A NEW initiative to recruit racehorse owners has been launched in an attempt to stop the continuous decline in the number of horses in training.

Figures released last week by Horse Racing Ireland showed that the number of horses in training for the first half of this year were 6,720. The corresponding figure before the recession (July 2008) was 10,142.

Now a new website set up by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing is giving trainers and racing clubs a free opportunity to offer shares in racehorses to the public.

Speaking on RTE television this week from the Galway Races, HRI’s chief executive Brian Kavanagh indicated that most work was required in the National Hunt sector. “Attendances are up but getting more horses in training has been slower to pick up and there is work to be done. The flat numbers are fine, numbers are on a par with last year, but the older horses is where the problems are.”

Talking to The Irish Field yesterday, Kavanagh added: “The small National Hunt trainer is under pressure at one end from the point-to-point scene and at the other by the major owners and trainers.”

On RTE, Kavanagh said: “There is a good spread of trainers taking each other on in flat racing. You would just like to see it being spread around a bit more over jumps. The wealthy owners are dominating at the top level and I suppose that is a consequence of offering such good prize money.”

The new ITM initiative, entitled Your Own Share, is designed to allow clubs and syndicates to promote shares available for public purchase.

The website details shares available in horses in training with a variety of trainers located around the country. Each horse is detailed including their pedigree, location, race record along with a breakdown of the costs involved. Contact details are available to make further enquiries directly to the syndicators.

Aidan McGarry of ITM told The Irish Field yesterday: “This is a free service. The main criteria is that it has to be a share which is offered, not a full horse, and the cost has to be very clearly outlined. We’re aiming this at people who may not have the budget to get involved in sole ownership or may not have much industry experience.”

ITM has informed every trainer, registered syndicate and racing club of the new service.

“I was at Goodwood and Galway this week and picked up another couple of horses in training to add to the website. Gordon Elliott has already sold shares through it and I’m also hopeful that trainers who buy yearlings on spec at the sales will use the service.”

McGarry believes that the reason why National Hunt racing has struggled to attract new owners is because the typical profile of a jump racing owner is a business person with disposable income. “The economy has not yet sufficiently recovered to the point where those owners have returned to racehorse ownership. It’s different on the flat where we are seeing more and more owners get involved for commercial reasons, hoping to sell form horses into the global market.”

Web: itm.ie/yourownshare