Crowds and betting both down in 2004 Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) have issued the Irish Racing Statistics for 2004 which show a rise in most figures although the key areas of attendance and betting are both lower than the record levels of 2003.There were 305 race meetings last year, compared to 303 in 2003, and total attendance was down slightly (.7%) at 1,386,517. Betting with the Tote was up 7% at 47.4m but worryingly on-course bookmakers´ figures were down 4.6% at 174.7m.The attendance total is becoming increasingly dependent on Festival meetings, which performed well in 2004. The Galway September (up 52%) and Tramore August (up 28%) meetings both showed significant increases, while the key fixtures were also up. The Galway Festival attracted 198,000, while the Leopardstown Christmas meeting was also up 3% at 63,200. The Punchestown Festival was up 15% at 75,000, while the Fairyhouse Grand National Festival crowd of 34,000 was up by 7%.The on-going balloting problems are emphasised by a healthy increase of over 17% in New Owner Registrations from 850 to 1,000, while the average total of horses in training has gone up 6% to 6,004.Commenting on the figures HRI’s Chief Executive Brian Kavanagh said, ´We knew that 2004 would be a very competitive market-place, particularly with the Olympics and Euro 2004. In that climate I am delighted to see the continuing dynamism in Irish racing, with most of the key indicators showing satisfactory increases.´´The significant growth in Tote Betting is a very good measure of the popularity of the racing product with the public. Sponsorship grew by 7% from €7.1m to €7.6m in 2004 and HRI fully expect this trend to continue for 2005 with new sponsorships from Guinness and Kerrygold already secured, together with increased support from Irish Distillers for the Powers Irish Grand National.´´Despite having had to cope with very poor weather at times throughout the year, racecourses nonetheless came close to last years all-time high of 1.4m. We will target growth in advance ticket sales and group bookings, together with increased local marketing support, to help racecourses to cope with adverse conditions. We remain confident that the underlying demand for racing is strong and we expect to see further growth in 2005.´
