Delivering a keynote presentation at the Sapporo Convention Center in Sapporo, Japan, on Wednesday (28 August), Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chair of the Asian Racing Federation (ARF) and Chief Executive Officer of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, outlined four key challenges horse racing must overcome if the sport desires prosperity and longevity.
Opening the three-day Asian Racing Conference’s (ARC) Business Programme’s first session with a presentation titled ‘Racing: State Of Play’, Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges identified the sport’s most pressing issues.
“The first aspect is industry fragmentation, the second is social acceptability, third is the growth of illegal and offshore betting, and number four is the long-term sustainability of our sport, which is at risk due to an ageing customer base,” Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
“There has been a significant change after COVID when you look at consumer behaviour and if you look at the industry, and topics like social acceptability, and when I look at the ARF itself, we have excelled after coming out of COVID, but our challenges are significant.
“If we want to manage these challenges, overcome these challenges, and come up with good strategies, it is not one single jurisdiction who can do this – we, as a sport, must work much closer together and really stride together.
“We have to evolve globally. There are differing priorities locally, but we have to think globally, and especially when it comes to having the necessary protections to keep our social licence.’’
While racing’s wagering turnover has softened post-pandemic, Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges pointed to current levels remaining higher than before the pandemic, leading to injections of prize money in many ARF member jurisdictions but concerns remain because horse racing’s market share against sports betting has dipped since 2020.
Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges believes the sport’s growth is being stifled by industry fragmentation, and that horse racing must take a joint approach to overcoming obstacles – a sentiment which is reflected in the 40th ARC’s theme: “Be Connected, Stride Together”.
Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges wants to prioritise a focus on science, technology and research to increase safety for horses, hoping to bring together the best minds to come up with solutions and innovations, especially via the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence).
The illegal wagering market is worth an estimated US$1.7 trillion globally and growing at a faster rate than the legal market. Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges is concerned that regulators are placing significant pressure on the legal market with increased regulation and high taxes, while ignoring illegal operators, whose revenue doesn’t contribute to the sport and instead reaps the benefits of shifting customers without any repercussions.
Referencing racing’s ageing customer base, Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges, said: “We have 43% of our customers in racing, in general, are 55-plus. When I look at the betting turnover, it’s 50%, which comes from that age group.”
After his keynote presentation, Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges was joined on a panel by Mr. Masayuki Goto, Vice-Chair of the ARF and Executive Advisor of Japan Racing Association (JRA); Mr. Peter V’landys, CEO of Racing New South Wales and Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission; Mr. Aaron Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of Racing Victoria; Ms. Suzanne Eade, Chief Executive Officer of Horse Racing Ireland; Mr. Drew Fleming, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Breeders’ Cup; and Mr. Joe Saumarez Smith, Chair of the British Horseracing Authority.
Mr. Goto outlined the JRA’s stance on climate change: “The JRA has adapted a policy called ‘JRA-Zero’ which is to reduce the environmental impact by trying to reduce waste from our racing operations to zero emissions.”
Following the rapid growth and success of World Pool as a key funding tool, Mr. V’landys hopes to enhance parimutuel wagering’s presence with a single tote operation in Australia, also echoing Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges’ view that collaboration can see the industry to thrive.
“We should be taking our competitors on, we should be taking sports betting on and other forms of entertainment, but what are we focused on? Fighting amongst ourselves. The sooner we stop doing that and sabotaging ourselves, the better the industry will be.
“I think World Pool has the potential to save world racing because it really highlights the major events in every country, it puts the focus on that event and punters from all around the world can bet on that particular race,” Mr. V’landys said.
Ms. Suzanne Eade shared similar views to Mr. V’landys regarding World Pool: “World Pool in Ireland for us has made our good days great, it really has. We treat our World Pool days as very precious.”
Mr. Morrison spoke of Racing Victoria’s aftercare measures, which totals roughly AU$6 million per year: “Across the Australian jurisdictions, the PRAs (Principal Racing Authorities) are investing very significantly into the equine welfare support activities. Victoria for example allocates at least 2% of prize money.”
Mr. Saumarez Smith shared insights on British racing’s future, notably by setting long-term goals for the industry: “What we have tried to do is put together a vision and a strategy for the sport, so over the last two years we have changed some of the governance.”
“It’s always easier to make change when there’s a burning platform, I think there are enough people in the sport who think it is a burning platform, but there are quite large sections of the sport that do quite well. So, they don’t see the dangers as much as some people.”
Mr. Fleming said: “Horse racing is a sport which is centuries old. People have been enjoying it forever, which speaks of the power of the horses, which is something so special, and what we need to be doing as racetracks and industries is celebrating the horse and providing that much fun that everyone deserves.”
A panel discussion titled ‘Straight From The Saddle’, saw leading JRA jockeys Yutaka Take and Christophe Lemaire discuss several vital issues including equine welfare, use of the whip and their responsibilities to promote racing to a younger audience.
