The British horse racing industry is aiming to treble int'l investment in the sport with "plans to attract tens of millions of pounds worth of overseas funding per year," according to Olivia Goldhill of the London TELEGRAPH. British Horseracing Authority Chair Steve Harman said that "British horse racing is renowned worldwide and, as the second most popular spectator sport" in the U.K., has the "potential to attract massive investment." Harman: "Britain overall has been attracting more foreign investment because people have enjoyed the jubilee, the Olympics, they like the pound, they love Britain. Those investors are starting to invest in sport." Harman said that "wealthy individuals from China, Russia, the Middle East and Japan were all interested in investing in British horse racing." Harman said, "If you think about what Premier League football, Formula One and Rugby League have done, there's a lot more we can do." Horse racing is currently worth £3.45B ($5.8B) to the U.K. economy, with "17,500 full-time jobs in the industry and a further 67,500 people indirectly working with horse racing." Harman said the BHA plans to focus on int'l investment, encouraging breeders to stay in the U.K., "more sophisticated use of customer data, and innovations in horse race betting, as means of expanding the industry" (TELEGRAPH, 5/27).
