LAST April, Horse Racing Ireland issued two online surveys with the aim of collecting essential feedback from one of racing’s most important stakeholders – racehorse owners.

Racehorse owners with email addresses registered with Horse Racing Ireland were grouped into two categories; those currently active as well as those lapsed owners who have come out of the industry in recent years.

This was the first such survey issued to owners in recent years. In future racehorse owners will be surveyed on an annual basis to monitor and track any past or current issues that might arise.

The questions were in multiple formats, some with multiple-choice questions and others in open format to allow owners give full and detailed responses.

In total, 1,008 responses were completed and returned to Horse Racing Ireland, outlining the various views, issues and future plans held by racehorse owners in Ireland. The results of each survey have been presented to the board of Horse Racing Ireland.

Below is an outline of some of the main findings from each survey.

LAPSED OWNER

SURVEY RESULTS

PROFILE OF OWNERS

  • 80% were aged 41 or over and 81% were male.
  • 38% of respondents were sole owners, 36% involved in syndicates, 25% in partnerships and just 1% registered in the company format, giving a broad spectrum of the ownership strutures.
  • Not surprisingly, given the significant drop in participation in National Hunt racing, a large majority of the lapsed owners that responded were previously involved in National Hunt (67%) compared to flat (18%) while 15% were involved in both.

    • Q: WHY ARE YOU NO LONGER AN OWNER?

  • Financial considerations: 56.5%
  • Horse was injured: 40%
  • Racecourse experience: 10.7%
  • No success, lost interest: 10%
  • Negative experience with trainer: 10%
  • Did not enjoy the experience: 2%

    • The results confirm the overriding reason for no longer having a horse in training relates to the individuals’ finances. For those owners who came out of ownership since 2013, the financial implications were 45.35%. For those from 2012 and earlier this figure came to 64.81%.

    Q: WHAT WOULD INFLUENCE YOUR DECISION TO GET BACK INVOLVED?

    This was an open format question with the individual’s financial situation highlighted as one of the main barriers to getting involved. Other factors raised were the racecourse experience as an owner as well as the development of a race programme that allows owners and trainers at all levels to compete.

    Q: ARE YOU INTERESTED IN RACEHORSE OWNERSHIP IN THE FUTURE?

  • Definitely: 40%
  • Probably: 28%
  • Not sure: 18%
  • Probably not: 7%
  • Definitely not: 7%

    • A positive indicator with 68% saying “Yes, definitely’ or ‘Yes, probably’ when asked for their reasons for this all subsequent comments referred to their love of the sport, missing the buzz with many using the caveat of getting back involved once their financial situation allowed for it.

    Of the remaining 32%, the majority refer to the cost and it not being financially viable. The racecourse experience was also mentioned in negative terms.

    Q: HOW DID YOU RATE YOUR OWNERSHIP EXPERIENCE?

  • Enjoyable: 48%
  • Hugely enjoyable: 40%
  • Not enjoyable: 7%
  • Other 5%

    • Despite having to come out of the sport, 88% of those surveyed looked back positively on their racehorse ownership experience which, combined with the high level of interest in getting involved again in the future, bodes well for the coming years.

    Q: DO YOU OR HAVE YOU OWNED RACEHORSES ABROAD?

  • Never: 82%
  • Had previously: 14%
  • Have currently: 4%

    • Of the 18% who have or had previously horses in training outside of Ireland, the main countries highlighted were Britain, USA and France. For owners in Britain, positives relating to owning there included easier to win races, the racecourse experience and the owners VAT scheme.

    CURRENT OWNER

    SURVEY RESULTS

    PROFILE

  • 80% were aged 41 or over and 78% were male.
  • 57% of respondents were sole owners, 20% involved in syndicates, 20% in partnerships, 2% in clubs and just 1% registered in the company.

    • As in the earlier survey, a large majority are involved in National Hunt (57%) compared to flat (22%) while 21% were involved in both. 52% had just 1 horse in training with 5% having over 10 horses.

    Q: HOW LONG INVOLVED IN RACEHORSE OWNERSHIP?

  • 10+ years: 60%
  • 5-9 years: 19%
  • 3-4 years: 11%
  • 1-2 years: 7%
  • Less than 1 year: 3%

    • Q: WHAT IS THE MAIN ATTRACTION OF RACEHORSE OWNERSHIP FOR YOU?

  • Going racing with your horse: 30%
  • Owning a horse with friends/family: 15%
  • Love of horses: 14%
  • Family connection: 11%
  • Financial/business reasons: 9%
  • Follower of sport: 7%

    • Q: WHO OR WHERE DID YOU FIRST APPROACH WHEN GETTING INVOLVED?

    46% approached a friend or family member who was already involved in racehorse ownership. This figure is not surprising but equally it highlights the opportunities of recruiting new owners in the future through a positive experience of those already involved and through word of mouth.

    Q: AS AN OWNER, HOW IMPORTANT IS PRIZE MONEY TO YOU?

  • Extremely important: 41%
  • Important: 47%
  • Not important 2%
  • Other: 10%

    • Q: WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS BEST DESCRIBES YOUR THOUGHTS ON WINNING RACES?

  • Winning is the most important factor: 21.2%
  • Winning is important but there are other factors: 28.6%
  • I am happy if my horse is competitive: 22.6%
  • I love to race, winning is a bonus: 23.4%
  • Winning is not important: 0.7%
  • Don’t know: 0.56%
  • Other: 2.95%

    • Q: WHAT SINGLE IMPROVEMENT WOULD MAKE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE TO YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A RACEHORSE OWNER?

  • Less admin fees: 62 votes
  • Racecourse experience including ticketing & facilities: 278 votes
  • Prize money increases and more equal split: 89 votes
  • Race programme: 61 votes

    • This was an open question for owners requesting unprompted answers, and by far the largest single improvement owners wished to see related to the racecourse experience. This highlights that while prize-money is an important factor (as outlined in the earlier question), the overall experience as an owner is paramount with the racecourse experience in particular of significant importance.

    Q: USING YOUR BEST ESTIMATE, IN A STANDARD MONTH HOW MUCH DOES IT COST YOU TO SUPPORT AND MAINTAIN ONE RACEHORSE IN TRAINING IN IRELAND?

    FLAT NH

    Sole Owner €1,740 €1,438

    Syndicate €1,598 €1,371