French Racing - Discussion

[Ron]

I would love to get some discussion going on the merits and/or otherwise of the way horse racing is organised and funded in France and how this compares to the UK in terms of sustainability.

Bearing in mind horse racing has been in existence in the UK longer than in France and is still going strong with prestigious races and major horse sales and having produced many of the greatest horses in the world, is everything hunky-dory or are the financial concerns a reality waiting to happen?


Extracted from France Galop site
"FRANCE GALOP runs six racecourses under the authority of a racecourse director: Longchamp, Auteuil, Saint-Cloud, Chantilly, Maisons-Laffitte and Deauville. These last three sites are also training centres managed and maintained by France Galop so as to provide the professionals (trainers) with the spaces and tools required for the day-to-day training of racehorses. It also organises jumps races at Enghien racecourse."

"FRANCE GALOP’s main source of financing comes from the net profit from wagers made by punters, minus winnings paid out and taxes. This applies to on and off course bettinhorse racing has been in existence in the UK for longer than in FRanceg on races held in France and on a selection of races held abroad.

This financing goes towards the France Galop’s main expense, i.e. the cost of running the PMU. The PMU is an economic interest grouping controlled by the various racing bodies and paid for by them pro rata according to their activity.

In addition to this, the PMU pays its parent companies the net profit from its online (internet) activity, in accordance with the guidelines set by the ARJEL (France’s Authority for Online Betting Regulations) regarding bets made on horse racing, other sports and poker.
Other financing comes from:

• Services rendered to members: association membership fees, entry fees and cancellations, publications, use of training grounds, etc.
• Letting of real estate,
• Sponsorship of the major events,
• TV rights in France and abroad,
• Admission charges at the racecourses.

France Galop’s second highest cost, after the PMU, is the budget allocated to the prize money, bonuses and premiums paid to owners, breeders, trainers and jockeys competing in races organised in France. Then come FRANCE GALOP’s own running costs, including maintenance and renovation costs, real estate expenses, advertising and public relations, and any supplies.

Within the framework of its activities, France Galop also contributes to the federation charges designed to help the provincial racing bodies and to combat the use of banned substances.

Finally, FRANCE GALOP’s fourth main expense is the salaries of its 470 staff.

FRANCE GALOP also sets aside a significant investment budget."


I wonder under what control other racing in France is held and how they are funded.

In the UK a large portion of funding is dependent on the betting levy. However with off shore bookmaking and the exchange how much is the horse racing world losing out?

I realise that this is a bit skimpy but any views on the subject would be appreciated. I'm sure that many will agree that the Racing For Change initiative has done little/nothing towards sustainability.

So what is the way forward?
(a) carry on as we are and it will be OK; it has been for over 100 years
(b) carry on as we are and face unpleasant consequences
(c) do something to pre-empt potential future problems

 

[bayernkenny]

As bookmakers take no money out of French racing and the PMU contributes a great deal to the 'business' this allows entry at very reasonable rates. I have not been to the Arc since Rail Link won the race but remember an entry price of 8 Euros (this included free programmes and other souvenirs).
I seem to recall an entry fee of 5 euros for the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly and 4 Euros for the Grand Prix de St Cloud.
I am now looking forward to my favourite French meeting in early November; Le Week -End International de L'Obstacle at Auteuil. Again this is inexpensive at 4 Euros and the card contains three Grade 1 races, two Grade 2 races plus a couple of handicaps. This is equivelant in class to the first two days of the Cheltenham Festival however the entry fee costs about the same as a programme for the Festival. The atmosphere does not match the Festival however the lack of crowds make it a more pleasant experience for my 'old mum'. I usually spend the Saturday evening at a PMU club where I can watch the Breeders Cup so get to see the best of both codes in one trip!
I have also experienced Maisons Laffite which I remeber being free entry and the 'trot' at Vincennes at night which reminded me of an evening at the greyhounds.

 

[QuarterMoonII]

Ultimately this is going to come down to the fact that the genie escaped from the bottle in Britain decades ago, whilst socialist France has always maintained State control of the finances.

The Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) is the betting monopoly that sustains racing at the major French courses, mostly based on the Île De France, with wagering taking place to a lesser degree on the courses themselves but quite substantially through local outlets such as tabacs and cafes.

The Pari Mutuel also exists for all the provincial courses in France (at the last count there were 155 total including France Galop’s eight), most of which are poorly attended but still attract significant off-course wagering. I am not sure how they manage to distribute the money when somebody places a bet at a Pari Mutuel Hippodrome window at Saint Cloud on a race at Dieppe (assuming that sort of course-to-course betting is allowed). I think that the regional courses are organized into local authorities but I am not sure just how.

Over recent times in Britain, the bookmakers have substantially increased their sponsorship in racing although this can be argued as being part of their attempts to control the level at which The Horseracing Levy is set; hence it hardly ever being the result of an agreement between the parties and more often the result of arbitration by the relevant Government minister.

In both France and Britain, owners contribute to the prize money via their entry fees, although I suspect that entry fees are quite substantially higher on this side of the Channel.

In my opinion, Racing For Change may have targeted the wrong market, albeit with laudable motives, so the sport will eventually face unpleasant consequences.

It is extremely ironic that the biggest day in French racing is heavily bankrolled by the British and Irish (and lately Japanese) with Qatari sponsorship; and they make little effort to change the status quo.

I have not been to the Arc since Rail Link won the race but remember an entry price of 8 Euros (this included free programmes and other souvenirs).

Arc day this year was ten Euros and the programme cost five Euros. That is the first time that I know of them charging for the racecards and I wonder whether this was because they were expecting 5,000 Japanese to show up (in 2006 they had snaffled all the free racecards by midday) or whether it was real economics starting to bite in socialist France.

You will find that the admission fee at Auteuil had gone up in November to six Euros but it is still cheaper than an equivalent fixture in Britain.