80% OF THE RACING IN THE WORLD IS DONE IN 10 COUNTRIES

Global statistics of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) today showed healthy developments of the sector in most countries. Statistics of over 50 countries have been collected and analysed by the IFHA. They can be found at our facts & figures section under racing and wagering menus on this site. Some of the more interesting conclusions that can be drawn from the statistics:

Breeding
Thoroughbred foaling remains stable at around 114,000 births in 2003. The USA remains the largest breeding nation with around 30% of world foals, followed by Australia (13%) and Ireland (9%).

Racing
80% of racing in the world is done in only 10 countries. Leaders here are the USA with 108,000 races, followed by Australia (37,000) and Canada (32,000).

There is slightly more flat racing (51,4%) than trotting (46,3%) with the remaining 2,3% for jump racing. Trotting is growing strongly in Russia (+5%) and Norway (+4%).

Purses
The average prize money per race for flat racing is highest in Hong Kong (98,700 Euros), followed by the United Arab Emirates (58,180) and Japan (31,520). The average prize money per obstacle race in Japan is a stunning 190,920. Among the main racing nations, the Great Britain showed the strongest growth in purses by 16,8 % from 2002 to 2003.

Many Asian countries have a healthy balance between the annual costs of maintaining a horse and prize money. Average prize money in 2003 grew from 78% to 100% os annual maintenance costs in India and from 146% to 189% in Korea. In South America, Argentina saw average prize money grow from 185% to 246% of annual maintenance costs.

Betting
Japan remains by far the most important betting country with over 25 billion € betting volume. The UK and USA are almost equal with almost 14 billion €. The numbers for the other main racing nations are Australia 8.7 billion €, France 7.2 B€ and Hong Kong 6.6 B€. The recent currency fluctuations (weakening od the US$) has off course had an impact on our rankings.

Nations showing the largest percentage increase in betting are Macau, up 91%, Argentine, up 33% and the UK, up 31%.

Afleet Alex Keeps Balance, Wins Preakness
In a miraculous recovery, Afleet Alex kept his balance after being knocked to his knees by Scrappy T at the top of the stretch and won the Preakness Stakes. Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo was never a factor and finished third, ending his bid to attempt a Triple Crown try in the Belmont Stakes.
May 22, 2005, 11:06