Scottish Racing: Horseracing’s financial situation “unsustainable” amid second national lockdown
Latest restrictions leaves sport struggling to cope despite previous emergency funding, stresses Scottish Racing head Delly Innes
The coronavirus pandemic has rendered the future of Scottish horseracing as unsustainable, according to the sport’s governing body.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland¸ Scottish Racing manager Delly Innes said the closure of racecourses and inability to turn a profit had left horseracing in the country on its knees.
Scottish Racing had budgeted for a £12m loss in the 2020-21 financial year, but with Scotland in a national lockdown from 5 January, Innes fears those losses could mount.
Innes said: “Before the second lockdown, Scottish racecourses have lost £12m, which is 55% of their income, just through no ticket sales.
“That has a knock-on effect to other areas of the industry. Now we are seeing the closure of all betting shops, which means we’ve lost another source of income as racing sells footage and data to them.
“With this reduced income and still having to pay our overheads, it’s not sustainable while we’re racing for zero profit,” she added.
The Scottish government launched a £55m emergency sports funding package in December, of which horseracing received £2m in grants.
In comparison, football received £30m in a combination of grants and loans, while rugby was handed £20m.
The £2m lifeline received by horseracing north of the border, which generates more than £300m in revenue for the economy and sustains 3,400 jobs annually, was the same as the amount handed to Scottish ice rinks by Joe FitzPatrick, Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing.
Innes said the funding from Holyrood had been welcome but added the industry must avoid collapse before crowds return.
She told the BBC: “The grant funding was not only welcome but vital to bridge the gap until it is safe for spectators to return to racecourses. But we do have to make sure we have a Scottish horseracing industry to come back to when crowds return.
“The fact we’ve been able to continue racing behind closed doors has been essential, but the second lockdown puts additional pressures on the racecourses in many other ways.”