The head of the Asian Racing Federation says dissension within the horse racing industry is damaging to the sport, calling out as examples interstate battles in Australia, disjointed efforts in Great Britain, and opposition in the United States to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.
Speaking at the opening business session at the 40th Asian Racing Conference in Sapporo, Japan, ARF head Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said racing is at a “critical juncture” with challenges on many fronts.
“We have to think globally and especially when it comes to having necessary conditions to keep our social license,” he said, referring to public willingness to accept horse racing as a legitimate form of sport. “It is a challenge of how we as an industry are seen in a wider group—those people who are not in racing.”
Engelbrecht-Bresges, also CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and chair of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, said racing proved its resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he said, the sport must weather a sort of “long COVID”—forces including inflation, high interest rates, expansion of other forms of gambling, and changes in consumer behavior. The ARC, he said, provides an ideal forum for addressing those issues and others.
“In certain areas, we need structural change,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said. “I want to give you examples. If we look at Racing Australia, we have a very federated structure and funding model. So that’s actually competition between the different states.”
While he said he understands where competition can be a good thing, in Australia’s case, he said, it’s not good as the separate wagering pools that result from the competition dilute the pari-mutuel market and drive bettors to fixed-odds wagering, which provides less revenue to the industry.
“We should not fight with each other,” he urged. “We should really focus and come together as an industry and fight our competition.”
Although neither Great Britain nor the United States is a member of the Asian Racing Federation, Engelbrecht-Bresges cited divisiveness within the sport in those countries as well. He called out the funding model in Great Britain.
Great Britain, he said, “is probably the most challenged when it comes to industry fragmentation. There for our colleagues in the (British Horseracing Authority), I will not call it “Mission Impossible”. But close. And even Tom Cruise cannot help you.
“It is probably one of the best racing products in the world. But if you look at the return to owners, it’s poor. If you look at the return to racetracks to invest in the future, to invest in technology; there is not enough revenue that is coming back to the industry to address this.”
Engelbrecht-Bresges then addressed the legal challenges to HISA in the U.S., with differing appeals court rulings apparently headed to the U.S. Supreme Court for final determination. Under the Federal Trade Commission, HISA oversees safety, medication, and anti-doping efforts for most of the country’s racing jurisdictions but it has faced numerous legal challenges from horsemen’s groups and states that argue it’s unconstitutional.
“It was a major, major feat to establish HISA, which is really the first federal body that ensures the integrity of the sport … When you look at the results, all those HISA interventions have produced significant reduction in breakdowns of horses. And when you look at one key issue of the sport, lowering the breakdown rate of horses in a race, HISA has achieved this.
“But HISA is at risk to be derailed through the interests of certain fragmented industry participants who take this to court … It is of great concern. It was a great achievement that we celebrated at the last Asian Racing Conference but is now at risk.”
Drew Fleming, president and CEO of Breeders’ Cup Limited, participated in the panel discussion and concurred with the assessment.
“I think it’s important to note the comments he made about HISA working,” Fleming said. “We’ve seen some transparent data from HISA that equine injury is down approximately 38%. HISA is the law of the land, first and foremost, and it’s being enforced right now.”
