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24/2/09
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GERMAN RACING
I
T will be an easy task to manage horses for the duration of this winter season in Germany: there are hardly any races anymore. In March there will only be three fixtures in the whole country. “Normally”, says Andreas Wöhler, one of the leading trainers with some 120 horses in his yard, “we start with our better three-year-olds at the end of March. That is impossible nowadays, because there are no possibilities to run them. The first races are in April.” The reason for the lowest number of fixtures in years is simple: a lack of money. The financial situation of the German racing industry continued to deteriorate in 2008. Total betting turnover, including onand off-track, was just over €39 million, a decrease of about 19% on the previous year. In 2000, the betting turnover was €125 million, down from €143 million in 1994. The punters are betting on the internet,
through dubious channels. Internet bookmakers normally pay their taxes in destinations like Malta or Gibraltar and give only a small amount back to the sport. As German racing has suffered steep declines in betting turnover on-track – a turnover on which the racetracks still depend – a turning point for the industry is important for survival. The members of the Direktorium
(German racing’s ruling body) voted unanimously to agree upon a joint venture with foreign investors in the form of betting chains from abroad. However, this “structural reform” (the plan was to create a company that would lead the future development of German racing, with the Direktorium keeping 51% of shares and the investors sharing the rest) did not seem to make any progress in the months after it was conceived two years ago. The future looks uncertain for most of the racetracks. The “Internationaler Club” running the prestigious and well-known races in Baden-Baden has debts of €10 million. Not hard to understand why many believe that the “Club” has to go under administration. Fifteen race days, as usual, are planned this year, but nobody knows who will run them. Frankfurt went under administration in November, and a new club was founded and will probably host
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