2024 HRI figures show racing and breeding industry in strong position

The attendance figures, which were down for the first six months, ended the year with a 0.5% increase, to 1.242 million

After a tough start to 2024, the picture looked far rosier upon completion of the 12-month period according to the full-year statistics released on Thursday by Horse Racing Ireland.

There were marginal gains in the number of horses in training, the figures attending our race meetings, and in overall prizemoney, but the significant upward trends came in the areas of commercial sponsorship and total on-course betting.

For the sales companies, however, there was a significant drop, by more than 14%, a figure attributed to the 2023 spike from a dispersal sale, and while the total number of horses in training was up just shy of half a percent, the overall number of runners in Flat races was down by 2.3%.

The attendance figures, which were down for the first six months, ended the year with a 0.5% increase, to 1.242 million, with the positive finish attributed to the figures from the Irish Champions Festival, the Listowel Harvest Festival, the new Navan Racing Festival, and the Christmas meetings in Leopardstown and Limerick.

The 4.5% increase in on-course betting is wholly attributable to activity in the ring, as Tote betting on-course was in line with Tote betting as a whole, the figure being down just less than 3%.

Prize money was also up, by 2.6% to €69.9 million, with a small increase also committed for the year ahead. Commercial sponsorship went up by almost 8%, with EBF sponsorship up just a little shy of the same figure.

“The early months of 2024 proved to be very challenging with considerable disruption to the fixture list, but we can be happy that many of the significant figures bounced back as the year progressed,” said HRI CEO Suzanne Eade.

“Wet weather had a telling effect on fixtures and the numbers of entries and runners in the first half of the year while a remarkable absence of rain for a prolonged period in the autumn certainly impacted on those numbers again as the return of significant numbers of horses to the track was delayed.

“However, the overall figures once more show that the Irish racing and breeding industry is strong and facing up to any number of challenges.”