'Racing remains extremely popular in Ireland' - attendances recover during second half of 2022

Horse Racing Ireland chief executive Suzanne Eade has expressed her delight that attendances at Irish racecourses recovered during the second half of 2022 compared to a sluggish first six months. 

A total of 742,248 people attended Irish fixtures from July to December, an increase of 46 per cent from the 505,752 who went through the turnstiles over the first half of the year, bringing the total crowd figure in Ireland to 1,248,000 for 2022, which is not far off the pre-pandemic figure of 1,315,000 in 2019. 

Eade said the rallying crowd figures were particularly pleasing and singled out Navan, Fairyhouse, Naas, Punchestown, Down Royal and Leopardstown for special praise. 

Eade said: "While the cost of living continues to be an issue for all industries, we can be confident heading into 2023 that racing remains extremely popular in Ireland with attendances rallying strongly in the second half of 2022. 

"Attracting more than nine out of every ten people, who went racing before the pandemic, back to the racecourse is a tribute to the work put in by the tracks. It was encouraging to see such strong end-of-year crowds at Navan for Troytown day and at Fairyhouse for the Drinmore meeting, at Naas, Punchestown and Down Royal to name just a few, and of course a very strong performance at the Leopardstown Christmas festival. And 2023 got off to a great start with an incredible day at a well-attended Tramore."

Suzanne Eade: says positive figures are "a tribute to the work put in by the tracks"Credit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

HRI released its 2022 industry statistics on Friday and, while there was growth in quite a few areas, most notably bloodstock sales, prize-money, and ownership numbers, betting with on-course bookmakers was hit last year. 

There was €57 million wagered with the bookies on track, compared to €58.4m in 2019, while betting in the on-course shops fell by almost 13 per cent from €10.2m to €8.9m. 

In contrast, Tote betting was up 18.3 per cent to €71.2m thanks in no small part to off-course Tote activity which rose to €57.6m compared to just €44.9m in 2019. 

Prize-money rose to €66.72m in 2022, up from €66.06m in 2019, despite commercial sponsorship dropping five per cent from €6.1m to €5.79m. 

Other areas of note were the total number of owners which was up 17 per cent to 4,757, with an owner retention rate of 72.8 per cent. The number of syndicates has also grown for the fourth consecutive year to 825, an increase of 3.4 per cent on 2021 and up an impressive 24.2 per cent on 2019. The 2022 figure includes 240 new syndicates which were established last year.  

The total number of horses in training was up 14 per cent from 2019, although down 371 from the 2021 figure, while there was a notable increase in the overall figure for bloodstock sales at public auction which came in at €215.4m, an increase of 30.3 per cent on 2019 and 17.8 per cent above the 2021 figure. 

The number of fixtures fell to 388 from a record 394 in 2021, but the first six months of the 2021 fixture list saw a readjustment to the racing calendar to accommodate point-to-pointers on the racecourse, fixtures that reflected in that year’s total entries, eliminations, runners and the numbers of horses in training. 

Eade added on the statistics overall: "A strong and stable racing industry reflects well on rural communities in every county on the island and a key driver of our success is the number of horses in training which leads directly to employment in the country’s racing yards. 

"While the overall number is down slightly on 2021, the figure of 10,208 is well ahead of the 2019 figure which bodes well as we start into a new year."

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