CONCENTRATING ON THE CORE QUALITIES

It's quite tickling to see concern expressed in the past week over those figures released that show the recent trend continues in racecourse attendances declining.

Put it this way, if the curve had been an upward one, the optimistic vibes that would been released would have been false as anyone reasonable and sound in mind would easily have seen through the number crunching and realised that the circumstances were due to the alternative category of racegoer packing the 'cult' venues as opposed to a fresh wave of enthusiasm for the sport.

That in some quarters the fact that the World Cup was partly attributed to the figures certainly points in the direction of those who attend them days designed to cater for the Summer booze ups.

It also confirms how fickle these attendees are, and how easily they could be tempted away to some other form of entertainment that would offer them an even more trashier form of enjoyment than what they receive at the racecourse.

While it may already be too late to attract a whole new generation of racing fans who would follow the sport for life, those that have not given up the ghost in striving to engage with the younger tribes fail to realise that the essential ingredient is instilling a love and respect for the game.

And though the cold truth is that racing cannot survive without punters, 95% of those who are enthusiastic about horse racing bet regularly on it, while in contrast a substantially smaller percentage of gamblers in general would be busiest in this area.

Tempting emerging generations to become attached to horse racing is the biggest battle and it is incredible that some common sense initiatives are not introduced.

Can you imagine if there was no requirement for top flight football clubs to release the names of players contracted to the club ?

Well it happens in horse racing. An increasing number of trainers decline to co-operate for the long standing Horses In Training publication by not listing their strings. Others release details of their older horses but decide they would rather not list their juveniles, the section of the yard that eyes first turn to when the book is opened and the strength of the large flat yards assessed.

The yards may see no obligation to assist a commercial publication but this was not the case in past times when even the infamously sharp edged trainers would consent to give full details of their armoury.

Moreover, why do they still continue to give Timeform photographers access to their premises to snap the posed portraits shots for the Racehorses annuals ?

For someone who had been betting on football and cricket, then decides to find out more about racing, they would reasonably expect there to be information in the public domain showing the names of every horse in each yard in lists that are regularly updated.

This is in the BHA's ball court and is a measure they should be implementing, ideally with reciprocal co-operation from their Irish and French counterparts.

Another angle that consolidates a newly discovered passion for the sport is the historical one with horse racing having a strong claim to owning the deepest, most fascinating and most controversial historical perspective out of all of the sports.

ITV racing show us clips from their vault. Many revive the nostalgic buds. In recent months they showed the late stages of a race from Teeside Park dated 1976, which involved the Tony Dickinson trained Broncho 11 in those Tysdale colours that were striking and memorable.

It would be welcoming and beneficial for the sport if the whole of the vault was freely accessible in a form where the full races were available to view. Copyright snobbery would have to be put aside.

At the moment someone with a new found taste for the sport who wishes to build knowledge from a historical perspective is likely to at some point be looking through the archive built by espmadrid on You Tube.

In other areas of life information comes on tap. I was telling work colleagues the other day that I must have spent around two grand buying music on I Tunes. I added that plenty of this stuff I'd originally had on vinyl, and some even on both vinyl and those soulless CD's.

I was asked why go to the expense?  I replied that pirate downloads are variable on quality and on a moral high horse added that it's not myth that they have put thousands out of employment in the working class, lower levels of the music industry.

I then had it explained to me that for a two pound odd payment each month I could have available a library of songs running  into millions on these Alexa boxes that they advertise all the time on TV.

Cynically, I said that there must be a catch, that it surely could not be allowed by the music industry, and that the quality of sound is probably mediocre.

I was assured that there are no catches, it's legal, and the sound quality is high. Apparently, you just shout out the name of an album or track, and it plays!

For those who don't feel they need every modern gadget and are ignorant to the tasks they are able to perform, something like Alexa is hard to comprehend and a tad frightening.

However, if such technology is available to all, then ITV racing could and should have their vault online for all to access.

The other week the presenters kept harping on about the likelihood of children being at Newbury who one day would tell their own children that they were there when Altior won.

What a load of tripe ! If the sport continues on the path it is treading there will be no National Hunt racing in existence by the time these kids are having kids of their own.

If it does survive into the near future, then none of them will be interested in it anyway, except perhaps for those whose families have racing connections.

Make the vault available, have a presenter giving an example of how to use it, explaining that often a whole race needs to be watched in order to appreciate the merit of a performance.

Carvil's Hill's Welsh National an ideal example, the presenter could say, "hmmm, so I'll watch this from the start. You think he is going to tire anytime soon but as it gradually unfolds there comes a realisation that he has it in the bag ".

Or for professionalism, and getting the job done, but only just, Lester's ride on The Minstrel in the 1977 King George V1 Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes.

The whole race has to be viewed to appreciate the ride. It was real pressure cooker stuff in the sense that they knew beforehand that this would be the colt's last race as he was soon on a plane to Kentucky to beat the looming equine transport ban after an outbreak of equine herpes over there.

While watching such material is not contributing via betting it plays its part in securing a possible lifetime following of the sport and if so, you can bet that a lifetimes regular punting will accompany this, which is after all what the sport needs from its followers most of all.

image in public domain - Von Kempelen's Speaking Machine

CHARITY, STICKY PLASTERS AND BEGGARS....

Go North Weekend, consisting of three consecutive days of racing at Musselburgh, Kelso, and Carlisle, set to take place on the penultimate weekend in March 2020, is testament to how far Jump racing has fallen in this part of the country.

Instead of recognising, then taking some innovative steps to reverse the crux of the problem, namely the lack of powerful owners willing to support the region, they treat it as a charity case,letting it drift aimlessly along with no light at the end of the tunnel.

The new 'event' is a carry on from the Northern Lights Series which culminated with finals day at Carlisle in December. Evidently, after consultation with trainers, it was decided to scrap this after just two stagings and move the rejigged one to March, beginning in the 2019/20 season.

As is obvious from the timing of the new event, scheduled to take place when we will all be engrossed in the post-mortem fall outs from Cheltenham and preparing ourselves for Aintree, Go North Weekend is more of a chance for ordinary to useful horses to pick up some nice money as opposed to being an attempt to attract any big names.

It certainly does not justify the description given to it on the BHA website of being an "exciting enhancement to the northern Jump racing season", and has the feel of a cutting the cloth accordingly  'initiative'.

There rarely can have been a period with such a dearth of big equine names in the region. Indeed the BHA had to pull a graph out of the hat to support its spurious claim that there has been a resurgence in the sport in the top half of the country.

The graph shows an increase in victories in black type events from northern trained Jumpers, something that will most likely be a blip, and a trend that will reverse next season. And added to this, the BHA Paul Johnston's boast that Definitely Red, Lady Buttons and Lake View Lad have all won major races is a statement which can be disputed and one that is dependent on how you decide a race is a 'major' one.

The Racing Post has attached its name to the Go North weekend and the new editor speaks of " the important work that has already been done to reinvigorate the sport in this part of the world."

In truth there is no solid basis from which you could give out any sort of hopeful message. If anyone really wants to appreciate how many tiers the quality of horses in training has fallen in the North, then you have to look no further than the success rates in the truly major events.

Beginning with the Cheltenham Gold Cup; in the ten runnings from 1976 to 1985, five winners were trained in the top half of the country. For the following ten years there were two, the last Jodami in 1994.

Since then the region has not had a winner of the Blue Riband. And just two have made the first three since the millennium, Truckers Tavern finishing runner up to Best Mate in 2003, and Turpin Green coming home in third behind Kauto Star in 2007.

Looking at the comparative figures for the Champion Hurdle, there were the two victories each from Night Nurse and Sea Pigeon in the first period, but the region has failed to take the title since the last named's victory in 1981.

And while it can be acknowledged that Donald McCain Jnr has had two individual runners-up in the race in the past seven years in Overturn and Peddler's Cross, it would not be harsh to question whether he is based in the North. His Cholmondeley base is at a more southern point on the map than Lincoln and Chesterfield, and is almost level with Nottingham, while his nearest racecourse, Bangor-On-Dee, is listed bu the BHA as being a racecourse situated in the Midlands.

To the Champion Chase, the North successful with Rathgorman and Badsworth Boy's treble in four consecutive years from 1982 to 1985, but drawing a blank since. The King George Chase, an impressive six victories from 1976 to 1985, one in the following ten years, then One Man in the next ten year period being the last winner. In fact the region rarely has a runner in this race anymore.

And so to the Grand National. For all its glory its not the most reliable barometer given its handicap status but One For Arthur, Aurora's Encore, and Red Marauder have all taken the event since the millennium, and depending on where you put the borderline, you could add the McCain pair of
Ballabriggs and Amberleigh House.

Still, its the the event that offers the region the best opportunity of success in the major events and an angle that should be utilised in striving to attract big gun owners to the area.

Has anyone asked Graham Wylie what it would take for him to have horses trained in his home region again ? Perhaps he just doesn't rate the trainers based up in his part of the world.

We can't rely on Trevor Hemmings forever who despite his strong support for the region has had two of his Aintree National winners trained elsewhere, the best two winners of the race in recent history. Maybe he too could be politely asked why Many Clouds was with Oliver Sherwood and Hedgehunter with Willy Mullins.

When Hemmings leaves the scene there do not appear to be any family members ready to step in and keep the operation ticking over. And that will be a major loss.

Another measure of how dire the scene has become is that in the early 1990's many were downhearted as to how the status of the sport had fallen in the region yet Peter Piller's colours still graced the scene along with Ashleybank Investments. Gordon Richards had the likes of Twin Oaks and Carrick Hill Lad in the yard, Arthur Stephenson housed Blazing Walker, Southern Minstrel and Durham Edition, while Jimmy Fitzgerald had the likes of Uncle Ernie, Sybillin, Meikleour and Boutzdaroff.

The region was past it's vintage era but would still have wiped the floor faced with today's equivalents.

Both Monica Dickinson and Neville Crump had retired in 1989, Peter Easterby's yard had become more flat orientated, while Jimmy Fitzgerald's fortunes would dip as the 1990's progressed and the yard was verging on empty when Tim Fitzgerald took over.

It is hard to believe that during the 1970's the West Country was geographically the weak arm of National Hunt racing. When the David Baron's trained Bootlaces won the Schweppes Gold Trophy in 1980 it was viewed as a big moment for the region. Little did they know what was around the corner.

Nowadays, we look at novice hurdle and novice chase events at Exeter with an eager eye, knowing that there cold be some showcase equine names of the future competing. Just like we once did with such events at the likes of Wetherby and Ayr.

The situation has now completely flipped around and looks likely to remain as it is. They can call it 'Northern Lights', 'Go North' or the next fancy name they think up, but like giving a handout to a street beggar, these 'initiatives' are merely sticky plasters and not a long term solution.

image by Roy Blumenthal shared under creative commons license

CHRIST, HOW HAS IT COME TO THIS !

Whether you class it less as self-employment and more an indulgent hobby, training racehorses must rank as one of the riskiest and stupid activities to risk capital in. While there are many in the ranks who are content to plug away for zero financial gain in the hope of that life changing animal arriving to put them on the map, it is traditionally a profession that is the ball court of the wealthy, who are able to sustain a loss for a reasonable period off time. 

I came across an interview with a certain Nicky Henderson in a copy of the November 1980 edition of Pacemaker International. The then 29 year old was in his third season as a trainer, with an increasing string that had reached fifty, but revealed that he was still operating at a loss. He forecast that he may just be in profit by the end of the 1980/81 season.

Henderson had worked for a short while in his father's stockbroking firm and could have continued to do so. Fortunately for him, he was privileged to be afforded the opportunity to ,in his words, "spend my life doing something I really enjoy", and to set himself up as a racehorse trainer in the less financially rewarding area of national hunt racing.

Henderson had served as assistant trainer to Fred Winter, with whom he was also an amateur rider.

The writer of the aforementioned article was Ivor Herbert, himself a former licence holder who trained the 1957 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Linwell. He eventually handed in his licence because "without any inherited capital, being a national hunt trainer was economic nonsense."

If both the writer and subject of that article had at the time been given an insight into the state of affairs forty years on, it would be inconceivable for them to get to grips with the threats to the future well being of the sport. And moreover, that there were imminent reductions in prize money levels due to the Government limiting the minimum stakes on gaming machines that had become the bread and butter of many LBO's.

Then the knock on effect of lower prize money resulting in many trainers unable to justify increases in owners bills to pay their staff sufficient to retain them in a time when there exists a shortfall of one thousand in staff numbers, double that from just four years back previous.

At a time when Henderson would have rarely had any situations vacant, and had the usual one lad to three horses, mucking out the three and riding two or three lots, he would have scoffed at the idea that a day would come when lads and lasses were looking after half a dozen horses.

And that he himself would have one day been part of what feels like coordinated bugle calling, whereby several trainers and figures in racing make dramatic, individual statements, within a few days of each other, about the staffing crisis in yards across the country.

From the outside these admissions have the shape of  'we are stuck and need help' . They seem to be appearing more regularly and this latest episode last weekend certainly had an orchestrated vibe about it, from Henderson's statement, to the industry recruitment guests brought in on The Opening Show, to the endorsement from Dan Skelton.

While Henderson is unlikely to find himself in a position where finances force him out of business, anyone expressing sympathy for licence holders unable to make it pay should remember there are enough of them who were aghast at the decision to reduce the stakes on the FOBTS, who looked upon the addicts as merely loses in the precarious world of market forces influenced by Government, yet now find that they themselves exist on the brink of being sunk under the same rules.

Indeed,there is actually a plus side to this in the sense that the resultant loss of trainers from the ranks would result in a meaningful re-adjustment involving  the staff shortage.

But to solve the problem on a more permanent basis we return to the basic agreed fact that younger people are not in interested in horse racing in the same numbers and with the same intense enthusiasm as past generations.

Admittedly, the passion for the horse as an animal more than as just a racehorse is a preferable trait for those seeking to work with racehorses. Many of the female stable staff  in particular come from pony club or equestrian backgrounds. The girls on average are smaller and lighter to their male co-workers, many of whom have the lanky, wiry  Richard Hughes and George Baker type gaits, as do an increasing number of active flat jockeys, Adam Kirkby being a prime model.

Even without any available figures in the public domain, if at all anywhere, we  know for sure that the ratio of lads versus girls working in racing yards as altered notably from the 1970's, with the girls now outnumbering their male counterparts.

But there still has to be a link between the staff crisis and the amount of time the average person is exposed to the sport in today's hundreds of channels world in which the national broadcaster washed its hands of the sport, and in a world where the under 35's link betting predominantly to football.

Yet those with control continue to tread down the futile path where they believe gimmicks added to race days will draw people into the sport and lock them into it for life.

This is plainly not working. It has been tried again and again, beginning with Tom Jones and Suzi Quatro nights at Newmarket in the mid-80's. Those able to make influential decisions blindly keep on going with some tinkering here and there, believing that attendances and food and drink sales forms an accurate gauge.

In times gone by a small in stature lad who had picked up an interest in horse racing via betting may have gone about trying to acquire an opportunity to work in the industry. And when unemployment was alarmingly high, racing yards offered an opportunity to escape the out of bed at 11 am and down to the Off Licence for cheap cider lifestyle.

Nowadays, that small in stature lad will be betting on footy, will have plenty of watered down qualifications and will, if he makes the effort and is in the right location, have the opportunity to go from job to job in the public sector, permanent or fixed term.

These public sector organisations regularly have vacancies, most with super flexi working hours.
Both recruitment and promotion are based on 'competencies', written down by the individual. Those who are persistent and are expert enough at being able to demonstrate their self-proclaimed talents in writing, using the desired phraseology, can go far without possessing any discernible skills.

Working with racehorses demands a level of real competence at the job which is acquirable by those willing to work and learn. Those without any experience working with horses who are prepared to apply themselves can now attend pre-training schools to shape them up to a level where they can hit the ground running on entering a yard.

And encouragingly, an increasing number of trainers are now open to offering flexi working patterns which will accommodate parents who have the school runs to take care of and who would otherwise have to look elsewhere for employment. These zig zag shifts can be balanced by those who would be delighted to turn up at the yard at 6am, put a good shift in, then have the rest of the day to themselves.

It's messy and variable, lacking the uniformity of the old school, regulated to the minute routine, but it is now being accepted as the way forward.

The baffling part of it all is that for an industry that is desperate to pull in employees, we have still to see an recruitment advertising campaign that would ideally be broadcast during intervals when the racing is being shown. Many would have thought that would be a necessity.