International Opportunities - the key international races to target this autumn
Article by Lissa Oliver
As we saw in our last issue, new and emerging racing nations can offer very lucrative targets as they attempt to establish themselves on the world stage. Outside of the European season there have never been as many valuable opportunities as currently on offer this coming autumn and winter, from both new and rapidly rising racing jurisdictions. North America also offers some lucrative opportunities throughout the year, with early-closers starting in May 2025.
North America
Breeders’ Cup
This year the Breeders’ Cup will be held in November at Del Mar and it hardly needs introduction. With 14 championship races held over two days, Future Stars Friday sees the two-year-old championships run for purses of €931,130 (£783,500) and €1.9m (£1.6m). Saturday boasts nine races, culminating with the €6.5m (£5.5m) Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
The “win and you’re in” Challenge Series consists of 69 of the best races from around the world, from June to October, awarding each winner an automatic and free entry into the Breeders' Cup World Championships.
Santa Anita
This year sees a new initiative creating links between prestige British races and valuable North American turf races. The ultimate aim is to build the international profile of all races in the partnership by increasing the number of runners travelling from the US to the UK, and vice-versa. Winners of two valuable contests in North America in the spring gain automatic entries for the Gr1 Eclipse and the Gr1 July Cup, while the Eclipse and July Cup winners gain automatic entry and travel incentives for two prestigious contests in North America in the autumn, the 2000m (10f) Gr2 California Crown John Henry Turf and the 1300m (6f) Gr2 California Crown Eddie D Turf Sprint, each worth €696,634 (£587,848) and run at Santa Anita 28th September.
Matt Woolston, The Jockey Club’s Assistant Racing and International Director, points out, “By pairing two of the UK’s most famous and prestigious Group One contests in the summer with a quartet of valuable North American turf contests in the spring and autumn, we feel we have the perfect race schedule for transatlantic runners. In addition, British and other European trainers now have the chance of an incentivised trip to North America in the autumn for races at Santa Anita’s exciting new California Crown meeting. We feel we have highlighted a race schedule that incentivises runners to travel across the Atlantic.”
Kentucky Downs
Kentucky Downs is home to America's only European-style all turf racecourse and at 2000m (10f) in length it is one of the longest. It hosts just seven days each year, one of the most exclusive meetings in North America. From a VIP experience at the Finish Line to free tailgating and general admission on the final turn and stretch, Kentucky Downs provides a unique experience in an intimate atmosphere. The 2024 programme is 29th and 31st August, and 1st, 5th, 7th, 8th and 11th September, dates to mark in your diaries for 2025.
Headed by the €2.3m (£2m) Gr3 Nashville Derby (formerly the Dueling Grounds Derby) on 31st August, Kentucky Downs will stage six races worth at least €1.9m (£1.6m) apiece, including supplements for registered Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) horses that were foaled in the commonwealth and sired by a Kentucky stallion, with KTDF bonuses totalling €15m (£12.5m) over the seven-day meeting. The Nashville Derby is now the richest grass race in North America outside the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
“We want to build the Nashville Derby into a race that American and European horsemen alike point to and buy horses for,” says Ron Winchell, co-managing partner of Kentucky Downs with Marc Falcone. “The name change reflects our close proximity to one of America’s great cities, which we see as an added incentive for coming. Even horses that aren’t Kentucky-breds will still race for $1.5 million, and we’ve positioned the Nashville Derby so that it fits into a big-money circuit for three-year-old turf horses with Keeneland and Churchill Downs’ stakes, as well as the New York’s Belmont Derby, Saratoga Derby and Jockey Club Derby.”
The Kentucky Downs meet will have 11 races worth at least €931,000 (£784,000) with nine at graded status, including the track’s first Gr1, the €1.9m (£1.6m) Franklin-Simpson for three-year-old sprinters. The showcase 7th September card includes a quartet of €1.9m (£1.6m) races. Maiden races, already the richest in the world, have increased to €158,289 (£133,307) per race.
The meeting reflects Kentucky Downs’ commitment to becoming an international racing venue and has attracted European runners in recent years. Kentucky-bred and British-trained Ancient Rome won the €1.9m (£1.6m) Gr3 Mint Millions, and Irish-trained Reckoning Force won the €465,504 (£391,987) Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile, now with increased purse for 2024.
Colonial Downs
Virginia's premier racetrack is Colonial Downs, in New Kent, with two state-of-the-art racing surfaces. The 1800m (9f) Secretariat Turf Course is the widest turf track in North America and the dirt track is the country’s second largest. In August it hosts the Gr1 Arlington Million, 2000m (10f) turf, with a purse of €919,422 (£783,737).
Gary Palmisano Jr., Vice President, Racing, tells us, “Colonial Downs is widely regarded as one of America’s top turf courses and would be perfectly suited for European runners. The 1 1/8 mile oval is over 180 feet wide and plays as a very fair host to our three Internationally-renowned stakes races. We would be extremely excited and honoured to host European runners here in Virginia.”
Meetings are held every Thursday-Saturday from 11th July through to 7th September and entry fee for each of the stakes races, bar the Graded races, is €372 (£313). With stakes purses of €114,923 (£97,955), these include The Boston 1600m (8f) turf for three-year-olds, The Beverly D. Preview 1800m (9f) turf for fillies and mares three years and up, The Million Preview 1800m (9f) turf for three-year-olds and up, The Exacta Systems Rosie's Stakes 1000m (5f) turf for two-year-olds, and the Kitten's Joy Stakes 1600m (8f) turf for two-year-olds.
On The Arlington Million card is the Gr2 The Secretariat, 1600m (8f) turf for three-year-olds and Gr2 The Beverly D. 1800m (9f) turf for fillies and mares three years and up, both worth €465,500 (£391,750). The season comes to a close in September with the same prize money up for grabs in Gr3 The New Kent County Virginia Derby, 1800m (9f) turf, and the €229,854 (£195,917) Listed Virginia Oaks, 1800m (9f) turf.
All owners who start a horse at Colonial Downs will receive the greater of €919 (£782) or their share of the purse money from the race, while all trainers will receive €280 (£235) per horse started on turf and €465 (£392) per horse started on the dirt.
Australia
At this stage we’re all familiar with the opportunities open to foreign runners at the Melbourne Cup Carnival and the Victoria Racing Club hosts 10 Gr1 race days during the 22-day season at Flemington.
The 3200m (16f) Gr1 Melbourne Cup is the highlight, offering €98,500 (£83,200) from sixth place down to 12th, with € 2.7m (£2,3m) going to the winner and an overall value of €5.3m (£4.4m). Later that same week are three €1.8m (£1.6m) weight-for-age Gr1s, the 2000m (10f) Champion Stakes, 1600m (8f) Champions Mile and the 1200m (6f) Champions Sprint.
“European trainers have had great success at the Melbourne Cup Carnival for more than 30 years, it is always a great thrill to host international connections who make the journey to Melbourne and race their horses at Flemington,” says Leigh Jordon, the VRC Executive General Manager.
A more recent attraction is the Sydney Everest Carnival, some 640km further along the coast, held at Royal Randwick Racecourse and Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, where owners can also enjoy exclusive and complimentary facilities.
The Sydney Everest Carnival opens 21st September and closes 9th November, boasting the world’s richest race on turf The Everest, 1200m (6f) €12.3m (£10.4m) in mid-October at Royal Randwick.
The opening day at Royal Randwick features two weight-for-age races, each with a total prize of €615,840 (£520,265) for three-year-olds up, The 7 Stakes 1600m (8f) and the Gr2 1100m (5f) Shorts. Randwick later hosts the iconic 1600m (8f) Epsom Handicap, a Gr1 worth €924,000 (£780,500) and on the Everest supporting card is the €3m (£2.6m) Gr1 King Charles III Stakes over 1600m (8f).
At Rosehill Gardens, the Hill Stakes over 2000m (10f), and 1800m (9f) Five Diamonds each carry a purse of €1.2m (£1m), but the showpiece in early November is the €6.2m (£5.2m) Golden Eagle over 1500m (7f).
“It’s pleasing to see continued strong nominations for three of our flagship races in the spring,’’ says James Ross, Australian Turf Club Head of Racing and Wagering. “The strength of nominations highlight the significance of two major WFA races over the Royal Randwick mile in the 7 Stakes and ultimately the $5 million King Charles III Stakes on Everest Day. With the additional investment from our partners Racing NSW, we attract some of the highest quality participation from Sydney, interstate and internationally.”
Japan
Although racing has been established in Japan since the 1870s, this year the JRA celebrates its 70th anniversary. “We hold a variety of races every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year,” says JRA President/CEO Masayoshi Yoshida. “Horsemen from around the world praise the generous prize money, including bonuses, the well-maintained tracks, and the new international stables at Tokyo Racecourse that allow horses to enter directly from the airport. In November we will hold the Japan Cup, the world’s best race in 2023, at the Tokyo Racecourse. We appreciate seeing the greatest horses and watching with our guests from various countries, and our own enthusiastic horseracing fans.”
The International Stable opened at Tokyo Racecourse in 2022 and each barn has a dedicated grass paddock, air-conditioning and remote monitoring system, with facilities for staff, and three training tracks. Horses can enter the stable directly from the airport for the quarantine period and remain there until the race itself, causing as minimal stress and disruption to their routine as possible.
The import quarantine period is a minimum of seven days, and arrival and departure date to and from the quarantine is included in that period. The export quarantine period of one day or less will be conducted at the racecourse, unless the importing country, such as Australia, requires a longer quarantine period.
There are also two quarantine bases in the east and west of Japan. Both have good access to the airport and racetracks, and are fully equipped with excellent training tracks and staff accommodation. The Horse Racing School is an hour’s drive from Narita International Airport, while Miki Horseland Park serves horses arriving from Kansai International Airport.
The JRA may offer travel incentives for particular overseas horses, taking into consideration factors such as the horse's international rating, for Group 1 races. For invited overseas horses for the Japan Cup, the JRA will provide air transport for the horse and two attendants (economy class), return business class air tickets for the owner, trainer, jockey, and their spouse/partner, and five nights’ accommodation at a JRA designated hotel.
All Japanese Group 1s are free to enter, or by free invitation, and carry the same declaration fee of €20,200 (£17,500). The 2400m (12f) Japan Cup is run at Tokyo on the last Sunday in November for a purse of €7.3m (£6.3m), €3.3m to the winner (£2.9m). It also carries additional bonuses of €92,000-€2.8m (£79,000-£2.4m) from last-placed finishers up to first, for the winners of 14 designated European Gr1 races, six North American and seven Australian, and the Dubai Sheema Classic.
In mid-November, the 2200m (11f) Queen Elizabeth II Cup for fillies and mares at Kyoto carries a purse of €1.9m (£1.6m), with bonuses from €163,000-€646,000 (£138,000-£553,000) available to the winners of nine designated European Gr1 fillies and mares races, and travel subsidies are also available.
Sandwiched between those two races is the Mile Championship at Kyoto, worth €2.7m (£2.3m), also with travel subsidies available. The bonuses for winners of seven designated European Gr1 mile races, and the Dubai Turf, Woodbine Mile and Hong Kong Champions Mile are from €163,000 up to €646,000 (£138,000-£553,000).
Run on dirt at Chukyo Racecourse, the 1800m (9f) Champions Cup has a total value of €1.7m (£1.5m) with additional bonuses to the winner of 11 designated USA Gr1s, and the Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup of €163,000-€646,000 (£138,000-£553,000).
There are also travel subsidies available for international runners in Japan’s other valuable Gr1s, including the 1200m (6f) Takamatsunomiya Kinen on turf at Chukyo on the last Sunday of March, the 1200m (6f) Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama on the last Sunday of September, the 2000m (10f) Tenno Sho Autumn at Tokyo last Sunday in October, and the premier summer races, the 3200m (16f) Tenno Sho Spring at Kyoto last Sunday in April, 1600m (8f) Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo first Sunday in June, and the 2200m (11f) Takarazuka Kinen last Sunday in June at Kyoto.
Bahrain
The Bahrain Turf Series is now in its fifth year and runs from 8th December through to 6th March. Each race carries prizemoney from €73,750 (£62,850) up to €91,880 (£78,200) and this attractive series is designed to attract international competition and to raise the profile of horseracing in Bahrain, providing opportunities for internationally-trained runners rated 85-100 to compete against local Bahrain-based horses.
“Three years after its launch, we believe the time is right to build on the success of the Bahrain Turf Series and expand the international programme to incorporate our season’s premier races,” explains His Highness Shaikh Isa Bin Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Bahrain Turf Club. “For the first time, our most prestigious races, including the Crown Prince’s Cup and the King’s Cup will fall within the Bahrain Turf Series calendar. This move, coupled with the new floodlights, provides more flexibility to the race programme, and is intended to make racing in Bahrain an even more attractive and compelling proposition for international visitors.”
As Hugo Palmer pointed out earlier this year, “The prize money in the series is excellent but consequently the races are competitive. With the right horse, you will have a lot of fun and the trip will be very worthwhile. This is the second time I have had runners in the Bahrain Turf Series and it’s clear that the Bahrain Turf Club is making giant strides. They are committed to improving everything from the training facilities to the race programme. My owners have absolutely loved it when they have gone to watch their horses run.”
In total, the series of sprint and middle-distance races comprises of 12 races, six in each division, an increase from last year, with each race carrying bonus prizes for the horses accumulating most points in their respective division.
On 8th December are the 1000m (5f) and 2000m (10f) races for horses rated 84-100. On 20th December are the 1000m (5f) and 2000m (10f) races for horses rated 84-100. 29th December sees the 1200m (6f) and 2000m (10f) races for those rated 80-100. On 12th January are two conditions races, over 1000m (5f) and 1800m (9f). Horses rated 80-100 have races on 2nd February over 1200m (6f) and 1800m (9f) and finally the series concludes 16th February, again for those rated 80-100, with a 1000m (5f) and 2000m (10f) offering.
The 2023/24 series attracted a record number of international runners, including horses from Hugo Palmer, John and Sean Quinn, and George Scott. The Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club has quarantine facilities for 50 horses, an equine pool and world class veterinary facilities provided by Baker McVeigh Veterinary Services.
“The racetrack has been in good condition throughout,” observed Sean Quinn. “Given the climate it must be hard to keep the turf track in such good nick, but the watering system is excellent.”
George Scott, who earlier this year sent out Bahrain’s first Triple Crown winner, concurs. “The facilities for the horses are excellent, the barns are great and the training tracks have got better and better, you can use the grass or the synthetics. It’s a great place to train. My staff have loved it; it has been a great experience for them. A really wonderful set up. Another plus is that there are options outside of the Bahrain Turf Series, you can run your horse in the domestic programme too. I thoroughly recommend everyone to come and try it.”
For those seeking black type, the 2000m (10f) Gr2 Bahrain International Trophy in November for three-year-olds and up is establishing Bahrain as a premier horseracing destination. Run on turf, the race is worth €921,858 (£785,315), with €553,115 (£471,178) to the winner.
Entries close 2nd October with supplementary entry stages later in October, but there are three 'Automatic Invitation' races, for the first, second and third from The Royal Bahrain Irish Champions Stakes and the Gr3 Strensall Stakes at York. The Bahrain Turf Club will provide air tickets for overseas connections and hotel accommodation on a room only basis. Shipment of invited horses will be arranged and paid for by the Bahrain Turf Club.
PET: the latest advance in equine imaging
By Mathieu Spriet, Associate Professor, University of California, Davis
Santa Anita Park, the iconic Southern California racetrack, currently under public and political pressure due to a high number of horse fatalities during the 2019 season, announced in December 2019 the installation of a PET scanner specifically designed to image horse legs. It is hoped that this one-of-a-kind scanner will provide information about bone changes in racehorses to help prevent catastrophic breakdowns.
What is PET?
PET stands for positron emission tomography. Although this advanced form of imaging only recently became available for horses, the principles behind PET imaging have been commonly used at racetracks for many years. PET is a nuclear medicine imaging technique, similar to scintigraphy, which is more commonly known as “bone scan”. For nuclear imaging techniques, a small dose of radioactive tracer is injected to the horse, and the location of the tracer is identified with a camera in order to create an image. The tracers used for racehorse imaging are molecules that will attach to sites on high bone turnover, which typically occurs in areas of bone subject to high stress. Both scintigraphic and PET scans detect “hot spots” that indicate—although a conventional X-ray might not show anything abnormal in a bone—there are microscopic changes that may develop into more severe injuries.
Development of PET in California
The big innovation with the PET scan is that it provides 3D information, whereas the traditional bone scan only acquires 2D images. The PET scan also has a higher spatial resolution, which means it is able to detect smaller changes and provide a better localisation of the abnormal sites. PET’s technological challenge is that to acquire the 3D data in horses, it is necessary to use a ring of detectors that fully encircles the leg.
The first ever equine PET scan was performed at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California in 2015. At the time, a scanner designed to image the human brain was used (PiPET, Brain-Biosciences, Inc.). This scanner consists of a horizontal cylinder with an opening of 22cm in diameter. Although the dimensions are convenient to image the horse leg, the configuration required the horse be anesthetised in order to fit the equipment around the limb.
Figure 1: The first equine PET was performed in 2015 at the University of California Davis on a research horse laid down with anesthesia. The scanner used was a PET prototype designed for the human brain (piPET, Brain-Biosciences Inc., Rockville, MD, USA).
The initial studies performed on anesthetised horses with the original scanner demonstrated the value of the technique. A first study, published in Equine Veterinary Journal, demonstrated that PET showed damage in the equine navicular bone when all other imaging techniques, including bone scan, MRI and CT did not recognise any abnormality.
Figure 2: These are images from the first horse image with PET. From left to right, PET, CT, MRI and bone scan. The top row shows the left front foot that has a severe navicular bone injury. This is shown by the yellow area on the PET image and abnormalities are also seen with CT, MRI and bone scan. The bottom row is the right front foot from the same horse; the PET shows a small yellow area that indicates that the navicular bone is also abnormal. The other imaging techniques however did not recognize any abnormalities.
A pilot study looking at the racehorse fetlock, also published in Equine Veterinary Journal, showed that PET detects hot spots in areas known to be involved in catastrophic fractures. This confirmed the value of PET for racehorse imaging, but the requirement for anesthesia remained a major barrier to introducing the technology at the racetrack. To overcome this, LONGMILE Veterinary Imaging, a division of Brain-Biosciences Inc, in collaboration with the University of California Davis, designed a scanner which could image standing horses. To do this, the technology had to be adapted so that the ring of detectors could be opened and positioned around the limb.
With the support from the Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation, the Southern California Equine Foundation and the Stronach Group, this unique scanner became a reality and, after the completion of an initial validation study in Davis, the scanner was installed at Santa Anita Park in December 2019.
PET at the racetrack….
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TRM Trainer of the Quarter - Bill Mott
The TRM trainer of the quarter award has been won by Bill Mott. Bill and
his team will receive a TRM product portfolio worth in excess of
$1,500. The portfolio will consist of TRM tack bags and saddle pads as
well as a large selection of the world famous TRM product range.
Bill Heller (14 February 2008 - Issue Number: 7)
TheTRM trainer of the quarter award has been won by Bill Mott. Bill and his team will receive a TRM product portfolio worth in excess of $1,500. The portfolio will consist of TRM tack bags and saddle pads as well as a large selection of the world famous TRM product range.
On a single afternoon in January, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott squashed any chance of a letdown following his outstanding 2007 season by winning three races in the Sunshine Millions January 26th. Their combined purses were $2 million.
He was lucky for the opportunity. So was every other trainer with horses in the half of the Sunshine Millions at Santa Anita, which somehow dodged rain long enough to have a day of racing. Races were cancelled at Santa Anita for two days before and after that single afternoon.
Mott won both the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic with Go Between and the $500,000 Filly and Mare Turf with Quite a Bride at Santa Anita. At Gulfstream Park, site of the other Sunshine Million races, Mott's War Monger captured the $500,000 Turf. That allowed Mott to be ranked second in the country in earnings through the first four weeks of 2008.
‘You imagine days like this,' Mott said.
War Monger had not started since taking the Rutgers Handicap at Monmouth Park, Oct. 24th. The victory was War Monger's third in his last four starts and made him four-for-seven in his career. Mott said, ‘When he switches leads, he's got a nice punch.'
So does Quite a Bride, who upset the 3-5 favorite, Nashoaba's Key, to improve her lifetime record to 10-for-18.
Go Betweem, a five-year-old son of Point Given, improved his lifetime record to seven-for-27 by taking the Classic under Garrett Gomez, the 2007 Eclipse Award winning jockey who also rode Quite a Bride.
Success is hardly new to Mott. When the 54-year-old native of Mobridge, South Dakota, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998, he displaced Allen Jerkens as the youngest trainer ever inducted. That was 30 years after Mott bought and trained his first horse, a mare named My Assets he purchased for $320. Mott worked for Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg for three years before opening his own stable in 1978.
He has prospered ever since. Mott's horses are invariably well-prepared when they go into the starting gate, reflecting Mott's dedication to giving his horses the proper foundation before they race. Mott's ability to win with horses off long layoffs is second to none, evidenced by War Monger's winning return.
While Mott will be remembered forever for his brilliant management of two-time Horse of the Year Cigar, who won 16 consecutivce races, he has never been celebrated for his work with two-year-olds.
He changed that perception dramatically at Saratoga in 2007, when he ended Todd Pletcher's five-year leading trainer reign by winning 27 races, giving Mott his first Saratoga title since 2001.. Eleven of those 27 victories were with two-year-olds. ‘We might have been a little more aggressive with our twoyear-olds,' Mott said. It worked, as Mott took a huge lead early in the trainer standings then maintained it through Saratoga's 36-day meet. ‘It was gratifying, but the best part has been the last five years not being on top, because you learn a lot more that way,' Mott said. ‘I'm very serious about that. It's been very humbling.'
Others marvel at Mott's horsemanship. Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, who rode War Monger to victory in the Sunshine Millions Turf, said, ‘Bill's done a great job of training this horse. When I first rode him, I couldn't get within two lengths of another horse.'
By: Bill Heller (14 February 2008 - Issue Number: 7)
Frank Stronach and his growing global Magna empire
WHEN Frank Stronach says he is optimistic that "down the line" his company can control "ten per cent of all the gambling in the world" the queue of punters wanting to bet against him may be very short. He has a record of reaching his targets, and if he ruffles a few feathers along the way, so what.
Howard WrightFirst Published: (19 September 2006 - Issue Number: 1)
WHEN Frank Stronach says he is optimistic that “down the line” his company can control “ten per cent of all the gambling in the world”, the queue of punters wanting to bet against him may be very short. He has a record of reaching his targets, and if he ruffles a few feathers along the way, so what.
Stronach reaches his 74th birthday in September, but he retains the energy and business enthusiasm that took him from his native Austria to Canada as a 21-year-old tool and machine engineer, and launched him into his own company three years later. At the age of 41 he was running a major automotive parts company, Magna International Inc., from which eventually sprung Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC), now the biggest race-track owner and operator in the United States and the vehicle for his gambling ambitions.
In the States, MEC accounts for 11 racecourses, ranging from the glorious and historical Gulfstream Park, Pimlico and Santa Anita, through the unexpected Breeders’ Cup venue Lone Star Park, to the thoroughbred and quarter horse mix of Remington Park, and accompanying training centres. Then there are two television channels, a betting operation, and a one-third share in AmTote, the leading international totalisator systems provider that will soon become wholly owned by MEC; a plant making horse bedding, and various extensive real estate developments. The Magna empire was not always so big; it was bigger. With losses mounting, Stronach’s frantic purchase of race tracks in the late-1990s was balanced last year by the sale of two harness racing tracks, one in Canada, the other on the Maryland-Virginia axis.
In Europe, Stronach’s immediate influence is less obvious. Personally, the man who has a trophy room full of Eclipse Awards for owning and/or breeding such as the Preakness Stakes winner Red Bullet, Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold, and Breeders’ Cup winners Awesome Again and his sons Ghostzapper, Perfect Sting and Macho Uno, has only recently dipped a toe into the ownership waters, with horses in training with Luca Cumani and Jeremy Noseda that were collected when he bought for the first time at Tattersalls in Newmarket in 2005.
Corporately, European interests extend to the Magna Racino, a 24-hour combination of racecourse and casino 20 miles south of Vienna that is Stronach’s gift to his Austrian birthplace, a betting website, MagnaBet, and a one-third share in a joint venture with Churchill Downs and Racing UK, the British racecourse rights exploiter and TV channel operator. That last project, set up earlier this year and operating from England as Racing World, is both new and still small, but it sets the tone – and may yet set the standard – for Magna’s global wagering ambitions. It brings together two great race-track rivals, covering most of the top venues in North America, a UK subscription-only racing channel that boasts the best of British racing, bar Ascot, and is pointed towards a European-based betting site, MagnaBet, which feeds all manner of foreign currency into the dollar-rich host-track pools.
Joe de Francis, Magna’s executive vice president and recently promoted to the main board, was at the forefront of negotiations to set up Racing World, and he is not immune to gentle ribbing about the amalgamation of ambitions between his company and Churchill Downs, which together provided most of the funding for the project. “There’s an internet term known as co-opetition, which sums up our relationship,” he says. “We’re vigorous competitors in some areas but collaborators in others. Global distribution of the racing and betting product is the key, and it’s the smart and the right thing for us to work much more closely on an international vehicle such as Racing World. We both have quality content, and that goes for Racing UK, so this is an ideal arrangement. “In addition, we have MagnaBet, the essentially German-language, European sister to XpressBet, our US-based, English-language internet betting site. They have developed side by side, but we are in the process of merging them on to one platform, which will be available globally, with technical expertise sitting in various places around the world.“We need local partners, who understand the idiosyncrasies of the local markets. That’s why it’s important to be with Racing UK, which knows the demands of British punters.”
Magna previously worked for a time with the other UK racing channel, At The Races, through TRNi, but the relationship was never a marriage made in heaven, perhaps because TRNi’s vision clashed with Stronach’s.
The arrangement with Racing UK is working well, says executive chairman Simon Bazalgette, who explains: “I think they are much more comfortable working with a racecourse group that understands how a betting path should operate. They also seemed to be impressed how Racing UK was managing our racecourses’ right in the UK, because they wanted to exploit their rights in the UK and Ireland. “Racing UK was already working with Magna because XpressBet was taking UK racing, but Racing World has strengthened our relationship, which will grow, especially now that we have 48-hour declarations in place in Britain.
“We are in the process of putting pari-mutuel links into the major UK bookmakers, which will transmit bets back to the US pools through the AmTote gateway.
“To distinguish themselves from the betting exchanges, and to help their margins, UK bookmakers are becoming more interested in the kind of exotic bets that overseas pari-mutuel operators provide. We see this as a growth area, especially when UK punters realise they can play the big carry-overs that US pools often turn up.”
Bazalgette, who expects the joint venture to take more UK racing to the States in the future, as the possible precursor to a fully global channel that would include other European racing authorities, sums up his joint venture partners: “Churchill Downs is the more corporate, more conservative organisation, but Magna is very driven and commercial, which reflects Frank Stronach’s business approach. He has shaken up North American racing, buying tracks when no-one else did.”
Magna will need to be commercial if it is to drive down ongoing losses and wipe out the minimum $500m of debts hanging round its neck. This year’s first-quarter net income of $2.2m was the first plus after seven consecutive losing quarters, but the second quarter reverted to recent type, and though revenues for the first six months of 2006 were up from $413m to $465m, compared with the same period in the previous year, costs were also up, largely due to servicing debt, from $433m to $488m. The red ink is back, and the second-quarter loss of around $26m all but matches the same period in 2005. Yet Stronach remains confident. He believes MEC could be debt free, or have very little debt, some time next year. “People may ask, ‘Why the hell are you in this kind of business, losing so much money?’” he said to investors on publication of the first-quarter results. “Well, it’s a huge business, and I’m optimistic that down the road, we have a great opportunity to be the foremost gambling and entertainment company in the world.”
Joe de Francis, a lawyer by profession, has 25 years’ experience in the horseracing business. His family controlled the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns Laurel Park and Pimlico, home of the Preakness Stakes, and he took over as chief executive in August 1989. He retains that position today, but under Magna, which bought 51 per cent of the company from de Francis and his sister in November 2002.
De Francis is well placed to view all sides of the MEC operation. “I came in at the tail end of the cycle of acquiring race tracks and at the beginning of the distribution of the racing and betting products,” he reflects. “I believe Mr Stronach when he talks about controlling ten per cent of global gambling. You can’t climb high unless you aim high. “Magna is both a race-track company and a wagering organisation. It believes strongly in vertical integration. First and foremost it owns race tracks, but to be successful in the 21st century you have to distribute your content as broadly as possible, and that’s where globalisation is important. It’s part of our mission statement. “To be successful, a race-track operator has to be involved in distribution businesses. I compare horseracing to manufacturing. We make the product and we distribute it.
“Since I came into the business, I’ve watched the evolution in distribution, from the days when you got in your car and drove to the track to bet on live racing. There was no simulcasting, very little off-track betting and no home wagering, and it was only about a dozen years ago that things began to change. “The challenges now are to select the best technology, distribution platforms and partners, so that you can take the product around the world. The challenges in North America, which centre on legislation, underscore the importance of developing systems to take the product to Europe, South America and the Pacific Rim.
“One advantage is that horseracing is extraordinarily popular, to varying degrees, around the world. The only comparison for passion and global appeal is football."
De Francis stresses that nailing down the distribution systems will be key to Magna’s success, with three pathways to be negotiated, in no particular order but together.“There’s the bet pathway,” he says. “Since our wagering is pari-mutuel, as opposed to fixed odds, we have to figure out the best way to transmit a bet from the customer to the race track, which is important because the pari-mutuel system allows the customer access to a range of betting opportunities, such as the exotics, that fixed odds cannot provide. “We are exercising our option to purchase the remaining 70 per cent of equity in AmTote, and that will give us control over one of the best companies in the global market. We are working actively with a number of the larger UK bookmakers to allow them to take pari-mutuel bets on our racing, which will enable them to offer exotic bets.”
De Francis is aware of Simon Bazalgette’s observation that UK bookmakers could get one over the betting exchanges from this channel, but he takes no side over the new betting phenomenon itself, saying: “The betting exchange business model is different from ours and it fulfils a market demand, but how we interact with them is a new issue. I don’t have a clear answer on how to work with or against them.”
However, he does have an unobscured view on the second distribution pathway – pictures, “which give the punter the ability to see the race live. People won’t bet as much if they can’t see the race, and that’s where Racing World is so important.” The third pathway involves data and information, which de Francis says is vital to give the punter everything he needs to make an informed wager. “Together they make up a three-legged stool,” he explains. “If one leg is not there, you’ll fall over. In North America we control all three, through AmTote, HRTV and Xpressbet, but in different markets it’s almost certain we will choose to partner others.”
Expansion remains on the cards for Magna, de Francis says, but while he is reluctant never to say ‘Never’, the US race-track portfolio appears to be full – with The Meadows harness racing venue almost sold – and there are no plans to extend beyond Austria’s Magna Racino in Europe.However, AmTote is steadily moving over; the New York Racing Association franchise, which is up for grabs next year, is being strenuously pursued, “with partners”, because “it’s an important part of the North American landscape and provides a very important piece of content,” and 500 slot machines are on standby for Gulfstream Park, as a forerunner of the model for other racecourse-casino sites.
Remington Park’s fortunes have already been transformed by the introduction of slots – much of the $12.5m, second-quarter revenue increase in the Magna’s southern US operations came from the introduction of the casino facility there last November - and de Francis points to improved revenues, better purses for owners and better quality racing as benefits that will flow from these and other developments in technology over the next five years. “There will be an enormous evolution in our business generally,” he forecasts. “We’re going to be in many more geographical markets, with much more content available in homes, so that people will be able to access the racing product like never before. We’re being presented with a unique set of challenges.”
THE MAGNA ENTERTAINMENT CORP. EMPIRE
Original parent company Magna International Inc. is a diversified automotive parts supplier, based in Canada and founded by Frank H Stronach, currently chairman and interim chief executive.
Stronach, born in Weiz, Austria, on 6 September 1932, emigrated to Canada in 1954 with a background in tool and machine engineering. He started his first tool and die company in 1957, branched out into automotive components and after a merger of companies MII was formed in 1973, and has grown into one of the world’s biggest of its kind.
Under reorganisation of the corporate structure in November 1999, the non-automotive businesses and real estates assets, including recently acquired race tracks, were transferred to Magna Entertainment Corp, which became a public company, quoted on Nasdaq and Toronto Stock Exchange in March 2000. Executive office in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, but incorporated in Delaware, USA.
RACE TRACKS
USA
Golden Gate Fields: Albany, California; acquired in Dec ’99; 105 racing days.
Great Lakes Downs: Muskegon, Michigan; acquired in Feb ’00; 120 racing days.
Gulfstream Park: Hallandale Beach, Florida; acquired Sept ’99; races during winter months.
Laurel Park: Laurel, Maryland; majority interest acquired with Pimlico Nov ’02; two near-four-month meetings at either end of year split by three-week August meeting.
Lone Star Park: Grand Prairie, Texas; acquired Oct ’02; thoroughbred racing April to mid-July, quarter horse racing October and November.
The Meadows: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; acquired April ’01; year-round harness racing on 210 days; in process of being sold for $200m.
Pimlico: Baltimore, Maryland; majority interest acquired with Laurel Park Nov ’02; 8-week spring meeting includes Preakness Stakes.
Portland Meadows: Portland, Oregon; operated by MEC since ’01; races from October to April.
Remington Park: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; thoroughbred racing August to November, quarter horse racing March to June; year-round simulcasting and casino.
Santa Anita Park: Arcadia, California; two seasons, 26 December to mid-April, six-week Oak Tree meeting in autumn.
Thistledown: North Randall, Ohio; acquired in Nov ’99; races 185 days March to December.
Europe
Magna Racino (Ebreichsdorf, Austria; built April ’01; thoroughbred and harness racing from April to November; year-round gaming and entertainment.
WAGERING
XpressBet: for US-based punters only, in states where legal; launched ’02; HQ in Washington, Pennsylvania; off-track betting facilities and national account wagering business, by telephone and internet; covers pari-mutuel betting from over 100 thoroughbred, harness and quarter horse tracks in North America and races in Australia, Dubai and South Africa; offers real-time audio and video streaming; bets co-mingled with existing race track pools. MagnaBet: European-based online, mobile phone and SMS service, for non-US customers; launched ’04; covers pari-mutuel betting on races from US, Austria, Germany and UK; offers real-time and recorded audio and video streaming; bets co-mingled with existing race track pools.
TELEVISION
HorseRacing TV (HRTV): owns and operates 24-hour network focused on horseracing; available to more than 11m cable and satellite viewers in US. The Racetrack Television Network (RTN): one-third interest in direct-to-home, subscription telecasting service from MEC and other tracks, made available to betting shops internationally. Racing World: one-third partner since January ’06 with Racing UK and Churchill Downs in international TV channel, currently broadcasting US racing to Britain and Ireland.
OTHERS
AmTote International: leading provider of totalisator services to international pari-mutuel industry; 30% interest bought for $3.8m in August ’03; notice given of intention to take up option on remaining 70% of equity in two stages, September and November ’06, for total of $14m. Thoroughbred training centres: San Diego, California; Palm Beach County, Florida; Baltimore, Maryland. Production facilities: for Streu-Fex, straw-based, horse bedding product, in North Carolina and Austria. Real estate: two golf courses (in Austria and Canada) and related recreational facilities; residential developments in US, Austria and Canada. Employs 5,300 through the group.
PARIMAX
Holding company formed in February ’06 to oversee development of XpressBet, HRTV, RaceONTV, Magnabet, AmTote, Racing World and PremiereWin (TV partner in central Europe).