Op/Ed: Nations Need To Work Together

[Wandering Eyes]

With less than 100 days to go until Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union, the bloodstock and racing industries in Britain and Ireland face uncertain times as to how different their worlds will be after that date.

The Tripartite Agreement that ensures free movement of Thoroughbreds between Britain, Ireland and France could be brought to an end by Brexit. While hopes are high that this mutually beneficial arrangement for horses of a ‘high health’ status will be upheld, the possibility of a no-deal Brexit makes the waters very murky indeed and raises the prospect of all manner of potentially calamitous situations for the bloodstock and racing worlds.

Amid all this uncertainty, it is of the utmost importance that the symbiotic relationship between the bloodstock and racing industries of Britain and Ireland is maintained. Of course, there will always be a healthy rivalry between the two, but when it comes to breeding and racing, one simply cannot thrive without the other. British racing needs a supply of Irish-bred horses just as badly as the Irish bloodstock sector depends on the British market in which to sell their horses. Similarly, the breeding industries on both sides of the Irish Sea depend on access to each other’s stallions, mares and sales grounds to conduct their businesses. The sheer volume of Thoroughbred horses of all ages that travel over and back across the Irish Sea every week is testament to this.

However, the uncertainty that Brexit has introduced into the fold has resulted in some worrying developments in the bloodstock world. It is somewhat understandable that potentially challenging times ahead might prompt a defensive or protectionist approach and there seems to be elements of that appearing in the British bloodstock industry.

Specifically, it has been concerning to observe the direction that the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (TBA) in Britain has been taking. Recently, TBA board member Philip Newton wrote an article in the Racing Post headlined ‘The time has come to put the interests of our own industry first’. In short, it is the TBA’s belief that in these difficult times British breeders will be best served by looking after their own. With this in mind, its board has proposed a new bonus scheme confined to British-bred horses that it hopes will be in place for the 2019 Flat season.

It is understandable that those behind this new British scheme will seek to promote and emphasise the success of British breeding above all others. Indeed, in Newton’s article he wrote, ‘On top of all that there is the indisputable fact that the British racing product is the best in the world, as 24% of the world’s best racehorses are produced from an annual foal crop of approximately 4,700 births. Next in line is Ireland with 18% of the best, but from a foal crop of over 9,000.”

However, that ‘indisputable fact’ is very much disputable, as it actually undersells just how dominant both British and Irish breeders are on the world scene. Newton’s statistics are based on foal crop numbers that include foals designated as being bred for National Hunt racing at the time of their registration. Given that the breeding industry of every other major racing nation with the exception of France is almost entirely made up of Flat-bred foals, including such foals in his statistics serves to significantly distort the picture. This is particularly significant in this case given that approximately 30% of foals born in Ireland and 13% of foals bred in Great Britain are bred for National Hunt racing.

In an effort to offer statistics that are more reflective of the reality, I firstly calculated a figure for an average crop of foals that were designated as Flat-bred and bred for dual purposes in both Britain and Ireland from between 2012 and 2014 inclusive. I then calculated the average of how many horses rated 115+ and 120+ were bred in either country and appeared in the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings at the conclusion of every year from 2015 to 2017 inclusive. Finally, I took those two averages for each country and used them to calculate an average percentage of 115+ and 120+ performers per foal produced at either side of the Irish Sea during that period. These are the results that analysis produced:

However, the real impact of these figures isn’t truly made until they are put alongside the other leading Thoroughbred breeding nations in the world. With that in mind, I conducted the same analysis for all the other significant Thoroughbred breeding nations and the results are quite remarkable.

The indisputable fact that I would draw from this analysis is that Ireland AND Britain are by a significant margin the finest breeders of Thoroughbreds in the world. Their breeding and racing industries are so closely linked and there is so much sharing of bloodlines that they can take near equal credit for reaching what is a remarkable position of dominance on the world stage.

The owners, breeders and agents that flock to the sale grounds of Britain and Ireland from around the world don’t come looking to buy a horse bred in one country or the other, they come to buy quality horses regardless of which country it was produced, knowing that Britain and Ireland breed the best horses in the world.

While Brexit represents a significant challenge in maintaining the symbiotic relationship between Britain and Ireland, these two nations should be doing everything they can to work more closely together for their mutual benefit rather than seeking to drive a wedge between them. A bonus scheme that causes buyers to differentiate between the British and Irish products that have for so long been coupled under one brand of excellence threatens to destabilise the foundations of the bloodstock business on both sides of the Irish Sea. There are challenging times ahead for the bloodstock business, but working together will make the choppy waters ahead much more navigable for all involved.

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