IHRB recently published their first ever annual report . This is the first report since the IHRB was established in 2018. At this time they assumed the role of the Racing Regulatory Body in Ireland. There are some interesting data in the report.
One statistic that caught my eye was the proportion of non-runners at racetracks, and the reasons for this. ‘Change in Going' is the primary cause – as expected – but this is trending upward from 2016. This could be due to general horse welfare considerations, but I wonder is this also a function of a more erratic climate. Food for thought. Will the increasing climate extremes (downfalls of rain in the Summer months etc.) impact the level of withdrawn horses? Perhaps more generally, how will climate change impact the racing conditions? At a stretch, will climate uncertainty and the variable racing conditions it brings impact the hammer price?