State puts €317m on horse racing

By the end of 2006 the Government will have allocated more than €317 million to State racing body Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) over the past five years, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John O'Donoghue said yesterday.

The Minister was welcoming the 2005 annual report of Horse Racing Ireland, which is due to be published shortly.

"The Government's commitment to funding of the Irish horse racing industry through the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund has enabled Horse Racing Ireland to undertake long-term planning, which will result in the transformation of Irish racecourses in the coming years and has generated significant revenue for the Irish economy," Mr O'Donoghue said.

A statement from his department said there had been significant increases in all key areas of performance in the Irish horse racing industry in 2005.

Last year, attendances at Irish racecourses reached a record 1.43 million and Tote betting turnover rose 3.8 per cent to €49.3 million. Festival meetings at Galway, the Curragh, Listowel, Punchestown and Leopardstown all showed growth.

The year also saw the announcement of a €22 million development plan at Galway racecourse, the approval of Ireland's first all-weather track to be built at Dundalk with support of €10 million from HRI and the approval of €1.7 million grant aid for the re-development of facilities at Killarney racecourse.

Attendance levels for the first half of 2006 are up 2 per cent on the same period last year, according to HRI figures.