Racing Set For 40% Sponsorship Drop

During the industry’s annual conference, David Thorpe, chairman of the Racecourse Association, has predicted that sponsorship revenue in horse racing could fall by as much as 40% during the economic recession.

Thorpe described the diminishing returns from sponsorship as ‘a very serious situation’ although his estimate was swiftly rebutted by Nigel Payne, chief executive of the Sponsors’ Association, who believes that the present shortfall is less than 10%, possibly rising to 20% later this year.

Figures within the annual report of the British Horseracing Authority, issued this week, show that sponsors’ contribution to prize-money has already dropped more than £3m in four years.

A reduction in commercial input is just one product of an economic crisis described by Paul Roy, chairman of the BHA, as ‘the scariest in our lifetime’.

Paul Dixon, representing racehorse owners, admitted some of his constituents ‘will find it harder to pay for their horses in training’, a prospect that raised alarms about horse welfare.