Irish racing hits the jackpot

GROWTH was evident across all aspects of horse racing in Ireland during the past year, with attendances, betting figures and sponsorship all on the increase.

It was a record year for Irish racecourses with total attendances of just under 1.4 million and highlights of the year were the Galway Festival, which attracted some 192,000 punters, Listowel, which brought in 93,000, Punchestown had 69,000 and the Leopardstown Christmas Festival attracted 61,000.

Growth was also evident in several other key industry areas with total fixtures up 9% from 279 to 303; the number of races was up 8.6% from 1,994 to 2,166; total prize money was up 9% from €46.2m to €50.4m; total on-course betting was up 14% from €208.4m to €237.0m; total Tote betting was up 14.1% from €38.8m to €44.3m; and total sponsorship was up 9% from €6.5m to €7.1m.