'We must learn from this' - TBA Economic Impact Study a blueprint for progress

The importance of industry intervention schemes, specifically the Great British Bonus, which has helped narrow the gap in average sale prices between colts and fillies, has been underlined by the latest Economic Impact Study of the British thoroughbred breeding industry.

The study, commissioned by the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association from PwC, and funded by the Levy Board and Racing Foundation, was published on Wednesday and builds on previous reports from 2014 and 2018.

While acknowledging the ramifications of events such as Brexit and Covid-19, the study reveals that British breeding has an impact of more than £375 million of gross value added to the rural economy.

Ongoing issues with profitability are shown to be persistently troubling the sector, particularly in the middle and lower tiers of the market, where smaller operators continue to exit the industry, while the number of broodmares at stud in Britain is said to have decreased by 824 to 8,191 in 2021 from 2017. Hence the importance of schemes like GBB in trying to help reverse declining fortunes.

The GBB is a prize scheme for the breeders and owners of British-bred Flat and jump fillies and mares. Owners, breeders and the winning connections of each horse can receive up to £20,000 per eligible race in Britain, and the scheme has now paid out more than £9m.

“GBB is working,” said TBA chairman Julian Richmond-Watson. “Historically, colts were worth 30 per cent more than fillies, but since GBB launched we have cut the gap by 16 per cent.

"Funding-wise, registrations add up to about £1 million, and the Levy Board put in £3.5 million. There is every chance they will keep supporting it.”

Levy Board chief executive Alan Delmonte said: “The Levy Board has been the majority funder of this new update in a series of studies that shine a light on the current position of the British breeding industry. The improvement of breeds of horse is one of the Board’s statutory objectives and achieving that requires a healthy breeding industry.

Alan Delmonte: 'The improvement of breeds of horse is one of the Board’s statutory objectives.'

“We look to support the industry through a number of initiatives, with the most recognisable being the highly regarded Great British Bonus prize-money scheme that rewards, in particular, the breeders and owners of British-bred horses.”

Breeders with just one or two mares produce 80 per cent of British-bred foals, and their numbers are reported to have declined by 35 per cent since 2009, from 3,764 to 2,426.

The average loss made on a yearling in 2021 was £31,000, and £26,000 on a foal, and TBA deputy chairman Philip Newton conceded: “We are losing smaller breeders. How sustainable can these losses be in the long term?”

He added: “This study is the deepest dive we have done. There were 130 in-depth surveys, 20 detailed interviews and over 15 million data points analysed.

“There’s been a continual decline in profitability in the industry, but it is still an important industry in Great Britain Plc. The BHA has welcomed the study and taken it on board.”

TBA chief executive Claire Sheppard said: “The long-term declining trend in the key indicators are an ongoing concern, but there are signs of hope for the future in the upturn in the 2022 British-born foal crop numbers and the positive impact of the Great British Bonus on sales prices and owner returns.

“The report demonstrates that incentives and strategic interventions can work. We must learn from this and take forward a plan with the support of breeders in particular, and the racing industry in general, as part of racing’s new strategy.”

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