FRENCH MODEL issue 33_Jerkins feature.qxd 04/03/2011 11:25 Page 1
BUSINESS
THE FRENCH MODEL
Keeping ahead of the racing game “The best system in the world” has been one of the many compliments used to describe the success of the French model by professionals and enthusiasts across the globe in recent times. By Isabel Mathew
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S several of its racing neighbours continue to struggle with their own individual problems, there are numerous arguments to support this accolade. Despite this, France’s secure position is experiencing change, and the coming year is an extremely important one for the future of the sport in the country. Racing under rules was created in France in 1775, however it was the Duke of Morny who brought this pastime to the fore in the mid-19th Century. The brother of Napoleon III, he also founded racing at the Normandy seaside town of Deauville. The creation of the Pari-Mutuel Urbain (PMU) in 1930 to finance all areas of the sector, by organising and regulating betting on- and off-course, has proved a key factor in the success of the French model in the modern era. Aymeric Verlet, Director of International Development for PMU, explains, “The industry has held up well in France thanks to a system which is very beneficial to the sport, funding 80% of its activity. In the last 10 years, the amount received has increased by 47 points.
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“This model allows a whole economic sector to survive - 900,000 horses, 250 racecourses, 7,100 equestrian establishments, as well as the 75,000 employees connected with these.” Composed of 51 non-profit racing authorities, the PMU is an Economic Interest Group (Groupement d'Intérêt Economique – GIE). Both France Galop
(thoroughbred) and the Société d’Encouragement du Cheval Français (trotting) are the most important of these, whilst the remainder are made up of provincial racecourse societies across the country. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries as well as the Ministry of Budget and Public Accounts play a close role in the