Racing in Switzerland - it's not just about racing on snow!

Article by Paull Khan

Think of racing in Switzerland, and the fabulous White Turf meeting on Lake St. Moritz probably comes to mind. This is no surprise, of course. The EMHF was fortunate to hold its General Assembly there in 2015, and for many of our delegates, including your columnist, it remains among the most memorable racing adventures of all. But there is so much more to racing in that country.

Sadly, St Moritz’s little sister track, which provided racing on the frozen lake at Arosa, is no longer with us. Weather conditions in recent years meant that there had become a worse than even-money chance of abandonment—a situation that was just not financially sustainable.

But the full roster of Swiss thoroughbred tracks still extends to seven. (Although one of the tracks, at Fehraltorf, which had upheld a 75-year tradition of racing over the Easter holiday, remains in a state of hiatus following an altercation last year with a neighbour farmer, who took the dramatic and disruptive decision to plough up the racing surface.)

Jump racing is the primary focus at Aarau and Maienfeld, while the flat dominates at Zurich-Dielsdorf, Frauenfeld (home of the Swiss Derby) and at the track that is the financial powerhouse of Swiss racing, Avenches.

This August saw celebrations for the 150th year of the Zurich race club, which coincided with 50 years of its current racecourse, at the small nearby town of Dielsdorf. A two-day festival was crafted, during which the 1500-metre, pancake-flat turf track staged 14 races: nine thoroughbred flat, two trotting and three pony. This left-hand track also boasts a jump course, but this is used infrequently these days.

Interwoven with the races, there was an appearance of the 250-year-old Bernese Dragoons, a mesmeric display from world-renowned Jean-Francois Pignon’s ‘free dressage’ horses, after-racing musical acts and, notably, a parade of former equine stars of Swiss racing showing off their expertise in new-found careers. Aftercare has long been a feature of Swiss racing. Horses tend to stay in training for longer than the norm on the flat, allowing the public to build up the kind of rapport with them normally associated with jump racing. In addition, they tend to race more frequently than in most countries, averaging nearly eight starts annually and this helps to buoy field sizes and makes for attractive, competitive racing generally.

The substantial crowds were engaged and relaxed, and it all made for a wonderfully rewarding racing experience.  

When it comes to funding, Swiss racing is swimming against the tide, in many ways akin to the experience in Belgium, described in the last issue of Trainer. This is because, with one principal exception, there is no opportunity for people within or outside the country to place bets on Swiss races unless they are on-track. The twin State-installed institutions (one French-language, the other German), which between them enjoy a betting monopoly, decline to include domestic racing within their product mix. The exception is Avenches, where the bulk of the races has been taken on by the French betting giant PMU, are shown on the Equidia channel, and are available to Swiss and French citizens to bet on, in cafes, bars and kiosks and online. (In 2022, a few PMU races were also held in Frauenfeld and Dielsdorf). The commission from this betting activity is vital to Avenches and also helps support Swiss racing generally, but the other Swiss tracks rely critically on donations and sponsor contributions.

Unsurprisingly, the scale of the industry has suffered a worrying contraction. What had been a slow but steady reduction in the numbers of owners, horses, races and prize money between 2015 and 2019 accelerated dramatically in the COVID year of 2020. Over the past seven years, prize money has halved, and the numbers of horses and owners have reduced by 51 percent and 48 percent, respectively.

The Swiss race programme is heavily weighted towards staying races. While Handicaps are out of bounds to foreign-trained runners, they only constitute a modest proportion of the race programme and all conditions races are open. Average prize money per race remains very respectable, at nearly €10,000. The Grand Prix von St Moritz is, at €100K, clearly the nation’s richest race. Other significant prizes include the Grand Prix d’Avenches (€20k for 3yo+, weight-for-ages, 2400m/12f), Zurich’s Grand Prix Jockey Club (€50k for 3yo+, weight-for-age, 2475m/12f+), and the Swiss Derby (€50K). The country’s main jump race is the €35K Grand Prix of Switzerland, run over (4200m/21f) in beautiful surroundings at Aarau in September with a limited weight range of just 3kgs.

For five years, between 2014 and 2018, both the Grand Prix d’Avenches and the Grand Prix Jockey Club boasted Black Type. Regrettably, neither managed to maintain the strict ratings threshold required of such races in Europe. Fresh hope has been generated by the new scheme, agreed this year, whereby EMHF member countries without a Black Type race can apply for such recognition for a single, flagship event which is allowed a rating 5lbs lower than normal. There is a real desire that one or another of these races can clear this lowered bar but, as is normally the case, this is likely to hinge on their attracting foreign-trained runners rated 95+ on the international scale. And, considering the decent prizes, foreign-trained runners are relatively thin on the ground, accounting for under five percent of starters. British and German raiders are attracted to the snow, Czech runners to some of the jumps races, but foreign runners on the flat have been in single figures over the past two years.

There was, in fact, a third milestone included within the Zurich celebrations: the tenth anniversary of Horse Park Dielsdorf. The Horse Park brings together the racing and equestrian worlds in a way which could surely be gainfully replicated in many more parts of Europe. Alongside the racetrack and training barns housing 150 horses, there are FEI-standard facilities for show jumping and dressage. A recent addition, completed within the past year, is a large stylish building which, in its restaurant configuration, comfortably seats 250 with a fine view of the racing. Various facilities around the complex are available year-round to the general public for hire. In investing some €8M into this project, Race Club President Anton Kraeuliger has demonstrated both a recognition of the importance of sweating the asset that is the racecourse and an enduring belief in Swiss racing. Let us hope that this confidence is well-placed and that racing in this most beautiful of European countries, can look forward to a thriving future.

International Horse Movement - under the spotlight

At the annual European Horse Network / MEP’s Horse Group Conference in Brussels

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen opened the conference held in Brussels 16 November 2021 with a message of support. Paull Khan, secretary-general of the European and Mediterranean Horseracing Federation, then spoke on international horse movement and, in specific, in the context of the three political and legal factors of Brexit, the EU Animal Health Law and the review of Animal Welfare regulations, particularly the Transport Regulation.

Khan looked at things primarily through a “thoroughbred lens,” but also included other relevant equine sectors. Explaining why horse movement is so important to our sector, Khan pointed out, “Horse racing is not only a serious sport, it is a serious business. We estimated last year that the economic impact of racing in Europe is some €23bn per annum, and the sector directly employs over 100,000 people, mainly in rural areas. 

“Horse racing is widespread across the EU. Seventeen of our European and Mediterranean Horseracing Federation members are EU member states—the same for our sister organisation, the European Trotting Union; and movement of thoroughbreds is central to this industry.”

While other agricultural animals will typically only move internationally once, if at all, usually for slaughter, horses, particularly racehorses and sports horses, frequently move between countries for reasons other than slaughter. Khan stressed the importance of repeating this to those outside our sector: “As legislators may have in their minds ‘travel for slaughter,’ when they think of international travel of horses and other animals.” Almost 90,000 equines in a normal year travel internationally within, or to and from, the EU; and it is estimated that nearly 60% of these movements are not for slaughter.

“For thoroughbreds, it starts at the very beginning—at their conception,” said Khan. “So the movement of mares to visit stallions is essential. And it is vital, for the improvement of the breed and in order that Europe retains its competitive pre-eminence in this area, that mare owners are able to select from a broad panel of stallions, which may be based in other countries. There are growing concerns in the Stud Book community about inbreeding. Limiting the geographical footprint is an obvious way to restrict that gene pool.”

He went on to point out that during the horse’s racing career, the better it is, the more likely it will travel internationally to contest the best races. “Again, this process is critical to the improvement of the breed. The performances of a racehorse within any given country are only truly validated when that horse is tested by racing the best in other countries.”

Moving on to the issues posed by Brexit, Khan reminded us that the three countries with the largest thoroughbred industries—France, Ireland and Great Britain—had relied on the former Tripartite Agreement to allow for largely free and unrestricted travel within this bloc. There were over 26,000 international movements of thoroughbreds annually between these three nations alone. Now, movement between Great Britain and EU countries requires blood tests, the involvement of official vets for health certification, further health-check on entry, pre-notification of the movement, both outbound and return, Customs paperwork (four sets for a return trip) and the payment of value added tax. “The burden in terms of cost, time and hassle of moving a horse has risen starkly,” Khan illustrated.

“There are also welfare issues here,” he continued. “World Horse Welfare tell me that the requirements are impacting compliant traffic but not non-compliant traffic. We have heard of people choosing to send horses from France, destined for Britain by the long sea route to Ireland, then traveling up to Northern Ireland and finally across to mainland Britain, all in order to avoid all this. Clearly not in the horses’ welfare interests. And we know of delays of several hours at Border Control Posts (BCPs)  and of horses—most recently a nine-month-old foal, which was sent back to the UK on its own because of a technicality of the paperwork.”  

What is frustrating is that so much of this is unnecessary. Khan said, “Taking the health certification requirements first, they are not serving to solve any existing bio-security problem—there were no issues arising out of the movement of horses to and from the UK throughout the 50 years before Brexit. But putting that aside, the requirement to complete lengthy paperwork is unnecessary, given the existence of a digital alternative.

“And secondly, in respect of the VAT, the vast majority of racing and sport horse movements are return journeys—the horse travels to compete, or breed, and then returns. But even though VAT is not ultimately payable in the case of temporary movements, there is the need for connections of the horse to pay the VAT, or put up security against its value and then reclaim it. This is time consuming, not only for the connections of the horses but also for the revenue officials collecting the money who then have to spend time in repaying that money to the connections when the horse has gone home. Repayments are reportedly typically taking five months from some countries. This is a pointless waste of time and effort for horsemen and officials alike.”

What effect has all this had on movement numbers to and from Great Britain? “It’s very difficult, of course, to split the effect of COVID from that of Brexit; but what we can see very clearly is that, in combination, Brexit and COVID have had a downward impact on thoroughbred movements,” Khan reflected. 

“It is clear that racing movements, i.e. international runners, suffered badly in the first year of COVID, roughly halving from 2019, whether between Britain and the EU or the rest of the world. It is true that, since Brexit, rather than seeing a further deterioration, we have witnessed a recovery. Racing movements this year, despite Brexit, have been higher than in 2020—24% higher to and from the EU, and 59% higher to and from the rest of the world. But, while we must be optimistic that the worst effects of COVID are behind us, we cannot be so confident about Brexit. We just don’t know how owners’ and breeders’ behaviour will be modified in future years by the stark reality of their experience in this, ‘Year One’. Now that they know what the final bill added up to and how long it took for them to receive their VAT repayments, it is not unreasonable to surmise that they may choose not to repeat the exercise in the future.” 

Even given this year’s recovery, he noted that international runners between Britain and the EU have fallen by one-third against 2019 levels, and those with the rest of the world are down by 13%.

“This means that EU owners and trainers have had fewer opportunities to test their horses against those in Britain, and races on both sides of the water have been weakened, both in their appeal to the public and as international testing grounds.

“This could have a long-term damaging effect in an area where Europe leads the world. No fewer than 38 of the world’s top 100 races are run in Europe—more than Asia which has 23, Australasia 26 and the Americas 13. I mentioned the economic impact of European horse racing over €23bn per annum; much of this is linked to the quality of the races that are run here.” 

“Tracing a very different pattern have been non-racing movements (excluding Ireland), which were far more resilient to COVID than were racing movements but which have suffered post-Brexit in a way that racing movements have not. Movements for breeding and other purposes outnumber racing movements by around six to one. 

“Looking at movements between Britain and Continental EU—we don’t have these figures for Ireland because Britain and Ireland share a common Stud Book—we see they have more than halved, from 4,283 to 1,964. An indication of the ‘Brexit effect’ can be inferred from the fact that movements between Britain and the rest of the world only reduced by 13%, despite COVID.

“Non-racing movements to and from Ireland have held up remarkably well, being within 4% of 2019 levels. Overall, thoroughbred journeys between Britain and the EU are one-third down on two years ago.

“This isn’t just affecting racing. The European Equestrian Federation have told me that they have seen reduced numbers, both of British competitors at European events and Europeans travelling to Britain. And, taking the perspective of Ireland, we see a very similar picture. Non-racing movement of thoroughbreds between Ireland and the rest of the EU has fallen from 3,951 to 2,407—a 39% fall.

“Overall movements to and from Ireland would appear to be down by one-quarter—less, therefore, than the one-third fall to and from Britain. As in Britain, racing movements have shown a recovery this year, whereas non-racing movements, except those too and from Britain which have been static, have continued to fall.”

Animal Health Law was the next major issue to be examined in detail by Khan, although as he pointed out, the AHL has only applied since April; and member states are at different stages of their practical implementation. “In brief, it is too soon to gauge its impact on horse movement,” he warned. 

“The new requirements for the registration of operators and establishments, the registration of the place where a horse is habitually kept, the need to record all arrivals and departures, etc., will create additional work. And it could be argued that the problems these measures are being brought in to address are largely absent in the race and sport horse sectors; and they come at a time when the equine sector is already reeling from the impact of COVID.

“What I would say, however, cautiously, is that, from the soundings I have been making, my impression is that, at least in our sector, there are no widespread concerns over the impact of this new legislation per se on horse movements.”

He then moved on to the third piece of legislation, the Animal Transport Regulation. “Here, we’re concerned that some of the recommendations of the European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry, ANIT, do not eventually become law.”

Subsequent to the Conference, ANIT produced its final report in early December, and Khan has provided us with an update on the current situation.

“We are pleased that a number of the points we and our sister organisations made appear to have been heeded. There was the threat of a blanket ban on transport of live horses to third countries, but this has gone, as has a requirement for a vet to be present at all loadings and unloadings. The fact that mares need to travel to visit stallions in order to conform with the global ban on artificial breeding methods in the thoroughbred world has also been acknowledged. It would seem, too, that the hard-won derogation from the journey limit of eight hours has been retained.

“What we need to concentrate on in the coming months, and make representations to the Commission as appropriate, includes the proposed ban on travelling horses outside of the range -5 degrees to +30 degrees, and ensuring that travel of horses by horsebox on roll-on/roll-off ferries is differentiated from travel by sea vessel. I’m sure our colleagues in the breeding world will also want to ensure that there is a derogation from any ban on travelling unweaned foals even if they are accompanied by their dams, and the proposed ban on animals travelling when in the last third of gestation.” 

Returning to the questions posed at the conference, Khan provided advice on how decision makers can support the industry. “Taking Brexit first, it is the unanimous view of all 26 EMHF member countries, that an easing of movement between the EU and the UK will benefit the whole of the European thoroughbred industry. We need to address avoidable areas of friction, which are only likely to worsen when the UK introduces its own BCPs to mirror those in EU countries. And I come back to the two things I mentioned earlier: unnecessary paperwork and unnecessary VAT payments. We’re hopeful that the newly formed Sanitary & Phytosanitary Committee can help here and we hope that there will be some expert input from the equine sector on that Committee.”

He also called for a commitment to embrace digital technology to replace the current antiquated paper-based systems. “The use of equine e-passports for equine identification is already providing welfare and health benefits through the eradication of tampered and fraudulent passports and improved traceability through real-time validation and audit trails. These digital passports, which have been built by both the sport horse and racehorse sectors—all Thoroughbreds in Ireland and Britain have them—comprise identity, vaccination and veterinary records, movement and ownership. We need governments to work with us to enhance this existing technology through interoperability with the systems of relevant government agencies: vets, Customs, revenue, etc. This will reduce cost, reduce time, reduce the risk of error and fraud. It will also cut down waiting times and workloads at Border Control. Vets at BCPs have many other, far more pressing tasks from which checking high health horses is currently just a distraction; and this can be stopped. 

“Of course, acceptance of e-passports from selected third countries will be necessary to address the Brexit issue, and current EU Law precludes this.

“More generally, we seek the introduction of a system which recognises that, where high health status of a horse population can be demonstrated, the regulatory burden imposed on the movements of such horses should be appropriately reduced. Such an evidence-led, risk-based approach— such as the High Health Breeding “HHB” concept, which the European Federation of Thoroughbred Breeders have advocated and is now being examined by the chief veterinary officers (CVOs) of Ireland, France, Germany and the Scandinavian countries, or the similar High Health Horse concept which the racing and sport horse sectors proposed to the Commission some four years ago—would make best use of stretched veterinary and administrative resources, [would] give much-needed respite to the equine sector and benefit horse welfare.

“We also call upon the revenue authorities in member states and the UK to adopt the flexibility, which it is within their gift to do, in agreeing sensible exemptions from the requirement to make payments in relation to value added tax in the case of temporary movements of horses. The racing industries in the most affected countries are all engaging with their respective revenue authorities on this question. Support from MEPs would be very valuable.

And on the Transport Regulation, we ask that our legitimate concerns are taken into account and that we avoid additional provisions in law which would unnecessarily seriously damage the equine sector further.”

Khan concluded on a positive note by pointing out, “I’d just like to underline that those in the racing and breeding community are passionate about their horses. We have long worked closely with World Horse Welfare and others, and we are fully behind their efforts and those of MEPs towards improving conditions for horses.”

MOVEMENT OF HORSES 2021 TABLES

OVERALL THOROUGHBRED MOVEMENTS

GB / IRE BREEDING MOVEMENTS INFERRED FROM COVERING STATISTICS

Showing totals as reported at end-November 2021

Click to view the tables:

OUTBOUND MOVEMENTS FROM GB
GB-TRAINED RUNNERS (RACE STARTS) IN EU/SWI & RoW

RACING MOVEMENTS - INBOUND MOVEMENTS TO GB

IRISH NON-RACING MOVEMENTS

NON-RACING MOVEMENTS - Excludes movements between Great Britain and Ireland

Scandanavian Horse Racing Breaks New Ground with Common Rules Book

By Dr. Paull Khan

A refrain that can be heard with relentless regularity across the racing world is the call for common rules of racing. I know of no one who does not hold to the view that it would indeed be a great improvement if—like golf, tennis or any number of other sports—racing had a harmonised global rules book. However, with one or two notable recent exceptions, advances towards this prize have been depressingly absent. Racing Authorities are, after all, sovereign in such affairs and, frequently, the attitude that ultimately prevails is “we are absolutely in favour of harmonisation—as long as we don’t have to change our rules.” 

It is, then, all the more heartening to be able to report on an initiative which has overcome such national pride and prejudice and successfully claimed this elusive prize. Since 1 June, the racing industries of Sweden, Norway and Denmark have been governed by a common set of rules encompassing registration and licencing, anti-doping, infection control, raceday equipment and guidelines for sanctions.  

Not that it has been a quick or easy fix. Discussions have been held since before the turn of the century on dovetailing such aspects of racing administration of the three countries. Five years ago, EMHF’s Honorary Life President Bjorn Eklund carried out an exercise to map the differences between the three rules books.

Then, in November 2020, the Swedish Horseracing Authority’s administrative manager, Helena Gartner, was asked to lead a push finally to get the concept over the line. Two representatives were nominated from each of the three countries, with Gartner as project manager. Weekly meetings were held throughout the first half of 2021, paving the way for the June launch.

In part, the recent acceleration of progress can be attributed to COVID as one of the pandemic’s few benefits. Nicolas Cordrey, Danish Jockey Club representative on the group, explains: “There is no doubt that COVID, and the need to use video conferencing on a daily basis, helped in getting the three countries together. It made the process much easier and quicker. We were also lucky to have Helena as project manager, who was always one step ahead.

“Although we are operating in a relatively small market,” explains Gartner, “there is a high degree of international traffic. In 2020, for example, a quarter of the horses that raced in Sweden were trained outside the country—the great majority of them from Denmark and Norway. The same jockeys are riding across Scandinavia. So it is important to have the same procedures and penalties.” 

Exact equivalence of all the Rules has not yet been achieved. Some remain distinct, most obviously Norway’s famous banning of the whip. Gartner again: “I have a list of rules which still differ. While Denmark and Norway use stalls tests; Sweden has qualifier races, for example. Norway has equipment that Sweden and Denmark would not allow: flexible blinkers and ear plugs that can be removed during the race (as are often used in trotting in Scandinavia). I would say that we either succeeded to harmonise quickly or we had to put it on the list, which we have to work with in the future. For Sweden and Denmark there will be more restrictive rules for the use of whip in 2022, which we are discussing at the moment. How close we get to the Norwegian rules is still to be decided.”

These loose ends aside, the experience has been undeniably positive. “Enhanced cooperation between the countries has benefited us all. We share experiences more frequently now and learn from each other. I hope that decisions made by the Stewards will become more and more homogeneous. Now we share members of Appeal Bodies among our countries. We also had a common education for Stewards led by (the British Horseracing Authority’s) Brant Dunshea and Cathy O´Meara in October, which was a big success. I also would like to add that all countries have agreed to let the Swedish Trotting Disciplinary committee decide about violations against the antidoping rules for horses.”

The secret to success down this pioneering route would appear to be compromise and pragmatism as well as acceptance that this is an iterative process, where the countries move closer towards full harmony over time. 

Have the changes been generally accepted by the stakeholders? “Yes, I would absolutely say so,” answers Gartner.

There is a bigger strategic prize that has been an impetus for the project. Establishing a joint Rules Book has been identified as a necessary precursor to technological convergence, with all the synergistic benefits this promises. Gartner again: “Common rules is the first step on our way towards a common Scandinavian database and IT system, and that work has also started!”

The Norwegian Jockey Club’s Liv Kristiansen, also an EMHF Executive Council member, has represented Norway on the project. She elaborates on its perceived advantages:

“As it works now, the three organisations do the same job three times, whether that be registering horses and their breeding, registering owners, licencing or recording race results.”

Cordrey concurs: “One common database, instead of three, will save a lot of administrative time between the three countries and will be much better for our owners, trainers and gamblers. Looking for information and statistics in one place and entering and declaring in one system will make life much easier for a lot of people living in or off racing.”

Kristiansen adds that the system will also address a long-standing inequity. Today, as generally around the world, if a rider incurs a penalty in one country and a second in another country, the first will not be taken into account in any ‘totting-up’ calculations. Top riders can, therefore, move from one jurisdiction to another, free from such concerns. “With our common rules, if a jockey gets fined or suspended for an offence in Norway one day, and then does the same in Sweden the following day, this would be considered a repeat offence.”

Such international cooperation makes sense on so many levels. Common rules are, in and of themselves, to the benefit of all participants and fans. In addition to which, looking beyond one’s own country to outsource certain administrative functions not only increases the talent pool, but also reduces the risks of conflicts of interest. And finally, merging IT systems reduces duplication of work and creates ongoing cost savings. 

Maybe this Scandinavian experiment will act as a beacon for other Racing Authorities to follow suit. 

Photo: Caption: Outgoing IFHA Chair Louis Romanet with EMHF Secretary-General Paull Khan.

BIG CHANGES ON THE WORLD STAGE

4 October 2021 marked the end of a remarkable era in global racing administration. Louis Romanet retired after 27 years as the first and only chair of our global body, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, thus ending a period of over a century during which the Romanet dynasty has been central to the sport’s development. It was Louis’ grandfather, René, who, as secretary-general of the Societe d’Encouragement (the then French racing authority), chose the name the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for a new prestige race, which made its debut in 1920 shortly after the conclusion of the First World War. Both Louis and his father, Jean, headed the Societe d’Encouragement, and it was Jean’s international outlook and vision that led to the creation of the IFHA. Brian Kavanagh, EMHF chair, has gone as far to say, “Without the Romanet family’s influence in racing, I don’t think racing would be the global sport that it is today.” 

Louis has been a towering figure in world racing for so long, and it was both a relief and a pleasure that we were able to wish him a bonne retraite in person.

Chairmanship of the IFHA passes to Asia, and to Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, who has been CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club for the past 15 years. (We in Europe, though, can of course claim Engelbrecht-Bresges as one of our own—having run Germany’s Direktorium for six years in the 1990s). There will be no loss of continuity or experience, however, since he steps up to the top post having been, for several years, one of the IFHA’s three vice-chairs.

This was but one of many changes at the IFHA, which followed both a strategic and a governance review. Perhaps the most far-reaching of these is the decision that the federation’s executives will run affairs from their respective bases around the world, in Lexington, Paris and Hong Kong. Just as COVID provided impetus to the Scandinavian rules project, so it seems to have contributed to the acceptance that organisations no longer need to have a single physical headquarters.

Paris will retain a special place within the workings of the IFHA. The 55-year tradition of holding the annual conference there, following the ‘Arc’, will continue. And European interests will continue to be well represented on the IFHA Executive Council, commanding four of the 11 votes. EMHF Chair Brian Kavanagh remains a vice-chair and is joined on the ‘ExCo’ by France Galop’s Olivier Delloye and new recruits Julie Harrington (CEO of the British Horseracing Authority) and Paull Khan, (EMHF secretary-general, representing the region’s ‘developing’ racing nations). Harrington will chair the Governance Committee, and Delloye the new Commercial and Marketing Committee. In addition, EMHF Executive Council member Henri Pouret will become a director of the new global Executive Office.

In terms of focus areas, it is noteworthy how issues of sustainability and climate change have moved centre stage. At this year’s IFHA Annual Conference, alongside the familiar themes of technological advances and horse welfare was a powerful piece from the Chair of Sport and Sustainability International on the challenges faced by racing and breeding in achieving net zero emission. This came hard on the heels of a talk at this year’s Horseracing Industry Conference in Britain whose strapline was 'Future-Proofing the Racing Industry: Protecting People and the Planet’ and featured an address by the CEO of the British Association for Sustainable Sport. 

In his address to the virtual IFHA Conference, Engelbrecht-Bresges stated, “The time has now come for racing to fully commit to addressing the challenge of climate change” and announced the creation of a new IFHA Committee on sustainability, bolstered by external experts. He expressed confidence that racing could play a leading role among sports on this issue, just as it has in the areas of commercial development and integrity. It seems clear that, from now on and increasingly, the agendas of racing’s leaders will be tinged green.

On the EMHF front, 2020 was, sadly, another year without an in-person meeting. We fervently hope we will be able to meet up for next year’s General Assembly in Warsaw in May 2022. 

This year we welcomed our first two associate members: Romania and Lebanon. The Romanian Jockey Club has hopes of restoring racing in Romania to its former glories. Lebanon no longer stages thoroughbred racing but is hopeful that this can be resurrected in future. Lebanon has moved from a full member to an associate member. Regrettably, we have seen the demise of racing in Lithuania, which is no longer an EMHF member.

On our EMHF Executive Council, Will Lambe has left the BHA and replaced as the vice-chair representing non EU European countries by Julie Harrington. Spain’s Paulino Ojanguren Saez was also elected to the ‘ExCo’ in a four-way contest for the space created by the retirement of Turkey’s Behcet Homurlu.  

EMHF update - Could European Racing improve its techniques for courting students?

By Dr Paull Khan

Racing is not alone in its desire to encourage greater interest amongst the younger generations. For decades, we have bemoaned our ‘ageing demographic’ and, while there may be little evidence of anything more than an aged demographic (raising the suspicion that it was ever thus), we, like so many others, are constantly seeking the key to attracting youth to our sport in all capacities: punters, racegoers, careerists.

For advice on this, who better to turn to, we reasoned, than to students themselves? Enter the European Student Horseracing Federation (ESHF)—a fledgling organisation whose members are University Racing Societies. Founding Chairman Robert Dargan explains: ‘The ESHF was established in May 2020 when I was elected chairman of Trinity College Horse Racing Society. It was founded to help racing societies to promote their presence and activities in their respective Universities. As I was fearful they may not survive the effects of COVID—given the fact that their normal events—visiting breeding operations, training facilities and going to the races could no longer take place due to restrictions. I thought it was very important to keep the societies active, to help promote the sport of horse racing to students, who are the next generation of supporters, participants and owners. I also wanted to have a central place for student horse racing enthusiasts to share their passion with other like-minded students from other universities and countries. I felt such an organisation did not exist for these purposes.’

Together, we began the search for a Fellowship Observer—a competitive process open to ESHF members where the winner would win an expenses-paid trip to Warsaw, and where, COVID permitting, we will hold the EMHF’s General Assembly in October, alongside racing at Poland’s premier racetrack, Sluzewiec.

Students were invited to distil into 500 words their thoughts on what European racing administrators might best do to encourage youth participation.

Entries were received from racing and equestrian societies of Universities across Ireland and Britain, including Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University College Cork, University of Cambridge and University of Nottingham.

The top three entries - click on link to read:

Ciara Dineen - Winning Entry

Adrian Binder - Highly Commended

Kate Madden - Highly Commended

EMHF Fellowship Observer Competition winner Ciara Dineen.

Ciara Dineen, a first-year equine business student at Maynooth University, emerged as the winner. Ciara hails from a racing background—her father was both a jockey and trainer in his day, and she now dovetails her studies with working at John Joseph Murphy’s yard in Cork. Like several of the competition entrants, she feels that more could usefully be done to organise and foster the direct involvement of students in various aspects of the sport. From the organisation of student ownership syndicates to an enhancement of the ‘student raceday’ concept, which would see the addition of stable visits in the days leading up to the race, allowing the students ‘up close and personal’ access to one or two of the runners on the day—whom they can then cheer on, come the raceday, bonded by their newfound acquaintanceship.

The student ownership syndicate is not an entirely new idea. There are two variants: syndicates for alumni of schools or colleges and those for current members of college Racing Societies. Pierce Dargan, brother to Robert, and better known as CEO of Equine Medirecord, has been a trailblazer in this area. Pierce founded the Blackrock Racing Syndicate, made up of alumni of Blackrock College, a well-known school in Ireland, at the end of 2018. The syndicate got off to a dream start, with its first horse, Arthurian Fame, winning at the first time of asking. Exultant Blackrock members, decked out in the school’s blue and white colours, memorably hoisted trainer Joseph O'Brien aloft and into the winner’s enclosure.

The success didn't stop there, with the syndicate going on to win the Microsoft Cup at Leopardstown, where the power of the concept could really be seen. Over 200 alumni of Blackrock turned up to see the ‘the Fame’ win at the local track for the school, which is less than a 20-minute drive away. Even though most were not directly involved, Pierce describes how having the syndicate being part of an already existing identity really helped drive interest, not only to join the syndicate but also to grab the attention of the wider past and present pupils of the school and its extended community.

‘I think syndicators work very hard to establish a unique identity for their racing club or syndicate to help draw interest from potential members. This can be quite difficult, but when you are able to use the name and sports colours of the university or school, it really makes that draw for potential members much easier, as they are already part of that community. Also, educational institutions are always very anxious to engage and build strong ties with past students, and a syndicate or racing club is a perfect way to do that. I know personally it has helped me stay connected with friends to whom I had not spoken since leaving school; and it was the perfect reason to meet and share a great day out with them. And when the horses are doing well, it brings excitement not only to the members but the whole community, as shown by the number of people who came to watch Arthurian Fame run at Leopardstown. I also think it is the perfect way to build a path for young enthusiasts to become new owners in the sport.

‘Our generation want to be involved. We’re not content to be spectators any more.’ …

CLICK HERE to return to issue contents.

BUY THIS ISSUE IN PRINT OR DOWNLOAD

Print / Online subscription

£26.95 every 12 months

Add to Cart

April - June 2021 - issue 73 (PRINT)

£8.95

Quantity:

Add to Cart

April to June 2021 - issue 73 (DIGITAL)

£4.95

Add To Cart