2018 Irish Thoroughbred Industry Statistics released

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has announced the 2018 Irish horse racing and breeding industry figures which confirmed a continuing trend towards racehorse ownership in Ireland.
 
New owner registrations were up 16.2% year-on-year with almost 800 new owners registering with Horse Racing Ireland. This contributed to another increase in horses-in-training in the country.
 
On the track 2018 was a successful year for Irish racing with 17 Irish-trained winners at the Cheltenham Festival and Irish-trained horses filling five of the first six places in the Aintree Grand National, including the winner Tiger Roll. On the Flat, Aidan O’Brien won three of the five English Classics.
 
The industry continued to perform well, though bloodstock sales struggled to keep pace with recent strong returns, with Brexit uncertainty clearly impacting investment. Accordingly the gains made in 2017 were reversed in 2018, becoming the first time in nine years that bloodstock sales at public auction in Ireland did not post an increase.
 
Commercial race sponsorship continued to rise strongly, growing by another 5.3% in 2018, while Irish European Breeders Fund (EBF) support grew by 11.1%. 
 
Horses-in-Training and Ownership