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To raise £1.5 billion a year for the NHS, how about an idea based on the Irish Sweepstakes lottery?
Basically using an in place nationwide infrastructure like Camelot have for their lottery games, a weekly 20 runner handicap is run where 20 winners of a lottery are each assigned a horse in the race.
The race is run, and a tiered amount of money is awarded depending what position their horse finished. Anything from £500,000 to last place up to £3 million for first place. You could see this is an opportunity to make at least 10 people millionaires in the process.
If the race was run each week, for the NHS estimates are this could raise £30 million a week resulting in £1.56 billion over a year.
To get this off the ground.
A number of years ago I had communication with the BHA, Camelot and more recently when ITV racing started their new programme. The latter were happy with their ITV seven competition, and said another competition may conflict with this.Even being rebuffed a number of times, I still think this is a good idea. With the change in attitude towards the NHS, wouldn’t these funds be welcome at such a time, and what good PR someone would receive if they could actually make progress and succeed with this. It would be a ground breaking event and would dwarf other competitions in place.
To make this work, it would need someone known in the racing world to highlight and push for such a good cause. If they could get people onboard, who knows! It’s who you know!
Be interesting to hear people’s thoughts on here.
A huge obstacle to overcome is the fact that the NHS is not a charity. Spinning the sweepstakes idea on this alone is a political nightmare without having to justify the NHS being funded with what many would view as dirty money. I imagine it will also face plenty of opposition from the bookies as such a sweepstakes would demonstrate how unnecessary and parasitic they are to the sport.
Interesting and true comments there BH. I suppose it’s not a charity, but could be considered a good cause. Even athletes and various associations get lottery money.
As the British public like a flutter (enough enter Grand National sweepstakes etc), as well as being very generous towards good causes I could see many going for this if it ever got off the ground. On the contrary, I am sure any distinction between ‘dirty money’ and money that could be used to save lives would not be an issue.
For the 20 winners who had been allocated a horse each for the race, they would be invited to the racecourse to watch ‘their’ horse, as if they were the owner of it. They would certainly win more than the owners!
Everyone wins!
Just need someone with a ‘bit of clout’, who believes in this and in the know to own this and take forward.
They’ll be knighted!“For the 20 winners who had been allocated a horse each for the race, they would be invited to the racecourse to watch ‘their’ horse, as if they were the owner of it. They would certainly win more than the owners!”
And you don’t think that might be a small flaw in your grand plan? Why should I (and I am an owner) run my horse in a big field and be expected to stand aside while some lottery ticket holder ‘owns’ my horse for the day. Are you going to provide massive prize money for these twenty runner races – or a guaranteed payout to the owners of all twenty horses to at least cover their expenses.
Not to mention that £1.5bn to the NHS is a drop in the ocean, about 1% of their current annual budget. And to achieve this £30M per week, plus the £20M you suggest in prizes, plus the commissions to ticket sellers, plus the day to day admin costs, you’ll need to take in about £60M per week from ticket buyers.
I suspect that the vast majority of posters on this forum are simply too polite to point out the problems with your plan. I’m not made that way, it’s pie in the sky.
Thanks for your reply apracing.
I suspect from your tone you have ‘other interests’ in racing that you consider ‘at risk’ if this ever came off.
If not, I’m quite surprised at your negative attitude.Yes, if this massive weekly feature was up and running and established, the true owners of the race would receive a decent sum of money just for having their horse participate. It would ensure a steady stream of runners and reserves if need be to make up the field.
The owners would not be standing aside anyway. The same process would continue. The sweepstake winners would be kept apart and enjoy their moment in another part of the racecourse and I’m surprised you think you would play ‘second fiddle’ on the day. The owners are a very important part of the sport.Okay, you make 1% sound small, but that ‘little’ £1.5 billion would still save an awful lot of lives. I am sure most owners would love to help out if their horse is part of something saving thousands of lives over time. Do you have a problem with that?
For horse racing as a whole, this idea would have a ‘halo’ effect where the interest in such a race would attract many more viewers, more racegoers and much more money to the industry.
This idea may be good timing now for all concerned.
“I suspect from your tone you have ‘other interests’ in racing that you consider ‘at risk’ if this ever came off.”
Way to go, get me onside by insulting me.
apracing,
On the contrary it was not meant as an insult, that’s not helpful and what good does that achieve? I was just surprised how you dismissed the idea saying that the vast majority of people ‘were too polite’ to highlight any problems with it. That’s what a forum is for to discuss and debate. How do we ever get to any solutions if we don’t?Just think apracing, you could have a hospital named after you if you took this onboard!
OK, if it’s not an insult, please specify what these ‘other interests’ are that might be ‘at risk’.
I mean please, do go ahead and tell me what it is you think makes my opinion unreliable.
Forgive me apracing, but from your opening salvo you seem so defensive and negative, I can only assume rightly or wrongly you are trying to protect something, hence the other interests suggestion.
Indeed, from your first post last paragraph “ I suspect that the vast majority of posters on this forum are simply too polite to point out the problems with your plan. I’m not made that way, it’s pie in the sky“.
Are you right to assume this is the case? Do you speak for everyone? Yes, I am sure there are many many questions and more obstacles to conquer than all the Grand National’s put together. But, without reading concerns, thoughts, suggestions etc, how can anything ever get a chance of getting off the ground.Being a recent addition to the ranks GSP you probably missed this thread which, amongst other matters, discusses NHS funding
Thanks Drone.
No, I haven’t seen a thread on NHS funding. Does it have any relation to this horse racing idea? Thanks.Click the link above and read the thread, particularly Paul Ostermeyer’s reports from ‘the coalface’ regarding the large amount of charity and benefaction the NHS already receives and its squandering of money due to inherent inefficiency
Thanks Drone. Some very interesting debate and information in the link you kindly provided.
I can see the concern of throwing money at the NHS if it’s not going to be used efficiently. I always thought there was wastage and areas which needed tightening and sharpening up.
Perhaps the money should be used in areas where ‘a return’ or difference is visible (New hospitals or theatres etc), rather than being swallowed up in a big hole.While I believe the concept of the race is sound, perhaps even this idea of giving this money to the NHS is questionable, could it be used somewhere else, or to help fund a whole host of other options?
There are, conveniently, a little over 30 million taxpayers in the UK. If the government wants to help itself to an extra quid a week from each and every one of us and give it to the NHS then I for one won’t object.
Thanks and Hi Richard,
Yes that is by far the easiest solution.But this is not only about raising money, but raising profile as well. Such a race would bring so much attention to the sport, the interest would increase attendances and boost money for racecourses.
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