Worrying developments in Norway carry potentially major significance for racing in neighbouring nations
Racing professionals in Scandinavia are holding their breath. What next?
Øvrevoll Galopp, just outside Oslo, is the only Thoroughbred racetrack in Norway – there are ten harness venues – and one of the four courses that comprise the wider Scandinavian circuit. But things are not going well at Øvrevoll, where they recently cancelled their last fixture of the season and implemented a dramatically reduced service at their administration offices.
Indeed, it is no exaggeration to suggest the future of Thoroughbred racing in Norway, Sweden and Denmark appears uncertain.
Big losses have resulted in the entire staff employed by Norsk Galopp, formerly the Norwegian Jockey Club, now having had their hours cut by between 50 and 80 per cent. Norsk Galopp's offices are open just 3½ hours per day and trainers have been asked to help with maintenance of training facilities.
Although Norsk Galopp made two new appointments as recently in early October, both to strengthen their marketing efforts, a sudden U-turn appeared via these changes just weeks later. The picture is worrying – and it is a little bit confusing too.
Last month the publication Trav og Galopp Nytt, covering harness and Thoroughbred racing in Norway, reported that the racecourse has been making a loss of about three million kroner in 2024. That's about $270,000, or just under $10,000 lost on average per raceday if you like.
A week later the news broke that business was to be paused. Details around the current financial situation, and how it might impact future plans, have not been announced, though the newly-appointed managing director Bente Rosenberg has invited racing professionals, owners, breeders and other interested parties to an information meeting on December 5, with these items on the agenda;
• Norsk Galopp: financial status
• 2025: racecourse and fixtures
• Norsk Rikstoto (the state-run Tote): status and future
Cut one leg and the table becomes wobbly
Make of that what you will but the outlook seems far from positive and legitimate worries over the future of Norwegian racing carry potentially huge significance more widely in Scandinavia.
Okay, Øvrevoll is only a small corner of the racing world but the importance of its role is not restricted to the nation more famous for world-class skiers and footballers.
Øvrevoll's existence is crucial to racing in the two neighbouring nations, Denmark and Sweden, as their conditions books rely heavily on an exchange of runners. This is the time when those conditions books for next season are being written. How many horses, from how many trainers and owners, can those doing these jobs expect support from in 2025?
Trainers and jockeys are not making a great living in Scandinavia and it's hard to imagine how they could make a living at all if Øvrevoll is closed down and the circuit is left with just Bro Park, Jägersro and Klampenborg.
These venues can be compared to the four legs of a table – and we all know what happens if we cut off one of those legs. In this case there will be a ripple effect stretching way, way out of the dining room.
All remaining professionals in Scandinavia will undoubtedly suffer if one track is closed down, as most owners and breeders in that region would probably give up on racing. Betting turnover would also suffer immensely as Scandinavian countries operate a common pool with horse players wagering on races across borders.
With Thoroughbred racing relatively smalll beer compared to the more popular harness racing, followers of the sport bet on races in their neighbouring nations every week through the season.
However, betting turnover on Thoroughbred racing is still not healthy enough to justify staging marquee days. And without those marquee days there's no fancy shopping window to attract new faces to the track.
Norwegian Derby day was by far the biggest fixture in a racing calendar consisting of 28 racedays at Øvrevoll this year. This raceday offered 4.786,000 kroner in total prize-money, while the betting handle was 6.300,485 kroner. Remember, that betting figure is turnover, not profit – thereby resulting in a massive loss on the day.
Derby day has been an expensive affair in Norway for years and Øvrevoll operates in a nation where high take-outs make betting on horse racing far less appealing than in other jurisdictions around the world. The V5 wager (pick 5) has brutal 35% takeout. In North America, like Norway with Tote betting only, a Pick 5 is typically offered with a takeout of around 15%.
Thoroughbred racing operates under the same betting regulations as harness racing but Øvrevoll has another beast to deal with. The sport has ended up in a vicious circle; while the high takeouts give horse players a bad deal, players still interested in what goes on at Øvrevoll, Bro Park, Jägersro and Klampenborg are also suffering from lack of useful information.
Fewer and fewer horses
Thoorughbred racing is mainly funded by two groups, the horse players and the owners. Horse players in the Scandinavian region get a bad deal and recruiting owners has become more and more reminiscent of a losing battle in Norway.
The horse population has been shrinking over the past ten years and is it is now down to only 225 altogether. Of those, 164 horses are handled by 11 professional trainers, with the rest representing amateurs, who presumably do not rely on the sport for a living.
Øvrevoll would not be able to stage their 28 days of racing without runners shipping in from Denmark and Sweden on a regular basis. This year, the track welcomed 115 such runners, bringing the number of horses competing at the venue to 340.
That's about 100 fewer than what Øvrevoll enjoyed back in the 80s and 90s and it falls well short of what's needed to fill fields big enough to generate a betting turnover making the sport sustainable.
Given recent developments, it is easy to fear that there's a real risk that Thoroughbred racing will soon be a thing of the past in Norway.
That would be terrible news for everyone in the region, because if one nation gives up then it may become impossible for the other two to continue. Which is why it is absolutely crucial not to cut one leg off this particular Scandi-made table.
• Visit the Øvrevoll Galopp website
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