state of the nation italy
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n HE autumn of 2008 Italian racing went on strike. The issues that had been bubbling under the surface came to a head in a protest of anger and desperation. Although financial action was taken to keep the sport afloat, further moves still need to be taken to solve the deep-seated issues that have developed in the racing industry. The strike was caused by the government’s decision that October to curtail prize-money after a substantial reduction in betting income was announced. Through the strike, which lasted around a month, over a 150 races had to be cancelled, including 22 pattern races on the Flat and for trotters. The situation became entrenched in a downward spiral as during the black-out, although the Italian betting shops offered the possibility to bet on races elsewhere in Europe, betting opportunities were limited. This resulted in an even greater drop in betting revenue. The situation was ended by a bail-out but last December problems resurfaced with Italy being suspended as a member of the EBF and, this spring, the two racecourses, Capannelle and San Siro, faced a temporary shutdown amid financial wrangling. Livorno and the trotting tracks at Ravenna, San Siro and Tor di Valle are also embroiled in a dispute over financial grants. The tracks have refused to accept the latest proposals from the semigovernmental ruling body of the sport for grants for prizes and operating their training centres. But these issues have not emerged overnight and can be traced through a history of mismanagement and lack of foresight by those governing the sport.
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he Italian Jockey Club was inaugurated in 1881 to run racing, and from then right until 1932, the racecourse was the epicentre of racing, everything revolved around it. By the 1930s, however, racing had grown to such an extent that the state felt it should intervene in order to manage resources, regulate prize-money and unify all the single components that made up the sport. The Unione Nazionale Incremento Razze Equine (UNIRE) was formed under the Ministry of Agriculture, the state deciding that racing was an agricultural activity based on the fact that breeding lead to the production of a racehorse
which lead to the spectacle of the races on which betting was allowed. Betting income was considered the means for funding what was deemed a primary agricultural activity. Now the reverse is
the case; betting income is not the means for funding this activity, in fact betting is considered by the state to be the whole objective – in other words the state is looking to betting as the primary activity.
FACT SHEET 18 racecourses host Flat racing, a further 21 harness racing In 2009 just under €2 billion was bet over 2,486 days of racing with 18,692 races and a total of 181,699 runners In 2010 28 Group races will be contested on Italian turf, of which 7 at the highest level Racecourse attendance figures down 94 per cent from 2,617,000 in 1995 to 157,000 in 2008 UNIRE COSTS: €469,496,000 (total 2009 provisional) Day-to-day running 6 per cent for €27,680,000 Acquisition of goods and services 2 per cent or €10,670,000 Prize-money 46 per cent or €218,200,000 Breeders’ incentives 4 per cent or €21,000,000 Racecourse services 23 per cent or €110,000,000 Discipline 4 per cent or €18,000,000 TV signal 7 per cent or €30,570,000 Staff assistance/training 2% or €8 348 000 Miscellaneous 6% or €25 028 000 BETTING STRUCTURE From a bet of €1
Unire gets 11.9 cents State gets 4.5 cents
Betting outlet gets 12.2 cents Punter gets 71.4 cents
From a Tote €1 bet
Unire gets 14 cents on a win bet
State gets 6 cents Further levy of 9 cents divided between betting point, UNIRE, AAMS, and the State Punter gets 72 cents The total “take” on a quarté or quinté rises to 43 cents leaving the punter with just 57 cents in his hand (AAMS: Azienda Autonoma Monopoli di Stato, the State Monopoly)
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