“It’s a massacre for the horse racing industry”: faced with the PMU crisis, the France Galop plan which threatens the future of 36 French racecourses

The horse racing world has been chomping at the bit for several months. PMU revenues, from betting on horse races, are no longer enough to finance the maintenance of the many racecourses in operation. With some 250 listed structures, France has the densest network in the world and is home to half of Europe's racecourses.

Many of them are in deficit. The time for a great upheaval may have come. But the file is intended to be explosive.

The causes are known: gamblers are aging and are not being replaced by a new generation of punters. PMU's efforts to open up to other more modern or promising disciplines (gaming, sports betting, poker) are not yielding the expected results. The new management of the PMU promises an improvement, but not for two years.

Horse racing, “a sector of excellence” in decline: how the industry wants to win back the French Direct consequence: France Galop, one of the two racing organizations shareholders of the PMU (with the Society for the Encouragement of the Breeding of the French Trotteur, which is commonly nicknamed “Le Trot”), has developed a savings plan which sows discord in its own ranks. In particular, it plans to stop racing in 36 provincial racetracks where activity is low. The file landed on the desk of the Minister of Agriculture. “We contest these choices.

This new map of French racecourses was decided without consultation, protests Hubert Tassin, member of one of the groups of angry breeders, supported by numerous local elected officials and parliamentarians. It is a massacre for the horse racing industry and for the rural areas concerned. Furthermore, this does not allow significant savings to be made: 800,000 euros at best, while we have to deal with a deficit of 35 million euros!

» The revolt mobilizes both small owners and the stars of the paddocks: the great families of the Middle East, the Wertheimers (Chanel) and the Aga Kahn are members of the protest unions. The list of equipment concerned, which Challenges was able to consult, condemns the racecourses of Aurillac, Carcassonne, Carhaix, Guerlesquin, Guingamp, Montauban, La Teste-de-Buch, and even Vitré in the more or less short term. Cities where trotting events alone will not be enough to maintain an activity.

The protesters denounce the loss to heritage. In Aurillac, the Second Empire stands are classified as Historic Monuments. “A profound overhaul of the PMU is essential!

Machine-translated from French