Financial support to Racecourses reinstated

Date published: 10 February 2022

Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots MLA, has secured changes to legislation, allowing funding to be restored to Northern Ireland’s two horse racecourses.

DARD News

The Horse Racing (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, which achieved Royal Assent on 2 February 2022, primarily amends the Horse Racing (Northern Ireland) Order 1990 and allows for payments from the Horse Racing Fund to Down Royal and Downpatrick racecourses to be reinstated. The Fund is made up from a levy collected from licensed bookmakers in Northern Ireland, and provides financial support to horseracing at Northern Ireland’s two racecourses.

Welcoming the change to the legislation, Minister Poots said: “The Horse Racing Fund was set up to support horseracing at Northern Ireland’s two racecourses.  As a result of a change in the management at Down Royal, the new operator has been ineligible for support since 2019, as it was not specifically named in the legislation.  Payments to Downpatrick have also been suspended since 2019, as to only support one racecourse could have created unfair competition."

The Minister continued: “I am grateful to the AERA Committee and Assembly Members more widely for their support for this legislation, and for ensuring its timely passage through the Assembly. I am pleased that the Act has been enacted and that payments can now resume immediately to both Downpatrick and Down Royal, and therefore help ensure the two courses can continue to provide top quality racing in Northern Ireland, and at the same time support many businesses in their areas."

Notes to editors: 

  1. The Horse Racing (Northern Ireland) Order 1990 (the Order) is the legal basis for the Horse Racing Fund (HRF/the Fund) in Northern Ireland.  The Fund is made up from a levy collected from licensed bookmakers in Northern Ireland, and provides financial support to horseracing at Northern Ireland’s two racecourses at Downpatrick and the Maze/Down Royal.
  2. A charge on bookmakers was put in place originally to offset a decline in race day revenue (gate receipts), following the introduction of legislation which meant that people wishing to place a bet on a horse race no longer needed to attend the racecourse.  The charge was paid by bookmakers to support the racecourses as there is a direct link between the two, with some of the bookmakers’ income deriving directly from betting on horseracing.
  3. The 1990 Order names the racecourse operators as beneficiaries of the Fund. However, as a result of a change of management in 2019, the beneficiary originally named in the 1990 Order is no longer the operator at the Maze. As a result, payments from the Fund to Down Royal racecourse were suspended.  Payments to Downpatrick were also suspended at that time in order to avoid unfair competition between the two racecourses. 
  4. The Horse Racing (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, which primarily amends the 1990 Order to reflect the new operator at Down Royal, allows for the reinstatement of payments from the Fund, in support of the two racecourses at both the Maze and Downpatrick.  
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