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Prizemoney increases for another 15 races announced today courtesy of Wolverhampton, Warwick & Brighton (5 races apiece)
Tuffers,
Can I ask where you access all this updated prize money information?
Thxs.
It’s on the BHA Racing Admin web site (think that’s owners/trainers etc only). Also texted to all trainers by the BHA
The Leicester race mentioned above has become a walkover at the 48hr declaration stage, with H Dunlop providing the only runner, Saint Helena, owned by WRB Racing. The race has ben re-opened to give the other two trainers a second chance to declare.
If the walkover goes ahead, it will povide 7lb claimer David Coyle with an unusual first winner of his career!
AP
The Leicester race mentioned above has become a walkover at the 48hr declaration stage, with H Dunlop providing the only runner, Saint Helena, owned by WRB Racing. The race has ben re-opened to give the other two trainers a second chance to declare.
If the walkover goes ahead, it will povide 7lb claimer David Coyle with an unusual first winner of his career!
AP
AP – when a race is reopened can a horse that has orginally been declared be undeclared? I think a race with no runners would make a particularly effective statement.
Just out of interest, if Saint Helena runs in a proper race next week will she carry a penalty?
I don’t think you can reverse a declaration after the original 10:00 am deadline, but obviously Dunlop has the option to make her a non runner.
If she carries out the walkover, then yes she would have a penalty in any handicap next week. In fact in the current climate, it would be no surprise if her handicap mark was raised for winning a walkover!
The other two trainers declined the second invitation to declare and the race has been moved to be the last on the card.
I’d be willing to bet now that Leicester will turn this into a 0-70 handicap next year and cut the prize money to £4,000.
AP
Fontwell joins the list today courtesy of increased prizemoney for 3 races on 11th May.
Many seem to count this Leicester walkover as a ‘success’ for the Horsemen.
It’s not a success for racing’s image, that’s for sure.
The non-racing media will see it as a kidnapping story that finally delivered a ransom for the ‘fat cats who own racehorses’.
Graham Cunningham told me it was ‘an industrial dispute’ in his eyes. Industrial disputes, in the eyes of the public, are the preserve of low-paid workers and black-faced miners with hungry kids.
I’m not saying prize money should or shouldn’t be increased, but we should all look after racing’s image, as the fallout from the Grand National showed.
Horsemen (could they have come up with a more anachronistic name?) crowing ‘success!’ about a walkover which deprives Leicester racegoers of value, the industry of Levy, and racing of respect, is shameful and embarrassing in my view.
Many seem to count this Leicester walkover as a ‘success’ for the Horsemen.
It’s not a success for racing’s image, that’s for sure.
The non-racing media will see it as a kidnapping story that finally delivered a ransom for the ‘fat cats who own racehorses’.
Graham Cunningham told me it was ‘an industrial dispute’ in his eyes. Industrial disputes, in the eyes of the public, are the preserve of low-paid workers and black-faced miners with hungry kids.
I’m not saying prize money should or shouldn’t be increased, but we should all look after racing’s image, as the fallout from the Grand National showed.
Horsemen (could they have come up with a more anachronistic name?) crowing ‘success!’ about a walkover which deprives Leicester racegoers of value, the industry of Levy, and racing of respect, is shameful and embarrassing in my view.
I’d like to bet that there won’t be a single mention of the Leicester walkover in the non-industry media and those at Leicester on Saturday will have all gone home before the walkover is held so won’t notice either.
I’d happily bet there will be a mention of it in the non-industry press.
And do you think those Leicester racegoers wending their way home will feel they had full value? It’s not even a walkover based on principle. Full blog article below.
No such thing as bad publicity? Not in my book.
From the Press Association:
The Bet totepool At totesport.com Handicap at Leicester on Saturday will be a walkover after just one horse was declared in protest over the race tariff.
According to the tariff set by the Horsemen’s Group, the Class Three contest should hold a total prize-money fund of £13,000, but this race is worth just £6,000.
Having attracted three entries at the six-day stage, just Saint Helena will line up, but trainer Harry Dunlop insists he is not condoning the level of prize-money on offer.
“We all have our views regarding the tariffs and I very much support them,” said Dunlop.
“I discussed it with some of the other trainers and we thought the best way to do it would be to run one horse so Leicester would have to put up some prize-money.
“It’s a very difficult situation as there are actually five races on the card that are under tariff, but there were just three entries in our race and that changed the situation.
“My owners were very keen to run and they are very important, so that’s why we’re running.
“Obviously it doesn’t look very good for Leicester that they’ve got one runner in a race and I’m afraid prize-money needs to come up.
“I’ve never seen a walkover in Flat racing before and I think Leicester need to wake up and smell the coffee.
“They can see there is just one runner there and they will not want it to happen again in the future.”
Saint Helena will pick up the full prize-money fund if not declared a non-runner.
Leicester’s clerk of the course Jimmy Stevenson was left saddened by the situation.
“It’s disappointing, but it was sort of inevitable after we got the entries,” said Stevenson.
“The horse just have to go down to the furlong marker and come back in front of the judge.
“It’a unfortunate, but there’s not a lot we can do.”
The last walkover to take place under Rules in Britain was over jumps at Exeter in 2007, when Ballyfoy claimed victory after the two other runners were declared non-runners.
Many seem to count this Leicester walkover as a ‘success’ for the Horsemen. (The irony of the boycott affecting a sponsor who is racing’s biggest contributor by far seems to have escaped them)
It’s not a success for racing’s image, that’s for sure. It’s not even a walkover caused by men standing by their principles. It’s a walkover by conspiracy “So that Leicester would have to put up some prize money” I think you’ll find that the non-racing media will see it as a kidnapping story where the ransom was paid but the hostage wasn’t returned by the ‘fat cats who can afford to own racehorses’
Graham Cunningham told me it was ‘an industrial dispute’ in his eyes. Industrial disputes, in the eyes of the public, are the preserve of low-paid workers and black-faced miners with hungry kids.
I’m not saying prize money should or shouldn’t be increased, but we should all look after racing’s image, as the fallout from the Grand National showed.
Horsemen (could they have come up with a more anachronistic name?) crowing ‘success!’ about a walkover which deprives Leicester racegoers of value, the industry of Levy, and racing of respect, is shameful and embarrassing and another incision in racing’s death by a thousand self-inflicted cuts
I’m bemused by the flak being directed towards the Horsemen’s Group when the tariff is starting to have an impact. The consensus initially was to ridicule the group as indulging in a pointless exercise that wouldn’t change anything. Now there’s anger that they’re achieving their aims.
Maybe it’s a case of "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win"
And I’m getting just a little bit sick of hearing the tired old argument that all owners are wealthy so prizemoney doesn’t matter.
Ignoring the fact that it is patently untrue that all owners are wealthy, 22% of all prizemoney ends up in the hands of jockeys, trainers and stable staff. Are all of those (particularly the stable staff) so wealthy that they can afford to see that income continue to decline?
I know all owners are not rich or ‘fat cats’ by any means, but I’m ultra-confident that’s how the tabloids will portray them.
As for the success of tariffs,is that going to be long term? What’s the exit strategy? If racecourses start closing, will it be reconsidered?
The recent about-face showed how much detailed planning had gone into the boycott ‘strategy’.
I think it is short term and ill-conceived and it will come back to bite you hard.
I know all owners are not rich or ‘fat cats’ by any means, but I’m ultra-confident that’s how the tabloids will portray them.
As for the success of tariffs,is that going to be long term? What’s the exit strategy? If racecourses start closing, will it be reconsidered?
The recent about-face showed how much detailed planning had gone into the boycott ‘strategy’.
I think it is short term and ill-conceived and it will come back to bite you hard.
The tariff is merely a replacement for the BHA minimum values.
I’m not sure what you mean by ‘exit strategy’. There’s no need to ‘exit’ the tariff. It just needs to be revised each year as minimum values were.
If racecourses start closing it’s because they are badly run. If the tariff starts focussing racecourse executives minds on running their business properly then that is a good thing.
Racing has been run for too long by incompetent amateurs and it’s about time that the whole thing was put on a proper business footing. If the tariff is the catalyst for that then it will have done racing a great service.
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But how long can that ‘impact’ be sustained, Tuffers? Have the racecourses been squirrelling away enough to cover the demands of the Horsemen indefinitely? Or are they supposed to run themselves in to the ground so Paul Dixon and his mob can have their fill?
The sad fact of the matter is, where racing’s concerned, rich people only want to get richer. How many small-money, large-membership syndicates are currently up in arms? Not many. How many silver-spooned cash hoarders are whining and complaining about their ‘right’ to better prize money? Plenty.
What ‘right’ do owners have to demand anything anyway? They’re not obligated to buy racehorses, or indeed obligated to run them, so why should any race have a minimum value?
Racing currently finds itself in the grip of a lynch mentality, with people slowly jumping on the bandwagon as it gradually gathers pace. And that’s not a good thing. What are racecourses supposed to do if they simply don’t have the money to meet the demands made of them? Would losing Leicester (for instance) suit the Horsemen’s campaign? I think it would have quite the opposite effect.
From an economic standpoint, a boycott just doesn’t make sense. By limiting the racing racecourses can stage, the Horsemen are making horseracing a far less desirable product. Attendances decrease, levy decreases and prize money will soon be a hell of a lot less. The racecourses could always call the herd’s bluff of course and stick two fingers up to racing. Many maintain alternative revenue streams – concerts, conference provision etc – and could build an alternative business in a very short space of time. Land could then be sold off for development and the only ones feeling it will be those belly-aching now.
Racecourses, of all sizes, are generally vital for the economy in their area and we should be working to promote and encourage them, rather than set them ultimatum after ultimatum. How long will it be before £2,500 (or whatever the figure may be) isn’t enough to satisfy owners of Class 7 horses? Will we have to go through all of this again?
It isn’t right that a Class 4 race at Brighton, for instance, should be worth the same as a Class 4 race at Ascot. It just doesn’t make financial or moral sense. That is obviously of no concern to the Horsemen because they have failed to take status in to account, so why not suggest that racecourses spend a fixed percentage of their income on prize money, with that sub-divided according to the class of race? And what about an incentive scheme for local owners/trainers? Lesser tracks provide lesser prize money and so remain economically viable, and the paying public get to see competitive racing. They also have the chance to familiarise themselves with the trainers based in their area and are far more likely to travel when the horses they’ve been watching all year run elsewhere.
There is so much racing could be doing to move forward; instead it prefers to wallow in self-pity and show itself to be as divisive as it is encompassing.
Why the sympathy for racecourses? They’ve been pocketing handouts for years and now they’re asked to run their course like a business they cry ‘foul’. The best thing that could happen to the racing industry is for a few racecourses to close and some of the others to change hands.
You mention other sources of income. Yes, racecourses should have other sources of income. What other business leaves its capital idle for such a huge proportion of the year? There are plenty of opportunities for racecourses. Chester is a shining example of what a properly run racecourse can achieve.
So owners shouldn’t have a ‘right’ to prizemoney? Well racecourses don’t have a ‘right’ to have the stars of their show supplied to them no matter how little they are prepared to pay. It’s like a company expecting its employees to turn up for £2.50 an hour.
Of course the voices you hear in the media are going to be the bigger players. Stratford Bards Racing’s views on the prizemoney situation are hardly likely to be published in the Racing Post but that doesn’t mean we’re not thoroughly fed up with running for £1,500 (gross) a time.
Racing absolutely has to get out of the mentality of focussing on preserving the level of levy income. That income stream is dead. In fact it died as a proposition years ago and now we’re just left with the stinking corpse.
Wallowing in self pity is exactly what the Horseman’s Tariff isn’t about. It’s about taking a bit of positive action to force things to change.
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