Bad weather hits racing group

British racecourse owner Northern Racing today reported a drop in real-terms profits after the weather and uncertainty over the UK racing industry’s future adversely affected the first half.

Northern Racing plc was formed last October when Chepstow Racecourse plc acquired Northern Racing Ltd to form one of the largest racecourse operators in the UK.

The merged group said operating profits in the six months to June 20, its first interim results since the acquisition, fell to £1.2m (€1.8m) from last year’s £2.1m (€3.1m) – the latter figure representing the two companies’ combined profits.

The company now owns racecourses at Newcastle, Sedgefield, Uttoxeter, Hereford, Great Yarmouth, Chepstow, Bath, Brighton and Fontwell Park. Chepstow currently hosts around 15% of the UK race fixture list.

Bad weather, which led to a number of race abandonments, including the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter and a bank holiday cancellation at Newcastle, affected profits.

The racing industry was also affected by uncertainty over media rights. Northern Racing said it was happy to see media rights renegotiated with Attheraces, guaranteeing media rights income for 10 years,

There will, however, be a reduction in rights income across the industry, which is set to cost the company around £1.2m in lost revenue a year.

The company has also welcomed the outcome of the Office of Fair Trading’s investigation and proposed reforms in the horse racing industry, which it believes will benefit multiple operators such as Northern Racing.

The racecourse operator has implemented an extensive capital investment programme which has included a £1.5m (€2.2m) new grandstand at Great Yarmouth, a new stand at Chepstow and developments at the other racecourses the company owns.

Graham Stow, non-executive chairman, said: “In realising the value of the considerable number of opportunities available to the group, Northern Racing remains in a strong position to benefit from what we believe will be a calmer operating environment within the horseracing industry.”