Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges has urged racing officials worldwide to work together to help the sport prosper and grow a new fan base.
Speaking at the Asian Racing Conference in Riyadh on Tuesday, Engelbrecht-Bresges highlighted several challenges the industry was facing, including the threat of illegal betting on integrity.
The conference’s three-day business programme started on Tuesday with the opening session ‘The Evolving Global Racing and Sporting Landscape’.
“The inability of our sport to overcome fragmentation,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said of one of racing’s biggest challenges.
“We don’t compete against each other, we need to adopt global collaboration. We must brand our sport as a global sport and market it globally.
“Our sport faces three major challenges: the growth of illegal and unlicensed operators, competition increasing from sports betting, i-gaming and prediction markets, and widening the sport’s fan base.
“I would like to appeal that we work together to create global competition and a global brand.”
Engelbrecht-Bresges, who is also the Asian Racing Federation chair, welcomed about 650 guests from 45 countries at the conference’s opening ceremony on Monday.
Themed ‘Honouring Tradition, Shaping the Future’, the conference features discussions on strategic insights, perspectives on the future of racing, emerging trends and technology, innovations, wagering, breeding, equine and human welfare, international competition and integrity as well as several other key topics.
“Over the 65 years since the first Asian Racing Conference, each of the ARCs has played a part in shaping the future of thoroughbred racing, but as we gather here now, in a world wracked with geopolitical tensions and division, and with our sport facing the headwinds of multiple challenges, the 41st ARC will be especially important,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
“By any measure, thoroughbred racing is a major sport. It is underpinned by feats of incredible athleticism, it is followed by millions across the globe, and it generates substantial benefits for society both economically and through contributions to bettering the community.
“But at the same time, our sport is very different to almost every other major sport, because unlike others, the centre of our sport is the horse. Not only does this define the Asian Racing Federation’s priorities, including welfare, integrity and development of the breed, but it is also the source of one of our greatest strengths, namely that this shared affinity for the horse provides a common purpose, inspiring us to work together across borders and take our sport to its greatest heights.
“As we enter the Year of the Horse, I am both conscious of the obstacles we must meet and excited by the possibilities that lie within our reach if we are bold enough to grasp them.
“Racing’s ongoing efforts to retain and increase relevance will become ever more important with the increased competition from other leisure activities – especially for the younger generation. At the same time, we are presented with a chance to rejuvenate our customer base with an improved race-going experience and new fan engagement platforms.”
Engelbrecht-Bresges was unanimously re-elected as ARF chair – a position he has held since 2014 after also serving as chair from 2007 to 2009 – by the ARF’s executive council.
