| INDUSTRY |
Dr. Paull Khan
Roger Svalsrod, Zavodisko/Peter Lukac
EMHF SUMMER UPDATE THE PANDEMIC’S EFFECTS ON EUROPE’S SMALLER RACING NATIONS AND THEIR TRAINERS
T
here is no racing nation that has escaped the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact on the major racing powers, in Europe and beyond, has been well chronicled. Racing industries in France, Great Britain and Ireland have all taken a significant financial hit with the period of forced inactivity. But what has been the experience of the smaller countries, with lesser financial resources with which to buffer themselves? Here we look at the
situation in six countries—Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Slovakia—to try to get a sense of what the coronavirus crisis has meant for their racing generally and their trainers in particular. And what we see is a highly variable picture; while for some the impact—at least to date—has been mild, and there is confidence around the long-term prospects for the sport, for others, it has threatened the very existence of horseracing in the country.
BELGIUM
GREECE
NETHERLANDS
NORWAY
POLAND
SLOVAKIA
18/52
25/0
8/20
16/8
49/10
19/3
No. of Horses in Training
320
420
120
260
730
250
Foreign-Trained Runners
252
0
20
472
60
360
Home-trained Horses’ Starts Abroad
1218
20
100
277
95
90
No. of Races (Normal Year)
169
300
35
230
326
155
No. of Races 2020
100
300
18?
230
<326
28-95
Prize Money Reduction in 2020
30%
<20%
50%?
15%
0%
40%-90%
No. of Trainers: Professional/Amateur
64
TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70