How the Sport of Kings Showcases Brexit’s Threat to Trade – Bloomberg

For a primer on the risks to trade from Brexit, just ask the Irish horse industry.

The 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) bloodstock sector – made up of racing and breeding – employs close to 15,000 people in Ireland, according to Deloitte LLP. Much of the business centers around the U.K., leaving one of the world’s biggest bloodstock producers vulnerable to its nearest neighbor’s departure from the European Union.

“Eighty percent of our exports are to the U.K. and it’s not like you can turn around and say ‘let’s replicate that somewhere else’,” Brian Kavanagh, chief executive officer of governing body Horse Racing Ireland, said. “So it’s a big worry.”