Horse Racing Ireland

Jul 20, 2023

Horse Racing Ireland has announced a three-year partnership with Aer Lingus College Football Classic (ALCFC) that will tie horse racing into the annual American college football event with a 'Stars and Stripes'-theme race night at Leopardstown. This year's event will take place on 24 August as part of a calendar of activities supporting the sold-out ALCFC game between Notre Dame and Navy at the Aviva Stadium two days later. The American-themed race event will feature live music and American football activations along with a full race card of on course action. “Leopardstown Racecourse and Aer Lingus College Football Classic have a mutual ambition to develop our respective sports by introducing new audiences," said Tim Husbands, CEO of Leopardstown Racecourse. "As the only racecourse in Dublin, we are often the first encounter many tourists have with Irish Racing, so it is important for us to deliver a great experience. Business Bulletin "The creation of the Stars and Stripes Race Day is to develop a sporting event that celebrates the best Irish music, sport, and dancing with fun of an American tailgate party. This year's classic is expected to be worth in excess of €147m to the Irish economy, and the Leopardstown race night is one of around 50 events taking place in the week preceding the game, which will be attended by 40,000 international visitors. The ALCFC is going to ignite a great atmosphere around Dublin city, will enhance the tourism experience for the many thousands of US visitors, will help create a great economic return to the city, and we are really excited to be a part of it," Husbands added. Brendan Meehan, commercial director of ALCFC, said: “Horseracing in Ireland is very popular and plays an important role in Irish – US relations, so to have the Stars and Stripes race meeting in Leopardstown Racecourse on the Thursday evening before the game provides a wonderful opportunity for US visitors to experience the fun, the ambiance and everything that Leopardstown has to offer. “There are natural synergies between those who attend horseracing and those that will come to our game. They want to experience something different, they want to have fun and witness the intrigue, the razzamatazz and the spectacle.” The US is a strong market for Irish thoroughbred horses, with US-based buyers spending €18.8m last year on a total of 142 Irish horses. Over a quarter of all registered owners of Irish racehorses are based overseas and the US is home to approximately 20% (243) of these overseas owners making it the second largest overseas market for Irish racehorse ownership behind the UK. The North American thoroughbred market is the most valuable in the world with public sales of over €1.2bn, but Ireland's is the second-largest in the world with sales of €538m. A further €120m from private sales brings the annual value of Irish thoroughbred sales to €658m. “The US Bloodstock market is the biggest in the world, but the international reputation of Irish horse-breeding is driving significant interest from US buyers and resulting in year-on-year growth in bloodstock sales to US buyers," said Paul Demody, CEO of HRI. "The team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing are doing a fantastic job in attracting US buyers to Ireland and growing that segment of the overseas buyer market in both public and private sales. Brendan Meehan, Commercial Director of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic (left) and Tim Husbands, CEO of Leopardstown Racecourse pictured as Horse Racing Ireland announce partnership with the ALCFC. (Pic: INPHO/James Crombie) "HRI’s partnership with the Aer Lingus College Football Classic will allow us to develop new avenues to connect with US buyers and further enhance our offering to US buyers," he concluded. Photo: Jockey Cillian McConnell (centre) and Dublin Rebels players Greg Johnson (left) and Evan Allen (right) line up at the launch of Horse Racing Ireland's three-year partnership with the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. (Pic: INPHO/James Crombie)