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Welcome to the 14th edition of the Australian Racing Board Fact Book.
We are again proud to present with RISA the essential guide to the Australian Thoroughbred racing and breeding
industry. The ARB greatly values the role of RISA in providing the industry with world’s best practice information
and technology services.
The Fact Book is amongst the most comprehensive publications of key results and statistics for any racing
industry in the world. It showcases the breadth and scale of our industry across the vast Australian continent.
Racing is conducted on a massive scale in Australia, second only to the United States. There are 389 race clubs,
367 racetracks, 19,626 races, 989 jockeys, 3,891 trainers and 95,971 owners all of which go to employ over
200,000 people.
We have everything. From annual picnic races to sand tracks in the outback to the glamorous carnivals in major
capital cities supported by over 2 million Australians who attend at least one race meeting in a year.
The diversity and participatory nature of the Australian industry is its greatest strength. It means that hundreds
of communities across this great country support racing. It is a remarkably democratic industry with an entry
point affordable for everybody.
The 2012-13 fact book reveals that the Australian breeding and racing industry is growing across the board
with increases in prizemoney, infrastructure spending and wagering turnover.
Amongst our greatest challenges is the need to grow racecourse attendance beyond feature days and carnivals.
This demands imaginative and innovative marketing and promotion from Principal Racing Authorities right
through to Race Clubs in a way that excites the interest of a new generation of race-goers.
I believe that the Australian Racing product is as good as anywhere in the world as vast improvements have
been made to racetrack surfaces, racecourse facilities, rider safety, animal welfare and returns to industry
participants.
However, racing is in a highly competitive environment with other recreational, hospitality, entertainment and
gambling industries and must continually strive to improve every aspect of its performance for both participant
and customer alike.
The Fact Book attests to the strength of the Australian racing industry but it also is a measure against which
we can improve year on year.
I trust you will find the 2012-13 Racing Fact Book of material benefit.
Peter McGauran
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Racing Board Limited
ARB
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