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A recent article in the Racing Post suggested that horse racing in the UK is in a downward spiral that it may never recover from. They argue that the cost of raising a foal has become so expensive that many yearlings are sold at a loss. They predict that with the number of meetings likely to be stable or increase the number of runners per race will fall. This will lead to reduced betting turnover, which will further reduce racecourse attendance which is already well down on previous years.
In my view, racing was in its prime in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The big festival meetings, such as the York Ebor meeting are still fine, but outside these there is a lot of dross. My view is that the number of meetings should be slashed. If this means that some racecourses close, then so be it. In the golden age of racing Kempton Park with an amazing surface of grass used to put on some fabulous racing. So they dug it all up and laid an all-weather track. Now we get day after day of utter dross. There is nothing to look forward to anymore. We have to go back to making racing interesting to the public rather than grovelling to bookmakers who are another problem. With turnover falling they have increased their margins to maintain profitability. When the number of runners per race fall they will again increase their margins making betting less attractive. We are heading to the cliff edge.
Must admit I have found it hard to get exited about the 24/25 flat season. In my opinion the only horse that really stood out on the domestic front was Minnie Hauk trained and owned by the usual suspects, I couldn’t even remember who won the 2000 Guineas the other day I had to Google it. Whilst I like both codes I’m glad to be seeing the jumps return.
The more I know the less I understand.
First and foremost they need to take a hatchet to the fixture list.
Its not rocket science, there is far too much racing that simply doesn’t have the horse population to support it (foal numbers are nose diving continuously), hence the reason why field sizes are getting smaller thus resulting in more regular unedifying fare.
If there are less races to pick and choose from then the remaining races by default will automatically result in bigger field sizes……look at Ireland, they don’t have as many races or even race as often and by and large the races they do have always have big healthy field sizes.
Bigger field sizes surely would also help with turnover as more of racing’s betting public are much more likely to get involved with races that have bigger fields instead of continuously seeing short priced favourites racing in single digit fields where you can’t even have an E/W bet.
Racing’s Powers That Be don’t seem to have their own pair of big boy pants that they can put on to actually take on the racecourses/bookies and tell them that the fixtures list not only needs a drastic overhaul but WILL be overhauled whether they like it or not. Too many of the so called ‘invested parties’ are either blind to the bigger picture or just ignore it to serve their own best interests to keep hold of their own little bit of power.
The longer this goes on, the more drastic the intervention will end up needing to be and there quite frankly could be a tipping point (as to where whatever action is finally taken ends up being too little too late regardless) and the scary thought is that we just might actually be a whole hell of a lot closer to that tipping point than we realise.
I’m not a fan of any sort of propaganda, but one day the RP tells us how many sales records were smashed at one single auction, the next day we have to believe that racing is in a bad state. As long as millions are spent unwisely by Amo, Coolmore, Godolphin, Wathnan and so on, then racing must be in a perfect state.
And yet there were no real champions on the track for the 2025 Flat season.
Marine Nationale and Gaelic Warrior were just two of the horses that made the 24/25 NH season a fantastic one. Looking forward to the new season I expect a lot more from them, but I don’t think that NH Racing is in such a bad state, despite the Mullins’ dominance.In my view, racing was in its prime in the 1970’s and 1980’s
Well there’s a big part of your problem. If racing peaked nearly half a century ago and hasn’t done anything to arrest the decline then no wonder it’s dying.
My view is that it’ll always be around (barring an actual ban, not impossible but unlikely) but will become more niche. For whatever reason, people simply aren’t interested, outside the very biggest meetings at least.
Record sums paid for some foals, yet as a whole breeders are not doing well is not contradictory. The super rich (billionaires) will spend millions to acquire the horse they want (the odd million is pocket money to them) but the rest of the market is failing. In the long run this is not sustainable as when the gap gets too large everything falls apart. When the time comes that the billionaires are winning all the big races and their worst horses horse are scooping up the novice races, then everybody else will be left with the dross. When this happens it will be the end.
Billionaires having everything whilst the rest of the market fails and the plebs are left fighting over crumbs. Sounds familiar, I think it’s called late stage capitalism.
I agree with both of Richard88’s posts above, racing now on an irreversible (IMO) journey to minority interest niche-dom. This will be hastened by a) eventual loss of terrestrial TV coverage b) closure of High Street betting shops c) ban on “gambling” advertising on TV, all of which I think could happen within the next 20 years.
We might be left with something akin to the current point-to-point scene, i.e. virtually no media coverage, on course betting only.
“We might be left with something akin to the current point-to-point scene, i.e. virtually no media coverage, on course betting only”.
Sad thing is that many of those currently running UK racing would probably be fine with that
Fred Done has stated he is likely to close all of Betfred’s high street shops but I can see these being a thing of the past anyway. Pre covid 99% of my bets were placed on the high street but since covid I have never been in one.
The more I know the less I understand.
The idea that the 70’s and 80’s were some sort of ‘golden age’ doesn’t chime with my memories of going racing back then.
The racing itself was good and sometimes great, but most of the tracks had facilities that were run down and often dangerous. Many tracks had wooden staircases, narrow and often enclosed, that were the only access to the upper parts of the stands. Newbury used to have paraffin heaters on wooden floors in the bars. At Cheltenham in Tatts you stood on wooden planks in the stand (a la Bradford football ground) and that was the same at many tracks.
The on course bookmakers would rarely price up until 10 minutes before a race and opening shows had margins that would shame a Glasgow loan shark.
And the gents at most tracks resembled a cowshed, both for ambience and aroma.
I loved it, but I was young(er), I’d usually had three or four pints before getting to the track, and I was only there as part of a group of drinker/punter friends.
The standard of facilities has improved for racegoers, jockeys (although some courses still struggle on that front) and, most importantly, the horses themselves: I’m sure most of us remember the concrete pillars and whitewashed wooden planks that used to constitute running rails.
But the racing itself has got worse. There’s simply too much of it and, in a perfect illustration of sport following life, nearly all the wealth has been accumulated by a very small number of individuals.
The answer are obvious as folks have pointed out.
Until the bookies are made to relent and we have a major cull to the fixture list it will keep getting less and less competitive. so who steps up to make the change?
All the above I’ve voiced concern about on previous occasions ….
The number of races
Number of tracks
Vested interests
But one thing not mentioned so far which I believe will also help is eliminating many Listed,Group 3 & 2 contests. They are becoming a farce,with uncompetitive single digit fields and many of the runners not worthy of a place in such a race.
One could even make a case for fewer Group 1.
For me handicaps are the way to go, provide the prize money and connections will provide the entrants.
good luck to all
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