racing_news/

British Racing Reaches Prize Money Landmark of £100m and Surpasses 2003’s Attendance Record

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.”