British racecourses invest record levels into Prize Money in 2022
British racecourses established a record level of executive contribution to prize money in 2022, despite significantly increased energy bills and wage costs, alongside the impacts of a damaging cost-of-living crisis.
The prize money figure of £182.5m for 2022 was almost 10% higher than the previous record of £166.3m in 2018. Racecourses’ executive contribution for the same period shows a 2.9% increase from 2018, with a 2022 total of £88.9m.
The Covid-enforced challenges which the sport had to deal with across 2020 and 2021 saw a significant increase in levels of contribution to prize money by the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB), providing some much-needed stability for the British racing industry at that time.
However, the table included below illustrates that the sport has now returned to the type of structure for prize money contributions akin to pre-pandemic. There was a more extensive contribution from the HBLB in 2022 compared to those years immediately prior to the pandemic, with the additional prize money support from the government’s Sport Winter Survival Package an important factor here.
While it is premature to predict total prize money levels for 2023, recent announcements from a number of racecourses provide cause for cautious optimism despite the challenging times.
Jockey Club Racecourses, Ascot, Goodwood, Newbury, Pontefract and Fakenham (amongst others) have all confirmed significant increases in executive contribution for 2023 compared with 2022. However HBLB contributions will be lower in 2023 than in 2022, although still higher than the pre-Covid level. With HBLB contributions from September 2023 onwards yet to be confirmed, it is too early to be clear on the full year position.
Rising energy prices and wage costs, the potential impact of the Government’s gambling white paper and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis will continue to provide an extremely challenging financial environment for British racecourses in the foreseeable future.
That makes some of the recent prize money-related announcements all the more impressive, as racecourses strive to provide confidence for participants about what the future holds.
David Armstrong, CEO of the RCA, said “It is very encouraging to see prize money levels reach record highs in 2022 despite the relatively high level of abandonments. Racecourse executive contribution will continue to grow in 2023 but in overall funding terms the sport still faces significant risks, not least the continued impact of increased affordability checks by bookmakers on betting turnover. We look forward to the publication of the White Paper and to working with our bookmaker partners to embed the necessary changes and grow the sport.”
