La morte dell'ippica
The crisis of horseracing, photographed from the perspective of those who see their profession slowly becoming a memory of the past.
The world of horseracing in Italy is facing a structural crisis, which could be, perhaps, irreversible.
With a scarce generational turnover of betters, years of daredevil management and political games on behalf of the Unire (Unione Nazionale Incremento Razze Equine) recently substituted by Assi, they have been exposed to an appalling crisis which has been rendered worse again due to the general state of country.
All budget figures are dramatic, starting from the halving of the 2012 Jackpot, that is, the money that was distributed for various runs between the proprietors of the top horses. The flux of bets is also continuously falling registering a loss ratio of 25% in the last six months of 2011 with respect to the same period in 2010. The racecourse of San Siro in Milano, the geographical fulcrum of this report, isn't an exception. These images tell the story of the current general crisis of the sector, seen from the perspective of those that work within it.
To perceive how it has been possible that this centuries-old sport has been brought economically to its knees in little less than a decade, we look through the eyes of those involved. The concrete risk is that this picturesque and attractive world could disappear forever; a world that is certainly responsible for countless economic downfalls of individuals and whole families, but capable at the same time of filling the imaginations of entire generations; inspiring scholars, painters, stylists, directors and fuelling the dreams of small proprietors and many betters.
