British Racing continued to thrive in 2004 with prize money passing the £100m barrier for the first time and racegoers once again attending meetings in record numbers.
The upward curve in a number of other key indicators was maintained, confirming the sport to be in excellent health.
Total prize money reached a record £101.3m in 2004, a 7.6% rise on 2003’s £94.1m. An increase in prize money of over 40% in the last four years has helped BHB to continue to fulfil its aims of maintaining British Racing’s international competitiveness and securing a significant increase in the return to owners.
Total racecourse attendances of 6.05m in 2004 bettered by 0.5% the 2003 total of 6.02m.
2004 also saw further increases in:
• Horses in training (14,129 compared to 13,288, a rise of 6.3%)
• Fixtures staged (1,299 compared to 1,220, a rise of 6.5%)
• Races run (8,577 compared to 8,028, a rise of 6.8%)
• Runners (92,761 compared to 83,063, a rise of 11.7%)
BHB Chief Executive Greg Nichols said:
“These landmarks provide compelling evidence of the sport’s prosperity. Reaching £100m in prize money is a great achievement and worthy of British Racing’s world-class status.
“The hard work of racecourses, effective centralised marketing and a better structured Fixture List have all played a role in attaining another record racegoing attendance.
“There will be a number of challenges to confront in 2005, but confidence should be inspired by the underlying health of the sport and the commitment of those who work within it.”
Notes
1. 1999-2004 comparative figures are shown below.
2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999
Prize Money (£)
101,309,953 94,149,963 84,203,203 71,662,045 71,690,306 69,062,983
Attendances
6,047,226 6,019,481 5,557,758 4,886,293 5,164,061 5,175,490
Horses In Training
14,129 13,288 12,986 13,310 12,731 12,737
Number of Fixtures Staged
1,299 1,220 1,158 1,065 1,132 1,151
Number of Races Run
8,577 8,028 7,691 7,141 7,422 7,528
2. The breakdown of prize money in 2004 was:
£
Prize Fund 100,165,337
BHB Owners’ Premiums 1,044,616
BHB Middle Distance Championship 100,000
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY 101,309,953
