change, racing fixtures, which have in the past been allocated according to tradition, would in the future be allocated to courses "according to their performance as a stadium", said Mr Brosnan, speaking at the publication of the plan.

"A merit system is going to be developed," he said.

The criteria will be investment, attendances, sponsorship and betting. Race planning will be used to improve the quality and competitiveness of racing and to ensure races are staged at venues and at times that bring the best returns to the industry.

Half of 1 per cent of total betting generated at each racecourse, calculated over a five year period, will be advanced to each course as a capital sum.

The second major element of the plan is a concerted, intensive marketing campaign by the authority, aimed at increasing race course attendances as well as betting and sponsorship.

Major changes in betting are planned for the five year period. The authority planned to oversee a radical transformation of the Tote. It would be changed from a service to a profitable business. Within the next 12 to 18 months the authority would decide whether to establish the Tote as a subsidiary or put it out to franchise, Mr Brosnan said.

Technological advances had created increased interest in racing as home entertainment and satellite racing channels had opened up the prospect of a sophisticated technological betting market, Mr Brosnan said.

The Tote would become available in off course outlets. An Irish satellite television racing channel would be created so live pictures of Irish racing would be available in betting shops and for the domestic market. It was intended to put together a consortium of investors, including the Tote. The channel was to start in 1998. THE IRA hoped RTE and Cablelink would also become involved.

Mr Ryan said the IRA believed the project was commercially viable.

On course bookmaker betting is to be substantially increased over the five year period, and betting shops are to be established on all leading racecourses.

This will improve the yield to the IRA levy and improve the financing of racing.

Prize money is to be substantially increased to improve the return to horse owners on the investment they make. Mr Brosnan said horse racing in Ireland was a "small man's sport" and the low return they were getting, 20p for each £1 invested, was not sufficient. He hoped to see a doubling in the size of prizemoney.

The authority is seeking an increased grant from the Government. It hopes to see the £8.6 million invested in 1997 grow to £12.6 million by the end of the period of the plan.

Mr Brosnan said the authority would return to the Government to request extra funding after it had been shown that the various elements of the horse racing industry could work together.

It had taken the IRA two years to produce its five year plan because the various sections of the industry had to "put a document together where every section of the industry had to take some pain so the industry could prosper and grow".