There are more than 159,000 individuals directly involved in thoroughbred racing nationally. As outlined earlier, this is a statistical construct that takes into consideration participants, volunteers and employees (full time, part time, casual and contractor).

In 2016/17, the economic activity generated by the thoroughbred racing industry directly sustained 32,801 full time equivalent positions in Australia. In addition to the direct employment impact, the activities of the thoroughbred racing industry also help to sustain a further 39,136 FTE jobs in support industries. Therefore, the total direct and indirect employment impact generated by thoroughbred racing was 71,937 FTE jobs.

The thoroughbred racing industry relies on a large amount of part time and casual labour. Further to that, it employs a large number of people in roles that are not plentiful in the marketplace (such as activities relating to training and breeding). The FTE positions that are sustained by thoroughbred racing resulted in more than $5,016.5 million in wages and salaries for the people employed directly as well as those employed in

other down the-line industries that receive increased demand as a result of racing. Some examples of the other industries that are stimulated by racing include; veterinary, feed, retail, tourism, accommodation, transport and construction.