National Hunt racing is still the one and only.
In my last blog I talked about prize money and the lack of it derailing many potential owners and adding to the struggles of trainers and ultimately the racecourses.
As I suspected despite a good plug and plenty of name dropping many of the twitter “faces” remained hidden. In short a few likes and quite a few reposts, but zero attempt by those with huge followings and influence to engage. They remain gagged and unable to see the writing on the wall. It seems to me that racing works in silos, nobody (bar The Barstewards) with any influence wants to put their head above the praecipes and say it as it is. We can all have individual opinions but very few want to group together to make NH racing better.
Now the thing is I love NH racing, being involved again is one of the best things in my life. From the first time I went up Middleham moor and watched the strings working up the hill, a few juveniles jumping hurdles and handicappers schooling I wanted to have a share in a horse. I like many folks was introduced to gambling in a smoky Stanleys bookmakers in Chorlton, Manchester, dragged there on a Saturday with a bag of sweets and a Look-In magazine. The sounds, the blower, the shouting at the television were all part of my childhood, as my mum would say “so was the smoke smell on your clothes!” - it did not matter I was hooked. My first NH memory was Rag Trade winning the 1976 National, I just remember my dad backing it and jumping up when it won. My first national winner I remember backing was Corbiere, I listened to the race on a radio out the back of a pub in Knutsford as my dad played bowls in a competition. I progressed to watching NH racing as often as I could, and that thrill of watching horses has never left me, the spectacle, the brilliance of the horse and jockey in perfect harmony. National Hunt racing is part of me, and the thought that it might not be around much longer if the authorities don’t get a grip is extremely sad.
I got a lot of comments from people on the last post saying they would not get involved now, zero incentive to do so. So I thought despite the prize money I would expand on why having a share in a NH horse works for me.
Firstly, you cannot spend your life in a box. If you love something you do it whatever the cost. If you are doing it for the money then that is the wrong reason to start with. Secondly, life is about experiences, a journey, something that makes you get out of bed in the morning. If you go to concerts or watch a football team, buy handbags, or eat out at fancy restaurants, are you really getting anything different from spending money on owning a share in a horse? Yes it is can be costly but there are ways round that, good syndicates do well over the jumps if that is what your pocket can afford then I say “brilliant – go for it.”
I have seen many owners come and go from racing, successful businesspeople who throw the kitchen sink at it – get bored, sometimes fleeced, lose pots of money and move onto the next thing. In most cases they come in with a bang then get out when they look at their return on investment. It is who you have a horse with that makes the difference, I have been very luck with the two trainers I have had horses with. Both train in beautiful places, both do as they say, both are people I genuinely like. And that is part of the journey, how welcome they make you feel, how they and their wider team communicate with you and importantly how they train your horse to be the best they can be. So covering costs would be lovely, but the journey is part of the experience that you pay for, in some ways it is the best bit.
I know there are many who like a bet on NH racing, being an owner does sometimes make you want a bet on your horse (if you can get on) but again it is only part of the experience, any winnings are a bonus. But the wider public love betting on NH racing so a quick question, how are you going to feel when during the winter instead of jumps cards you will be watching 5/6 all-weather tracks on a Saturday? There is a high probability of this happening there will be the odd survivor, Newbury, Ascot, Cheltenham etc but many NH tracks will just suffer and potentially close. It will be quite simple, not enough horses in training = less NH tracks. Now the counterpoint to that is there is too much jump racing anyway, and I for one think that NH racing needs a summer break 6/8 weeks for everyone to recharge their batteries and go again. But whilst there are so many jumps tracks there must be a way of protecting NH racing.
So here it is my easy to do six point plan –
1. Entrance/Admission - Free entry to more meetings, proper incentives like 3/2 tickets used across a season, over fifty’s £5 tickets for mid-week.
2. Track experience - Improve the facilities at tracks, surely we can do better than a soggy burger in a bap? Take a lead off Kelso – more variety and good local vendors, allowed to trade for nominal fees.
3. On-course betting – There are less and less on-track bookies, they pay excessively to be on-track – cut that in half or more for the smaller meetings – racegoers come to bet and the thrill of the ring, people who bet can also get on!
4. Racecourses – Racecourses should be rewarded for putting on better racing and experiences with a varied reward levy based on feedback. A bit like a sales target, the better you do the more you get back in a ¼ or year.
5. Prize Money – A minimum value added of 10k for every NH race – that is 60/70k of the levy fee and two races per day that exceed 15k added if there are eight runners or more. Larger meetings should pay appearance money to owners (some do already) - £250 upwards for all weekend fixtures.
6. Ownership – Cut out some of the admin charges for owners, understand that in this era technology has simple solutions. £165 to keep the same colours every year and to register your horse with the same trainer – come on BHA get a grip!
Nothing in the above list is hard to do, transparency is also key – there are far too many cooks with their hands in the pot – it is not all about the money or are we just going to do nothing?
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