‘Intense Renewal’ Underway in Italian Racing

[Wandering Eyes]

It doesn't take too deep a dive into the pedigree of Northern Dancer to understand the Italian influence in so many racehorses in training these days. Italy's significance in the annals of racing and breeding history reaches beyond Nearco of course, but in recent years there has been a very real fear that the country is losing its place in the Thoroughbred world order. 

Indeed, its black-type races have been gradually downgraded. The Derby Italiano and Oaks d'Italia lost Group 1 status in 2009 and 2007 respectively, and Italy lost its final Group 1 race in 2019 when the Premio Lydia Tesio was downgraded to a Group 2. A further nine listed races have been cut from the Italian racing programme for 2025.

There is hope, however, that the issues which have beset Italian racing for a number of years are now in the process of being addressed, with an apparently genuine desire from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (MASAF), which oversees the sport's administration, to return Italian racing to a position of strength. 

Remo Chiodi, MASAF's director general and general manager of Italian horseracing, is the man charged with righting the ship. He is cautiously optimistic of a return to calmer waters and has overseen significant changes already, including, most importantly, a reduction in the lengthy wait for prize-money to be paid out. 

“We've been very busy but fortunately many things are going well, in my opinion, or at least, better than in the past,” he says. “Revitalising international relationships was one of the major targets of my work plan for 2024. After many years of absence, for Italy it was necessary to restart rebuilding strong relationships and recover credibility in Europe and all around the world.”

In 2023, the Italian Government began a structural reform, recognising the part which horseracing can play as an economic resource for the country. In acknowledging the need for collaboration with Italy's fellow racing nations, Chiodi adds, “We are experiencing different levels of development in horseracing countries but we are all facing similar problems within our national industries, from breeding to racing.”

One trend seen across the bloodstock world of late is a reduction in foal crop numbers. In Italy, the drop in the number of reported foals in the country has been undeniably steep, though there is a glimmer of hope. From 1,751 foals recorded in Italy in 2010, the 2023 crop stood at just 686, which is actually an improvement on the 2018 low of 603.

In an attempt to stimulate trade at the Italian sales, VAT on Italian yearling purchases has been reduced from 22 per cent to five per cent.

“Our plan needs time, so currently there is not an increase in the number of owners or breeders, but we have a good feeling about the future,” Chiodi says. 

Among the causes for optimism is a reduction in betting tax on horseracing to bring it into line with other sports, and the introduction of an additional two per cent tax on virtual betting, which will help to boost prize-money levels. 

“Taxation on betting has been reduced to 24 per cent. In the past horseracing did not have such good consideration from politicians, but now, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Minister Lollobrigida and Under Secretary of State La Pietra, are personally leading the process of reform,” Chiodi explains, adding that while the sport of trotting remains buoyant in Italy, the Thoroughbred sector still has a long way to go in attempting to recapture the glory days of Italian racing. 

“In Italy, horseracing is managed by public administration and public money, directly from the Ministry of Agriculture,” he says. “This is a challenge because we don't have the opportunity to act as a private company and manage it in the way the sector needs to be competitive with all the other countries. But we are working towards a major reform in order to reestablish a private parent company to manage it – like in France or the UK, for example. This is what we are working towards and it is scheduled for the end of this year.”

 

VAT on Italian-bought yearlings has been reduced to five per cent | Emma Berry

 

Chiodi says that the Italian authorities have listened to the advice offered by the European Pattern Committee in order to stem the loss of further black-type races. Prize-money has already been increased for some stakes races and, with a slight reduction in the number of races, increases of more than 15% in average purses across the board are intended from next year.

The international reputation of Italian horseracing has not been helped in recent years by the unacceptable delay in paying out prize-money to connections. 

“We are now on 100 to 120 days of delay for payments – better than in the past but of course still not where we would like it to be for the future,” Chiodi admits. “But by the end of the year the goal is to reduce this to 90 days.”

“Among the most important milestones we have adopted is a merit-based classification for all the racetracks based on the scientific method of AHP  – analytic hierarchy process – in order to award money for investment in racetracks according to what we see in terms of their goals and future perspectives.”

The latter has been published in an official government decree, signed by Under Secretary Patrizio La Pietra and hailed by the Ministry of Agriculture as an “epochal change” for Italian horseracing. 

Clearly the intention is there to improve what has become a regrettable situation, with Italy falling far behind its European cousins in the sport. The appointment of Chiodi, who has no background in racing, was, he says, for exactly that reason. 

“Probably this was one of the most important facts for the decision of the political authorities,” he admits. “That I had no involvement in the past in the sector, so I had no constraints or links with the previous management. But I have expertise in economic planning and management, and this is very useful in this phase.”

He acknowledges the help he has received from others, notably Tamara Papiccio, recently elected to be the first vice-president of the European Trotting Union. She has been involved in the industry for more than 30 years and is currently general secretary of the Mediterranean Horseracing Union. 

She lists other areas currently being tackled for improvement. “We are working on an update on all the regulations which will be in place next month – this has not been done in 15 years,” says Papiccio. “We're also updating our horse welfare and anti-doping rules and increasing our anti-doping testing in training. We already did this last year but we will go farther as it is important for the integrity of the sector.”

Also in progress is the foundation of a government-funded programme for the aftercare of racehorses, which is being set up in association with the country's equestrian federation and will complement a number of privately-run operations of this nature already in place in Italy.

For those eager to follow Italian racing, both in the country and beyond, a recently launched website in Italian, French and English, with all the races live-streamed, can be found under the new-look brand of Grande Ippica Italiana, which is also the name used across social media channels. 

“We have worked hard on our communications,” says Chiodi. “And we are recovering our place in the international horseracing associations.”

Chiodi admits that one of their hardest challenges is likely to be changing the mindsets of those working within Italian racing.

“There is not an optimistic view inside the community, and this is not good. It is very difficult to change – and it is a global trend – but in Italy it is very hard,” he says. “And of course, it's necessary to guarantee continuity and commitment in the renewal process.”

He remains, however, positive in his outlook for the future of what has been a nation of huge importance in the evolution of horseracing. 

“I can say that we can be optimistic,” says Chiodi. “We know that we can do more and that we have room for improvement. It needs patience – and I mean years, not months – but in two or three years we can sum up what we have done and then it will be a good time to evaluate.”

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