Scottish Racing has published its annual review and outlook, outlining a comprehensive review of the state of the industry north of the border
Horseracing in Scotland has stormed first past the post when it comes to several areas of impressive expansion over the past two decades.
Once again confirmed as the second largest spectator sport north of the border, attendances at racecourses have risen by 21%, the number of runners has soared by 28% while fixtures staged has rocketed by 32%.
According to the Annual Review and Outlook 2019 published by Scottish Racing, the organisation which represents the five racecourses in Scotland, horseracing plays an important role in many areas of Scotland’s community and economy:
- The economic impact of all the Scottish racecourses rose by 36% to £51.1m in 2018;
- More people go racing than watch rugby and golf tournaments;
- The racecourses paid out £9.1m in total prize money in 2018; £1m more than prize money for The Open;
- Structural investment from the racecourses generated £3m for the construction industry last year;
- Racegoers generated £33.3m at near-course locations, by spending on catering, accommodation and other services before and after racing;
- Horseracing saw a turnover of £306.3m in Scotland in 2018, more than that of the TV & Radio industry;
- The sport sustains 3,400 FTE jobs; more than that of oil refining in Scotland.
- Scottish Racing’s Chairman, Sir Ian Good said “The results from Scottish Racing’s Review and Outlook has highlighted just how much the sport has expanded in Scotland, in part, thanks to the investment, innovation and hard work of the racecourses in Scotland.”
Scottish Racing Manager, Delly Innes, added: “The comparative figures from our Review and Outlook illustrate how positively the racecourses are delivering and exceeding the expectations of customers at all our racecourses, and we look forward to building on these results to attract more people to our beautiful sport”.