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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 December 2023
INTRODUCTION
This chapter explores economic issues in Irish horse racing, including funding of the sport through the betting duty and the Irish government budget, television broadcasting arrangements and the future of both the sport and wider industry in the context of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. Both the industry and sport are multifaceted and rely on a complex supply chain that is interwoven between Ireland, Great Britain and France. This includes the breeding, selling, training and racing of horses. Unlike many other jurisdictions where the sport takes place, horse racing in Ireland is heavily subsidized by the exchequer in the form of an annual grant issued each year by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This funding has resulted in both the sport and industry flourishing at home and on the international scene. Irish horses – horses that are trained on the island – compete internationally at venues in Great Britain, France, the Middle East, Australia, Japan and the United States, with considerable success. The industry has also been greatly assisted by exchequer support and has resulted in Ireland becoming a global centre of excellence for the breeding and training of thoroughbred racehorses.
The general success of horse racing over the past 20 years has occurred within a very unstable macroeconomic environment from which public funding is sourced. The Irish economy experienced a period of unprecedented growth from the mid-1990s until 2007 (the “Celtic tiger”), followed by an economic collapse in 2009 that resulted in the government requiring international funding support from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. An economic recovery, driven by the buoyant export-oriented sectors, started apace around 2014 and was gathering pace by the time Covid-19 arrived in Ireland in 2020. Despite the global pandemic, Ireland's export-orientated economy proved to be remarkably resilient, with double-digit annual economic growth recorded in 2021. During these various periods of boom and bust, government support for horse racing has remained steadfast. Horse Sport Ireland3 (2012
: 33) notes that Irish horse racing “has benefited from substantial financial support from the Government”.
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