NEARING MELTDOWN

Even those of us who are adamant that any single month of the 1970's offered more in music quality than any whole single year thereafter, may not have felt inclined to listen yet to Bowie's Blackstar album, released just days before the superstar's death

His passing was reported on the televised news with clips of a video from Lazarus, a gloomy track from the album showing the singer lying in bed with bandages covering his face. The underlying message was a foreboding one and given the state that the UK racing industry finds itself in at the moment, it would be fitting for the sport to be broadcast in black and white to augment the somber overtone, with the presenters    voice levels and vocabulary befitting the dread felt both by those employed from within, and those contributing or supportive from the outside.

As the weeks pass, the genuine tales of woe increase. Many wonder how they can survive in the industry for much longer, some have already packed their bags and left, trainers and owners included. Courses are in trouble too; something that really hits home when you learn what is happening at Goodwood, a venue which you would class as one of the untouchables.

It's a curious saga involving an appeal for help from the Duke of Richmond, the owner of the Goodwood estate. He has asked annual members of his picturesque racecourse to consider gifting the annual fee they have paid for 2020 to assist in the finanancial well being of the the business. In return, kind members will be honoured by having their name imprinted on a new walkway being built. 

I've no idea how much of the Duke's reputed 225 million fortune is tied up in fixtures on the estate but you'd have to think there is enough movable, untied money to make the total collective amount of all annual members consenting to wavering the money paid for their 2020 badges, merely the equivalent of spare change from his back pocket. 

No previous like for like example comes to mind in this sport of a similar 'appeal'. On the audacity front, there was the Grand National Appeal Fund set up by Lord Vestey in the early 1980's in an attempt to save what was still then a truly magnificent event. The 7 million needed then was indeed spare change from the amount the Vestey family had avoided parting with through a tax loophole. 

This also brings to light an ironic situation whereby in asking the most committed paying patrons to help ease a financial shortfall, they are playing a part in attracting runners carrying the colours of some owners who will be wealthy tax exiles. 

As for names inscribed on a walkway - that is a really odd notion and even those who may be persuaded to forego the return of the money they parted with may be inclined to request their name is left off  'Mugs Walkway'. Firstly, commemorative objects surely should be sparingly put in place and only when it has been agreed upon that the subject or subjects are worthy of having their name honoured as opposed to being part of a trashy scheme used as an incentive to make the racecourse a quick buck. 

Secondly, are the names going to remain permanently?  For the few, or who knows maybe the many, who fancy going along with this daft project may eventually come to view their involvement akin to an unwanted tattoo bearing the name of a one hit wonder singer such as Harpo.

And returning to the broadcasting of racing, the fact that SKY have terminated the employment of three of it's football pundits whose positions seemed as safe as houses, could be an indicator that similar cutbacks could be applied amongst the bloated TV racing teams as by comparison football will get back on its feet much quicker and be much nearer to its norm than UK horse racing, which could well be in bits and indeed may never be the same again. 

Mind you, one would expect that many of the ITV racing team in particular, have less reliance on their income from their roles which would be considerably less than the SKY footy pundits were being paid. It certainly would be safe to assume that over half of the team see the income as a top up to what they earn in roles away from the camera.

There are numerous intertwined issues across the board in UK and Irish racing too, all coming to surface and being far more threatening than if the sport had gone down an alternative pathway in securing it's long term funding half a century back.

If the clock could be turned back to the 1960's, the old portheads would have been replaced by smarter people and we'd have put an Australian style system in place, with off course betting monopolised by the Tote. But they were outwitted by representatives of the bookmaking industry who continue to have influence over the way the sport is reported, with sponsorships, along with adverts in the specialist racing publications, being the lifeblood of continued existence for many.

It's been long lamented in many quarters that the wrong direction was taken but never before will the full, damaging consequences be apparent as they will be soon, when everyone realises just how deep in the mire the sport is.

It can be likened to a bomb with a timer set to go off over five decades on, with the sport initially carrying on blissfully unaware, assured that lower prize money was offset by the established tradition of our programme.

That the whole show would one day implode could not have been contemplated the week when Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album was released in the first week of June in 1972. Roberto won the Derby and Alice Cooper released his signature School's Out album all within the same seven day period, all just three weeks after the Stones had released their celebrated Exile On Main Street album. 

Image from Wikipedia

THE CRISIS HAS WELL AND TRULY ARRIVED

Talk of racing coming out the other side of the woods, shaking itself down and rebuilding is so far off the mark for in reality the sport has only just taken its first forced steps in from the entry point.

For while the building optimism that we are past the worst of the plague with talk of a damning second wave just speculation without foundation may hopefully prove founded, similar hope filled sentiments that British racing is in the same boat have no basis.

Those doubting this need only have listened to a deadly serious John Gosden giving a somber assessment of the prevailing situation in an interview for ITV racing, whose broadcasts over the past few weeks have at last faced up to issues that threaten the ability of the sport to continue on its present scale.

The Clarehaven boss has been sounding out warnings from the onset of this crisis. We can't be sure if he is  dutifully intensifying the threat that the cut in prize money levels pose, as he of course is representing the interests of his patrons. Trainers and owners grumbling over what they see as modest overall levels of funding has been a recurring theme within British racing for many decades but never before have the sentiments been voiced amid such an atmosphere of uncertainty,

It we thought we could take for granted the support of the wealthy owners involved at the higher levels of the game because of the 'prestige' and strong history angle to racing here then we are on the wrong path. Remember, previous criticism had specifically been targeted at the prevailing monetary rewards, not drastic, unprecedented cuts.

Moreover, boasting that that our top prizes offer so much status to the winners that many would pay the entry fees for a winning prize of zero due to the esteem of an event being such a big influence on stud valuations, sit somewhere between optimism and postulation.

Gosden revealed that some horses who he had plans for next season had already departed his yard for the United States and Australia. The owners would not be hanging around to race for the present reduced levels of prize money. However wealthy they may be, they are not going to be taken for granted, added the trainer.

Of course, certain categories of animal, particularly those in the lower Group and Listed levels, have always had richer pickings available on other continents. And for fillies and mares a few lengths superior in ability, who once went on one way journeys to the States to race for good money in  relatively 'soft' Group 1 events, the main European race planners had to act and did so by upgrading the programme for fillies and mares both in status and prize money levels.It quickly brought about the desired result, stemming the exodus of many talented animals.

But the immense problems existing now all center around a lack of money available to fund prizes. This cannot be compensated by upgrading the designated class of a race without an accompanying boost in the monetary value. 

As an example, it would not be a great surprise if there was a desire amongst breeders, owners and trainers to bestow Group 1 status on a seven furlong event in the UK, as no such event exists here beyond the juvenile division. So, you upgrade the Hungerford Stakes to the top level but with no notable boost in the monetary value as the authorities have decided to throw out the rules regarding minimum values for related classes of race. You would be left with a Group 1 in name only with the true seven furlong championship remaining the Prix de la Foret, which would be the only one of the two events with a line up worthy of the race status.

And as for taking patronage of owners for granted, it seems as those of us who looked at the approach of many in the jumping game through rose tinted spectacles, counting on the continued support of the prominent owners irrespective of finances, may have to wind in the mawkish praising.

For on the back of Michael O'Leary and Graham Wylie phasing out their involvement in the game, a bombshell would have bit many on this side of the Irish Sea on the announcement that Trevor Hemmings is dispersersing with two thirds of his string as a result of being hit with financial losses through the Covid-19 crisis.

It was only as recently as recently as 2013 that Hemmings reputedly lost 700 million from the collapse in the Royal Bank of Scotland share prices. He did trim the size of his string at the time but it was hardly noticed. This is entirely different and could leave one or two handlers in trouble, even to the extent of considering handing in their licenses.

Hemmings remains an extremely wealthy man but the message here is that unconditional support for the game does not exist, even in the love of the sport over business realms of National Hunt racing. This is a concerning development and many will be left holding their breath hoping no further announcements from other influential owners follow.

ANOTHER INCOME STREAM IN JEOPARDY

It will be a long anxious wait until the true extent of the damage inflicted by the plague on horse racing in the UK can be anywhere near accurately assessed. A large scale drop-off in involvement by sponsors will be amongst the most feared after effects and right now the omens are not looking good.

There was a time when racing, on a higher pedestal than it is now, had the luxury to be precious over its most treasured flat races. It was as recently as the 1980's when the Derby had a sponsor for the first time in its long lived history which came quite fittingly through Ever Ready, whose chairman was Sir Gordon White, the owner of several high class horses including Hardgreen, who was Michael Stoute's second ever runner in the Epsom race when sixth in 1979.

With all of the classics having collectively several sponsors for many years now no one bats an eyelid, it's not an issue and never would be provided the sponsor's name supports the original race title as opposed to distorting it. It now should be only a matter of time before sponsors are permitted to tag their brand names on to traditional race titles at Royal Ascot. 

This time will probably arrive when Queen Elizabeth 11 is with us no longer, leaving a moderner, less relevant generation of her family, a couple of whom have shown more enthusiasm for an apparently famous rapper called  'Fifty Cent' than for horse racing.

Racing may well soon be going down the beggars can't be chooses path as it is becoming increasingly likely that top level sponsorship will become harder to procure than at any time in recent history - the St Leger, the oldest classic of them all, currently has no sponsor, and the biggest wake up call was the announcement that Investec would be ceasing its link with both the Derby and Oaks with immediate effect.

The fact that William Hill made the disclosure back in February that their sponsorship of the Doncaster classic would cease renders the move free from any Covid 19 impact assessment. Owing to the events of the past few months is is easy to lose sense of the time line in some areas and to overlook that a financial crisis was building up in the sport long before the plague hit.

It will be revealing to see the figures for the planned total sponsorship for 2021 as there is going to be a considerable downturn. I was browsing through a copy of the May 1976 edition Pacemaker & the Horseman from my collection which are gems of magazines - not available in any online archive. As well as finding a poster of Abba hidden away inside, I also came across an article penned by Michael Thompson - Noel, headed " In the Gift Horse's Mouth - Some Facts and Figures on Sponsorship ".

Digesting the figures makes one realise how much racing in the UK has fallen in status since an era which in reality is not really that long ago. From the numbers available, it was estimated that £11 million was spent on sports sponsorship during 1976, with £1.2 million going towards racing making it number two in the sponsorship league, with only the sponsors true glitz sport of motor racing ahead of it.

Over twice as much sponsors money was spent on UK horse racing than football, while the ratio over cricket was seven to one. Step forward to the modern era and it is dispiriting how many league divisions racing here has fallen below soccer - if truth be told these two sports are unlikely to be playing in the same division ever again.

In 2016 one of the leading economic consultancy firms, Frontier Economics carried out one of the most forensic analysises ever undertaken of the financial workings of horse racing in the UK, which they produced for the Department for Culture, Media  and Sport. They estimated that during 2014 the total prize money available was £123 million - the biggest contributors being just under £47 million from the Horse Race Betting Levy Board, £41 million from racecourses, £20 million from owners, and nearly £14 million from sponsors.

To put into context this sponsorship amount - during the same year Manchester United alone received annual sponsorship in the region of £170 million. Admittedly, away from prize money jockeys and stables often have sponsors but the sums amount to little in the grand scheme of things - I would imagine hard grafting journeyman riders come cheap, a car along with the odd thermal coat bunged in here and there.

The most pressing concern in horse race sponsorship is the distinct possibility that the aforementioned state of affairs with three of the classics presently having no sponsor is more than just a coincidental blip. This could even lead to some of the most powerful operations who have cross continent influence in the sport re - prioritising their global interests.

You only have to observe the sustained pattern in which top quality stallions have been shuttling to Australia for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season. While you can always pick out past examples to argue this has been the case for many years it must be noted that Danehill made his name as a stalllion initially through shuttling as opposed to establishing himself in Europe first. And both Galileo and Dubawi shuttled before anyone could predict the heady levels they would rise to.

What we have now in American Pharaoh and Justify, are the only two US triple crown victors since Affirmed in 1978, who Coolmore have gone in heavily on in the hope that they will lead the line for them when Galileo has gone. The fact they are shuttling from this early stage between Kentucky and Australia is a testament to the spread of their global strength and along with the Maktoums, leave themselves with the option of shifting the core of their operations.

Many will say that just as much focus should be placed on the vast number of single race sponsors, some one off, who will for a relatively small outlay put a name to a low grade race. Accumutavely this group contribute greatly to the sport in the lower, congested areas of the pyramid, but for all the events whose title celebrates a wedding, anniversary, retirement or passing, the sport desperately needs to maintain the prestige of its shop window events if UK racing is to maintain the recognised position of being at least the equal in quality to anywhere else on the globe.

image from Wikimedia