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It’s a zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz from me, given that we don’t have a snoring emoji.
Sounds like a glorified Shergar Cup to me.
Why do the horses and jockeys have to wear team colours and what about the owners do they have a say who rides their horses?
Will they be hoping to flog team t-shirts, scarves and other merchandise to drum up a sense of competition amongst racegoers …it just won’t work.
This isn’t football Racing is competitive amongst Stables but is not a Team Sport . 
I’m with Gladiateur on this one.
💤💤💤💤💤💤Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...Leaves me cold as well.
Only interesting thing was their plan to run the races under hands and heels.
I was very disappointed the hands and heels part has been dropped from the concept.
DavidIt sounds like another contrived attempt to appeal to people who are not interested in racing but ignoring the flaw in the concept, i.e. they are not interested in racing.
How many more people are really going to become interested in racing because of this idea?
And is it necessary? Racing is the most popular spectator sport in the country after football. The racecourse attendances are boosted by people going to concerts who may not be interested in the racing. However, there is still a lot of good will towards the sport.
Racing should look after its proper fans better and have more confidence in marketing the great product it already has.
The winning team get to take on New York Stirrups on breeders cup day
Blackbeard to conquer the World
Completely agree Cork All Star.
Like most of these things, not just related to racing, but it’ll almost certainly be the result of someone looking for their next big job, or something innovative to put on their CV.
The worst idea I’ve seen since that ludicrous “City Racing” shambles that was getting touted a while back.
I honestly can’t see one appealing thing about this.
Stupid idea and agree with all previous comments.
Don’t subscribe to Racing TV or Sky Racing so am praying to anyone that’ll listen that this cr*p doesn’t get snapped up by ITV.
Can you imagine how that would play out.I.
You’re safe, it’s only being shown on Sky. Which is presumably why the six meetings will all be held on Arena Racing tracks.
It says on their website that the six races each week will be over 5F, 6F, 7F, 1M, 10F and 12F. I look forward to seeing a 7F race at Windsor. That combination of distances also makes me wonder what a team of Charlton, King, Meade and Meehan is going to be able to offer for a series of sprint handicaps.
I happen to own a 79 rated 7F/1M handicapper, but I’m automatically excluded, because my trainer won’t be in one of the ‘teams’. For owners that do get involved, there’s a promise of no entry fees and no jockey fees, but no mention of the cost of transporting horses from Wiltshire to Newcastle, who stage two of the six meetings.
One thing the website fails to mention is jockeys. But it’s a safe bet that no leading jockey is going to miss the third day of Glorious Goodwood in order to ride in a six AW handicaps at Newcastle, the first of their six meetings. Ditto day three of the York Ebor meeting and the fourth league fixture at Windsor.
A stupid idea, promoted by stupid people, presumably already equipped with rose coloured blinkers.
I’ve struggled to make sense of the finances behind it, the cash seeming to emanate from Jeremy Wray, who is only ever known as “the former Swindon Town chairman” which is a job in the same sense that Dido Harding has “jobs”.
Predictably, Mr Wray believes it “can help attract a new audience to the sport” which as we all know is the dog that never quite manages to bark, entirely aligning with Cork All Star’s point above about trying to attract those not interested in racing.
However, despite racing’s curious recent history of trying to recreate itself as a ‘team’ sport to attract this non-existent audience, these shenanigans must be worth a punt surely, not least for the considerable amount of prize-money involved?
My guess is it’ll do passably well before being quietly shelved in a couple of years, with team baseball caps and t-shirts going straight to landfill.
Mike
Jeremy Wray, from the horses mouth:
https://www.racingleague.uk/stories/jeremy-wray-racing-ownership-racing-league
There’s also this, from the home page of that site, which gives an idea of how this thing is going to be promoted:
Head to the ‘INfield’ for an all-day festival vibe.
Listen to local bands and DJs, watch and compete against top class gamers, enjoy the latest technology in sports and entertainment and grab a bite from local food pop-ups.
When the racing starts, get as close to the action as possible and visit the team zones on the infield to meet the stars of the Racing League.
Presumably after checking out the team zones in the infield we can shout at those four legged things coming down the home stretch.
For god’s sake
And as for a festival vibe !!
Want lockdown to end but this makes me think otherwise. (well obviously not but you get my drift)
I.I sincerely doubt that this concept will enhance the sport in any way or indeed bring in any form of new fanbase whatsoever. Like everyone else here, I simply don’t get what they are trying to achieve. Yes, the prize money is decent but you could add that anywhere.
That said, it’s six evening meetings at a time of year when, as has been pointed out above, there is plenty of quality racing on anyway so it’s not exactly difficult to ignore it. There’s never any shortage of Mickey Mouse racing of the standard variety which I’m sure passes many of us by without a second thought.
Here’s the final list of the terminally stupid:
The 12 teams for the Racing League
1 Tim Easterby/Richard Fahey
2 Charlie Fellowes/Hugo Palmer/George Scott
3 Andrew Balding/Richard Hannon
4 George Baker/David Menuisier/Gary Moore/Amanda Perrett
5 Roger Charlton/Alan King/Martyn Meade/Brian Meehan
6 Joseph O’Brien/Donnacha O’Brien
7 John Gosden/Sir Mark Prescott/Robert Cowell/David Simcock
8 Philippe Decouz/Gavin Hernon/Edouard Monfort
9 Michael Bell/Ed Dunlop/James Fanshawe/Roger Varian
10 Mick Appleby/Michael Dods/David O’Meara/Paul Midgley
11 Clive Cox/Nicky Henderson/Charlie Hills/Jamie Osborne
12 Mick Channon/Paul and Oliver Cole/Eve Johnson Houghton/Hughie MorrisonTwo meetings at Newcastle, but only five trainers based within two hundred miles of that track.
I’ve been a close follower of French racing for the past fifteen years, but I’ve never heard of any of those listed in Team 8. I wonder if they’ve ever heard the expression ‘sending colts to Newcastle’!
This idea didn’t make much sense to me when I first heard about it……
Guess what?
It still doesn’t make any sense to me ……horse racing just isn’t a team sport!
good luck to all
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