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Maybe they should just let bookmakers run the sport.
As Luke Harvey said, an obscene amount of money that only a select few can win. Most, if not all are already paid by bookmakers. No surprise to see Ruby Walsh give it his seal of approval seeing he’s on Paddy Power’s payroll.
Looks like we are going to be treated to regular updates on the jockeys table in the event, on the Paddy Power sponsored ITV racing as well.According to Great British Racing “The competition is set to make it easier for fans to jump in and follow all of the action, making the sport more accessible and inspiring for all, from long-time followers to newcomers alike.”
Top jockeys, trainers and tv pundits all on the bookmakers payroll. What a turn off. Shows how much the bookmakers must be creaming off from the sport when they can put up so much money for such a micky mouse event.
“only a select few can win”
This jumped to mind for me. It’s going to be the same as the jockey’s championship but doesn’t include midweek stuff at small tracks so the likes of Sean Bowen has less chance, Brian Hughes has no chance. Do Harry Skelton and Harry Cobden need more money? They are the only ones I can think of that can win. Rachel Blackmore is in the promo pics because woman, but she’s injured and is only going to be riding in one race on ITV at most for most of the season when they show one from Ireland, plus whatever Henry runs at Cheltenham and Aintree…and that’s it.
Mind you I did have a chuckle at the Racehorse Owners’ Association calling it “unacceptable” that they had no input. Well, if they don’t accept it, what are they going to do, not run their horses on Saturdays?
“No surprise to see Ruby Walsh give it his seal of approval seeing he’s on Paddy Power’s payroll.”
And this is what he thinks of the punters who fund him:
I fail to see how this will put more eyes looking at horse racing I really don’t see the motivation for it.
The more I know the less I understand.
“Leading jockeys have vowed to be more accessible to racing fans and open about their personalities as a new £1.5 million jockeys’ competition was launched on Friday.
Champion jockey Harry Cobden and former titleholder Harry Skelton were joined by Sean Bowen and Nico de Boinville at the launch of the David Power Jockeys’ Cup at Cheltenham on Friday, a competition in which riders will achieve points for results in ITV races, with the winner to receive £500,000 and trainers and staff also rewarded.
Cobden described the Flutter Entertainment-led initiative, which started at Cheltenham’s November meeting, as ‘unbelievable’ although it came as the Racehorse Owners Association criticised an ‘utterly unacceptable’ lack of consultation and involvement of owners.
The hope is the competition will also boost the profile of jockeys with the general public after research from Flutter highlighted 38% of sports fans wanted more behind-the-scenes content and 29% wished to know more about jockeys’ personalities. Riders have agreed to address this, with enhanced coverage including microphones at race starts, more prominence on social media and improved insight into their lives.
De Boinville said: ‘Ultimately we’ve all signed up to this and we’re fully invested and prepared to be more accessible. We know we’re going to have to do a bit of heavy lifting, carrying microphones and social media. We’re fully in on it and we wanted to work to make as much content as we can.’
Skelton added: ‘Even five or ten years ago you’d never get four jockeys sitting down talking about things like this. The way our sport is going on leaps and bounds is a massive positive. If something like this can open it up to the wider, bigger public we’ll help support it and that’s surely only a positive. If we have to open up and bring something more to the table and support it then that’s what we’ll do.’
The trainer and stable staff of the yard that provides most winners to the leading jockeys will also take home prize-money when the cup concludes on April 4, the day before the Grand National, but owners will not benefit.
In a strongly worded statement the ROA on Friday signalled its frustration that the initiative excluded owners.
The statement from ROA chief executive Louise Norman read: ‘Without owners these innovative initiatives would not take place and for the ROA to receive only 48 hours’ notice of the Jockeys’ Cup via a press release, which initially did not even mention owners or any acknowledgment of their fundamental role in the industry, is utterly unacceptable.
‘This again demonstrates the complete lack of appreciation from many in the industry for the owners’.”
Who wants to have “improved insight” into the life of any jockey? To be quite blunt about it, I couldn’t give a damn about them unless they are riding me a winner.
I don’t want any of them to get hurt or suffer any misfortune but I am not interested in anything about them apart from their riding.
Flutter’s own research would seem to show that 62% of sports fans don’t want more behind-the-scenes content and 71% don’t wish to know more about jockeys’ personalities.
I expect Cobbers does think it is unbelievable but couldn’t they do all this without a carrot being dangled in front of them.
The more I know the less I understand.
Harry Cobden farms beef cattle and runs a commercial shoot. Dunno how that’s going to play with the target audience.
Quite, RTB. Incredible how these jockeys are all of a sudden more prepared to talk about themselves and to pretend to care about punters as soon as half a million pounds is dangled in front of them.
I’d have loved the money to have gone into prize money.
But I doubt the sponsors would’ve got the publicity, so that was never going to happen and therefore can’t be compared.Not sure what a viable alternative to this competition looks like?
Was there any way of making it a competition for jockey, trainer and owner too?It may well be true that only a small number of jockeys have a chance of “winning” the competition. But I believe money goes a fair way down the scale. So the person finishing 6th will think he’s “won” too.
I have no interest in the jockeys being more “open” on media and / or social media, but newcomers to the sport might be.
Value Is EverythingMight at some point be openings for owners to leveridge some money out of the jockeys if it gets close late on in season and they want a ride .
“I’d have loved the money to have gone into prize money.
But I doubt the sponsors would’ve got the publicity, so that was never going to happen and therefore can’t be compared.Not sure what a viable alternative to this competition looks like?
Was there any way of making it a competition for jockey, trainer and owner too?It may well be true that only a small number of jockeys have a chance of “winning” the competition. But I believe money goes a fair way down the scale. So the person finishing 6th will think he’s “won” too.
I have no interest in the jockeys being more “open” on media and / or social media, but newcomers to the sport might be.”
I’m not quite sure why a jockey finishing 6th should think he’s “won” too. He should get nothing for finishing 6th.
This money actually comes from punters and what percentage of punters would be in favour of jockeys receiving such obscene amounts for just doing their jobs. As Harvey said 50 grand would be fantastic for the top jockey never mind 500 grand.
A far more deserving cause for the money would surely be the IJF and owners should have been consulted first.Bookmakers shouldn’t be deciding where money goes in the sport, especially ones who wont lay 2 bananas to a banana to anyone with any knowledge. After all it’s owners and punters who keep the show on the road not bookmakers. Bookmakers are a cancer on the sport and as for attracting newcomers to the sport maybe more are turned off by 3 horses being killed within half a hour at the home of jumps racing than attracted by reading De Boinville or Bowen on X.
In the main ITV news bulletin following the football over 25% of the bulletin was concerning and showing the 3 deaths occurring, with comments from Animal Rising.
Cobden has stated he would rather win this than the jockey’s title and I suspect that has nothing to do with the half million in their viewfinder, not. For a jockey who made £250k+ in his share of prize money last season that would be a considerable bonus. I wonder just how much these jockeys are really going to promote the sport aside from just upping their social media presence because let’s face it that won’t be too arduous.
I don’t follow social media but I was under the impression a lot of jockeys don’t participate in it due to the negative feedback and trolling it attracts.The more I know the less I understand.
“I’m not quite sure why a jockey finishing 6th should think he’s “won” too. He should get nothing for finishing 6th”.
————————-Am not saying getting so much money for finishing 6th is a good or a bad thing, Yeats. Just trying to be fair to both sides in the debate. ie It had been pointed out on this thread that only a few jockeys have much chance of winning this competition. Just saying that with prize money for a jockey finishing 6th in this competition being £50.000… And the jockey’s share of WINNING the Grand National is I believe around £45,000. Therefore – at least monetarily-wise – a jockey finishing 6th in this competition is going to think / FEEL like he’s “won” too.
Value Is Everything“This money actually comes from punters and what percentage of punters would be in favour of jockeys receiving such obscene amounts for just doing their jobs”.
——————–Once money is paid to the bookmaker it is “actually” the bookmaker’s money. Not the punter’s. The punter has no say in what the bookmaker is allowed to do with that money. Just as if you were paid for work you did for a customer. It does not give the customer a veto in whether you are allowed to bet with “this money (that) actually comes from” the customer.
Value Is Everything“As Harvey said 50 grand would be fantastic for the top jockey never mind 500 grand”.
——————Yes, in that way £50,000 would be fantastic for the winner, but it would not be getting much publicity and if 50 grand for the winner the prize money for 5th, 6th etc would not be much… And that would mean even fewer jockeys having a chance of getting prize money. Therefore the incentive for both sponsor sponsoring and many jockeys doing more stuff for media / social media – would presumably not be there.
Value Is Everything
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