Cover image courtesy of Trackside Photography
The Ladbrokes Racing Club gave over 20,000 punters an ownership experience across all three codes, Thoroughbreds, Harness, and Greyhounds, and they announced on Thursday that the racing ownership portion would be wound up due to rising costs.
Rising costs to blame
The change of direction for the Ladbrokes Racing Club has been blamed on rising costs, but it also comes at a time when its parent company, Entain Group, is facing significant legal scrutiny.
Entain Australia CEO Dean Shannon acknowledged the financial pressures in a press release stating, “We are proud of Ladbrokes Racing Club and the opportunity it has presented to thousands of customers to experience a raceday as an owner. Unfortunately, the Club is not immune to the rising cost of operating pressures currently affecting the wagering sector. The increasing product fees and taxes in Australia, along with the rising cost of racing, have forced tough decisions to be made regarding these extra initiatives.”
“The increasing product fees and taxes in Australia, along with the rising cost of racing, have forced tough decisions to be made regarding these extra initiatives.” - Dean Shannon
However, alongside these financial pressures, Entain - owner of Ladbrokes and Neds - has also found itself at the center of a legal battle with Australia’s financial crimes regulator. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has launched civil proceedings against Entain Australia, alleging “serious and systemic non-compliance” with the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
While the matter is now before the Federal Court, Entain CEO Gavin Isaacs has said the company is taking the allegations seriously, emphasising that it has fully cooperated with AUSTRAC and is implementing additional compliance measures.
Against this backdrop, the Ladbrokes Racing Club is pivoting away from direct racehorse ownership. While the Club will no longer have a presence on the racetrack, Shannon reassured members that Ladbrokes remains committed to racing, with new initiatives set to roll out in 2025. The Club will now focus on supporting raceday experiences for members through hosting functions at the races rather than horse ownership.
Gavin Isaacs | Image courtesy of Entain
The process of winding down the Club’s ownership structure could take up to a year as lease agreements are worked through and horses are sold. It is understood that some horses will be offered for sale on Inglis Digital, while others will be transferred to New Zealand for the NZ TAB Club, which remains unaffected by the changes.
An ‘ownership experience’
Launched in 2023, the Ladbrokes Racing Club was designed to give Ladbrokes members an ‘ownership experience’ but didn’t give people actual ownership in the horses. The club retained the ownership in each horse and used them as part of a marketing campaign to give punters an exclusive ownership experience.
Ladbrokes punters could sign up to the Club to get access to all the information about each horse, including exclusive behind the scenes stable content from leading trainers, footage and updates on each horse, and could go into a ballot for raceday tickets when one of the Club horses was running.
The disclosure statement on the Ladbrokes website was very clear that membership didn’t constitute ownership, saying “Do I own a share in the Ladbrokes Racing Club runners? No. Membership of the Ladbrokes Racing Club provides ownership experiences and associated benefits but does not provide legal ownership of racing animals.”
How many horses were involved?
According to Arion’s sales records, the Ladbrokes Racing Club purchased 15 horses, usually in conjunction with partners.
10 yearlings were purchased in conjunction with Newgate Farm.
Ladbrokes Racing Club secured three horses outright, while the remaining two were purchased in partnership with trainers. Teaming up with Chris Waller and Guy Mulcaster, they acquired a Proisir colt out of Breizh (NZ) (Pour Moi {Ire}) for NZ$260,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale. In collaboration with David Ellis, they purchased Lot 83 - a Written Tycoon colt out of Irish Rose (Fastnet Rock) - for $200,000 at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. Both colts remain unnamed.
The three horses bought outright by Ladbrokes Racing Club included two proven gallopers, Regatta (Real Steel {Jpn}) who was bought via Inglis Digital in July 2024 for $35,000, and Kanazawa (Lonhro) who was bought at the February 2023 Inglis Digital Sale for $160,000, and who won for the Club after his purchase. They also purchased a Zousain filly from Equimotion (Equiano {Fr}) at the 2024 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale for $135,000.
The partnerships
Of the 10 horses purchased with Newgate Farm, three were bought at the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale, and one of them has been named to date. Our Huntress (NZ) (Ardrossan) was a NZ$390,000 purchase from Elsdon Park. Trained by Michael Freedman, she ran second at the trials in Sydney on December 3, 2024. The other two are currently unnamed, being a Blue Point (Ire) filly from Group 3-placed Le Castile (NZ) (Dalghar {Fr}) who was purchased for NZ$215,000 and a Proisir filly from She’s Aloof (NZ) (Pentire {GB}) who cost NZ$150,000.
The other seven fillies were purchased in Australia, with one at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale and six at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. The Classic Yearling purchase was Presumptuous Gal (Toronado {Ire}) who cost $190,000 from the Lustre Lodge draft. She is trained by Chris Waller and ran fourth at the trials on October 29, 2024.
The six Easter purchases from 2024 have all been named with 2-year-old filly In Haste (Snitzel) already a winner in New Zealand for trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson, and her ownership is under the TAB Racing Club with Newgate Operations and SF Bloodstock. In Haste was purchased from Newgate Farm for $400,000.
In Haste | Image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
The most expensive of the six was unraced Bells Beach (Farnan) who cost $725,000 from Kia Ora Stud and is trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, while Dalkey (Exceedance) cost $520,000 from the Alma Vale/Kitchwin Hills partnership and is in the Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable. Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr train 2-year-old filly Eagerly Awaits (Written Tycoon) who has two second placings from two starts, and cost $200,000 from Yulong’s draft.
The remaining two are yet to race: Villainess, a $350,000 Pierro filly purchased from Coolmore, is in training with Lindsay Park, while Media Maven, a $230,000 acquisition from Sledmere Stud, is by Russian Revolution and trained by Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald.
Arrowfield Stud signed a lease agreement with the Ladbrokes Racing Club in 2023 covering several horses such as Remarque (Snitzel) and 3-year-old filly Actuality (Snitzel) who runs in the last on Saturday at Caulfield. Galano (Snitzel) is another who won for this partnership.
As stated by Entain, the process of seeing through these lease agreements will take time and some of these horses will race in Ladbrokes Racing Club colours for most of 2025.
While Entain continues to navigate legal challenges, its Australian wagering operations are set for a period of transformation - one that extends beyond rising costs to fundamental shifts in how the company operates within an increasingly scrutinised regulatory landscape.
