In the week before Royal Ascot one of the leading players in British racing has warned that the sport may be “teetering on the edge of oblivion” because of its longstanding failure to open up racehorse ownership as widely as possible. David Redvers, who manages the racing interests of Sheikh Fahad and was named bloodstock agent of the year in November, made the incendiary claim in a blog on the website of his Tweenhills Stud, comparing the situation in Britain very unfavourably with the way the sport works in Australia and Japan.
“I keep asking myself how did we get it so wrong?” Redvers wrote. “How can a country like Australia, with 40% of our population, be running away with the prize while we have a £17m deficit in our funding and our industry relies almost entirely on the patronage of rich foreigners?”
While acknowledging that racing in those countries benefits from a stronger funding model than Britain’s, Redvers pointed also to their “high level of participation through shared ownership and syndicates”. He warned that British racing was taking for granted the investment it receives from a handful of the mega-wealthy, which also makes it an unattractive candidate for government support. “At any moment our industry could be put in catastrophic peril through the loss of just one of these major players. Falling prize money, ill health or simply a change of heart could precipitate this at any time.”
Redvers described as “pitiful” the efforts made here to attract the kind of partnerships and syndicates which give ownership in Australia and Japan a much broader base. Indeed British officials “on occasions appear to go out of their way to make things difficult”, he said.
Approached by the Guardian, Redvers added that the reason Sheikh Fahad and his family run their horses under the ‘Qatar Racing’ banner is that, when the Sheikh asked for his name and those of his two brothers to be listed as the owners in British racecards, he was told this was not possible because there was limited space to display owner names. Redvers contrasted that with the situation in Australia and Japan, saying many horses there have dozens of owners, all of them named in racecards. He noted also that British tracks often place a limit on the number of syndicate members who can receive free entry to see their horse run.He noted also that British tracks often place a limit on the number of syndicate members who can receive free entry to see their horse run.
The British Horseracing Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is believed the ruling body has been working on cutting back the red tape faced by owners.
Full tipping preview will appear here on Tuesday morning.
Salisbury
1.45 Chairlift Chat 2.15 Top Buck 2.45 Reynolds (nb) 3.15 Orliko 3.45 Bella Vita 4.15 Make My Day 4.45 Brancaster 5.15 Doc Sportello
Lingfield
2.00 With Approval 2.30 Upavon 3.00 Rosadora 3.30 Dudley’s Boy 4.00 Dashing Poet (nap) 4.30 Universal Order 5.00 General Zoff
Thirsk
5.20 Governor Of Punjab 5.50 Spygate 6.20 Kingdom Brunel 6.50 Maroon Bells 7.20 Dr Doro 7.50 Pamper 8.20 Lilypad 8.50 Seanjohnsilver
Carlisle
5.30 Heavens Open 6.00 Regal Lilly 6.30 Motahassen 7.00 Jackhammer 7.30 Archaeology 8.00 Junior’s Fantasy 8.30 Polyphony 9.00 Panatos