Horse Racing Ireland has reported a broadly positive commercial and participation performance for the first six months of 2026, with increases in race sponsorship, Tote betting, attendance, ownership recruitment, prize money and bloodstock sales.
The figures are not a set of financial accounts and do not disclose HRI’s overall revenue or operating result. They do, however, provide important indicators of the money flowing through Irish racing and of the sport’s continuing appeal to racegoers, owners, sponsors and international buyers.
Commercial sponsorship increased by 4.3 per cent to €4.8 million during the six months to the end of June. That represents an additional €200,000 compared with the equivalent period in 2025.
It is also equivalent to almost 69 per cent of the €7 million in race sponsorship generated across the whole of 2025, although the racing calendar and timing of major sponsored fixtures mean that the half-year figure should not simply be doubled to produce a full-year forecast. Sponsorship across Irish racing increased by 2.9 per cent during 2025.
The continued rise is important because commercial partners make a direct contribution to the value and presentation of racing. Sponsor investment supports individual races and festivals, while also providing marketing reach, hospitality opportunities and stronger positioning for the sport’s most important occasions.
Tote Growth
Betting produced a more mixed picture.
On-course turnover with bookmakers fell by 4.8 per cent to €34 million. By contrast, Tote betting grew through both its physical and digital channels.
On-course Tote turnover increased by 5.5 per cent to €3.8 million, while off-course betting into Irish Tote pools rose by 11.1 per cent to €31.1 million.
The combined €34.9 million wagered through the Tote’s Irish pools was therefore marginally higher than the €34 million handled by bookmakers on course, although the figures cover different betting channels and should not be treated as a direct like-for-like comparison.
Turnover generated by the major Irish Flat meetings included in the international World Pool increased by a further 5.7 per cent to €55.4 million. This remains an important source of international reach and commercial value, allowing global audiences to bet into shared pools on Irish racing’s highest-profile days.
Festivals Driving Attendance
Racecourse attendance increased by 0.7 per cent despite considerable disruption during January and February. This still compares favourably to attendance across the Irish Sea, which was down 1.3 per cent according to the Racecourse Association
Nine fixtures were either abandoned or rescheduled during the opening two months of the year. The biggest individual impact came at Leopardstown, where the sold-out opening Saturday of the Dublin Racing Festival was postponed until the following Monday.
Sunday’s crowd of 18,103 was just below Leopardstown’s stated capacity of 18,500. The rescheduled Monday meeting attracted 10,084 after the admission price was reduced to €25, bringing the attendance across the two completed days to 28,187.
Leopardstown described the financial impact of losing the sold-out Saturday slot as significant. The course also estimated that up to 30 per cent of the normal Dublin Racing Festival attendance travels from Britain, many of whom were unable to remain in Dublin for the Monday programme.
That disruption makes the overall national attendance increase more notable. HRI highlighted strong performances from the Easter Festival at Fairyhouse, the Punchestown Festival and Guineas Festival Weekend at the Curragh.
The strength of the festival model had already been demonstrated by Leopardstown at the end of 2025.
A total of 67,202 people attended the four-day Leopardstown Christmas Festival, an increase of seven per cent from 62,748 in 2024. The largest individual attendance was 20,270 on December 27th, close to the racecourse’s maximum capacity.
Hospitality for all four days had sold out in advance. While Leopardstown did not disclose the resulting revenue, the combination of higher attendance and full hospitality capacity points to the broader commercial value of major meetings beyond ticket sales alone, including food and beverage, premium experiences, sponsorship activation and corporate entertainment.
The figures support the growing emphasis within Irish racing on turning selected fixtures into larger entertainment occasions. Not every one of the almost 400 annual race meetings can operate at festival scale, but the strongest events can create significantly greater value for racecourses, host regions and commercial partners.
Prize Money and Ownership
Prize money increased by 5.4 per cent to €33.2 million during the first six months of 2026.
HRI announced in January that the overall prize-money pool would increase by €4.3 million this year, with the higher race values taking effect from March. It is the first phase of a three-year strategy aimed at improving the competitiveness of Irish prize money relative to other major racing jurisdictions.
The investment appears to be supporting the ownership market. A total of 486 new owners were registered during the period, an increase of 17.9 per cent. The overall number of active owners remained stable at 3,860.
The number of individual horses earning prize money rose by 1.4 per cent to 3,873. For HRI, the connection between prize money and ownership is central: improved potential returns can encourage existing owners to remain involved and make the proposition more attractive to syndicates and new entrants.
Bloodstock Delivers Strongest Increase
The largest percentage increase across the published measures came in bloodstock sales.
The value of horses sold at public auction in Ireland rose by 20.9 per cent to €82.7 million. That represents an increase of more than €14 million on the equivalent period in 2025 and reflects continued domestic and international demand for Irish thoroughbreds.
The growth is commercially significant beyond the auction houses. Bloodstock sales support breeders, trainers, transport providers, veterinary services, rural employment and the wider network of businesses operating around racing and breeding.
Activity on the track was largely stable. The total number of runners increased by 0.8 per cent to 14,661. Flat runners rose by 3.5 per cent to 6,534, while National Hunt runners declined by 1.3 per cent to 8,127.
A total of 1,288 races were staged, an increase of 1.3 per cent, with average field sizes unchanged at 11.4.
“The figures for our racing and breeding industry for the first half of this year are broadly positive,” said HRI Chief Executive Suzanne Eade.
She linked the growth in new ownership and bloodstock sales to the increase in prize money and confirmed that further investment is planned as part of the three-year strategy.
Sport for Business Perspective
The figures demonstrate an industry in which the major revenue-related indicators are increasingly interconnected.
Prize money supports ownership. Ownership feeds demand for horses. Strong fields and high-quality racing strengthen festivals, media interest and international betting. Successful festivals generate attendance, hospitality and sponsorship value.
The decline in on-course bookmaker turnover and the vulnerability of major meetings to weather remain challenges. Nevertheless, growth in Tote activity, sponsorship, bloodstock sales and new-owner recruitment provides HRI with a positive commercial platform entering the major Galway, Irish Champions Festival and Listowel meetings in the coming weeks.
Horse Racing Ireland, Leopardstown Racecourse and The Curragh are full members of Sport for Business.
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Image Credit: Horse Racing Ireland and Inpho.ie, Morgan Treacy
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