France Galop maintains prize-money levels in 2019 despite declining receipts

Just a day after British racecourse group Arena Racing Company came under fire for cutting prize-money contributions by £3 million, France Galop has unveiled a budget which preserves levels across French racing, despite a precipitous decline in receipts from the PMU.

With betting revenue to the former monopoly operator forecast to have dipped by 2.6 per cent year on year by the end of 2018, the country's trotting authorities announced a cut of €26m in prize-money last week.

But speaking before the presentation of the 2019 France Galop budget, president Edouard de Rothschild told the governing body's administrative council on Monday that similar action would be avoided thanks to funds taken from strategic reserves.

The PMU is set to return a total of €780m to the two sports this year, down from €793m in 2017.

France Galop will draw on its own strategic reserves to bridge a funding shortfall from the PMU and preserve prize-money levels in 2019Credit: Racing Post / Scott Burton

But the crunch is set to come next year when the betting operator forecasts a profit of 'just' €745m, thanks in no small part to a €30m spend on marketing, commercial and IT in 2019, a one-off cost planned by new director general Cyril Lynette to relaunch the PMU and to win back lost custom.

"I have made the choice not to place the burden of the exceptional cost of the relaunch policy on racing professionals," said Rothschild. "The budget which we will present envisages the maintenance of 2018 levels of prize-money."

Rothschild said that France Galop has €35m in its own reserve and had negotiated an advance from the PMU, but stressed it had requested a plan B from Lynette in case predictions that 2020 revenues bounce back do not come to fruition.

"To govern is to be prepared," said Rothschild, "and I think that confidence is an important element in our activity [racing]. If owners, breeders, trainers and punters do not have confidence in us then we will find ourselves in trouble.

"I believe in the PMU plan and, to draw negative conclusions in advance would send a very negative signal. But confidence is not the same as blindness, and myself and several council members have insisted on details of a plan B in case things do not go as they have anticipated."

Rothschild also addressed the controversial plan to close Maisons-Laffitte racecourse while investing in the modernisation of the training centre there.

Rothschild described the halting of racing activities at the end of 2019 as "a painful step", but one which was "by far the best option on offer".

He added: "I support this project which will bring annual savings of €5m but which will also bring, finally, a solution to the problem of a training centre which has suffered for too long and seen its economic fortunes decline because no clear decision was taken."

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