From HRA Annual On-Line
The number of Registered trainers in WA peaked at 1426 in 83-84
and has been pretty much on a steady decline since
in 07-08 it was 704
in 13-14 it was 587
Total WA sires peaked at 209 in 78-79 with total foals being 1377
in 13-14 there were 21 sires and foal numbers in the 400's
(there has of course been a rise in imported semen foals this millennium but it peaked at 145 in 09-10)
Horses named has fallen from a peak of 1158 to 411 last season
The blame cannot really be NZ as 3 times NZ imports topped 100 last millennium
and for the last 7 seasons has remained constant between 103 - 134
WA is not alone in these dwindling numbers. Here is Vic for comparison
The number of Registered Trainers in Vic peaked at 2374 in 80-81
and has steadily declined to 1248 last season
Total Vic sires peaked at 548 in 78-79 with total foals over 4500
and was down to 79 last season with foals below 2000
Vic Imported semen foals peaked at 493 in 10-11
Horses named has fallen from a peak of 3672 to 1418
NZ imports have fallen away dramatically in Vic
It was only 131 last season which is less than it was in 87-88
after peaking at 327 in 10-11
http://www.harness.org.au/hra/annual...regn_state.pdf