Arctic weather conditions having a major economic impact

IN AN industry already feeling the financial pinch, the current arctic weather is having a major economic impact on Irish racing with racecourses desperate to reschedule fixtures that are being lost.

All aspects of racing revenue are impacted upon when racing is called off, from betting turnover to sponsorship levels to income for the sports high-profile professionals like trainers and jockeys.

Off-course bookmakers alone reckon each Irish race meeting is worth €1.8 million to them in turnover in this country.

Even in the midst of the current freezing conditions, however, there is a determination that lost meetings will be rescheduled in the near future and that is a sign of the financial reality for racecourses in Ireland right now.

With attendance levels declining in recent years, greater emphasis than ever is being placed on the income generated for tracks by television money.

In television terms, each fixture in Ireland is worth in total more than €35,000 to an individual racecourse. Industry insiders have indicated that losing a fixture completely to the elements costs just over €30,000 in fees to a track.

At a time when crowd figures, particularly midweek, regularly fail to reach the thousand mark, the importance of this source of income is huge.

Some racecourse managers admit their businesses would not be viable without it. Little wonder that there is such pressure to reschedule cancelled meetings.

“If a meeting is rescheduled, it doesn’t matter if it is for a month later, or the following day. The media fees are paid and that is a major factor for racecourses,” the Association Of Irish Racecourses chief executive Paddy Walsh said yesterday.

The impact of a missed day is also reflected in income missed out on from bookmaker fees but the downside of rescheduling meetings is that crowd figures usually fail to reach the mark expected of the original fixture.

“Crowds are usually down for these rescheduled meetings. I can’t put a figure on it but there will always be a certain percentage who won’t go,” Tom Burke, manager of Leopardstown said yesterday.

The impact on crowd figures, however, can be lessened depending on when the fixture is slotted back in. “If you lose a Sunday meeting and it is put on the following Tuesday, then there is no doubt the crowd will be smaller. However, if there is a bit of extra time then that can help in terms of promoting the rescheduled meeting,” Paddy Walsh said.

“A meeting like Leopardstown, if it is refixed for, say, 10 days’ time, then it gives the course a chance to promote the meeting, rather than say if it is put on two days later,” he added.

One expense that Leopardstown have already had to write off is promotion costs for the meeting that has been called off. Other fixed costs such as catering and staff expenses can be reduced, however, the further from the original date the fixture is called off.

So the current atrocious weather has at least reduced the expense incurred from leaving a decision about going ahead until the last moment.

There can be less tangible drawbacks, however, such as the impact on sponsorship. Sunday’s big-race sponsors, MCR, were a late coup for Leopardstown but original plans now have to be revised.

During the Christmas meeting, fog meant the transfer of the featured Lexus Chase to the last day of the festival. The Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson couldn’t come back to Leopardstown the second day and his horse What A Friend won the big race.

Ferguson’s absence meant some valuable media coverage was missed out on by Lexus. “In the circumstances, moving the Lexus was the right thing to do, even though it meant reducing admission prices from €25 to €15. But people are usually very understanding in the circumstances and it just wasn’t possible for Sir Alex to be here,” said Tom Burke who concentrated on the bright side of getting the Christmas festival finished on time.

“There is always a sigh of relief when we get to the fourth day at Christmas. Those four days account for 35 per cent of our annual revenue,” he added. “There is always a large financial implication when you have to call off a meeting.”

A lot of tracks are finding that out right now and the Horse Racing Ireland chief executive Brian Kavanagh summed up the prevalent mood when he said: “It’s a pain in the neck for everyone.”

Meanwhile, the Turf Club has announced that the Shillelagh and District point-to-point at Tinahely in Co Wicklow has been postponed on Sunday, January 10th and rescheduled for Sunday, January 17th. Original entries for this fixture will stand.