Racing fans over a certain age will remember it being revealed in the racing media during the build up to the 1987 General Election that Steve Cauthen is alleged to have declared that he would leave the country if the Neil Kinnock led Labour Party claimed power.
Notwithstanding the rights or wrongs of whether the Kentuckian, who was riding at the peak of his powers at the time, should be taking stances on politics of a country in which he was a working guest, the vow was testimanent to the there being two clearly defined political parties separated by a gulf.
Fast forward to over three decades later, when we now have a couple of decades of middle ground rule, with both parties often indistinguishable during their spells in power, the Blair Government advocates of widely applied deregulation with the present Government handling the Covid 19 crisis in a manner that would be agreeable to many ageing Trots.
Ironically it could realistically only be the far left that would be bold enough to bring in anti competition legislation and to introduce an off course state owned Tote monopoly system for UK horse racing - the other side to this is that a Trotskyte government could just as easily discontinue with the sport, citizens having the free will to gamble not really supposed to be part of their mantra.
In light of this one wonders precisely what John Gosden was trying to get at when expressing concern that unless the process of addressing the Levy reform is speeded up, we could be falling back to the economic crisis of the 1970's which saw many wealthy individuals bail out on one way journeys to foreign nations.
Then, we had a world economic crisis stemming in the main from the OPEC oil crisis which cascaded down to everyone, causing a recession from which unshackled, powerful unions held the country to ransom. Gosden also alluded to the prospect of other industries folding.
Whichever way you look at it, Levy reform, which would involve a deal requiring the blessing of the powerful, shrewd, and not exactly charitable bookmaking industry, would only produce a measured improvement in finances for the sport which in light of the current crisis would not a mount to a short or long term solution.
This past weekend's edition of Luck on Sunday, saw arguably the most examining set of questions that Nick Rust has ever faced on air. The overall feeling from the broadcast was that the sport's present problems, if anything, have been understated. It was also touched upon the bleak reality that at present 0.6 % of betting turnover is returned to horse racing in the UK, compared with 7% in France.
This is a ratio not going to change by any notable degree anytime soon. Realistically we know this is an avenue now blocked by permanent bollards. Mind you, judging by the Monty Pythonesque rules we have been living under, most being imposed by announcements using a phraseology that could of been taken straight out of that show, nothing should surprise us.
But with a cloud hanging over the sport it is hard to focus on the coming weekend with the usual enthusiasm - it's like not being able to look forward to Christmas if you know you are being admitted to hospital in January to undergo a complicated procedure that will keep you bed ridden past Cheltenham and Aintree.
On the subject of those supportive of Trotskyte indoctrination, one must wonder whether some of the bizarre, mandatory courses that the whole public sector workforce are obliged to partake in will eventually be introduced within the horse racing industry as it would seem there is a wish by the Government for them to extend to the private sector.
Those of us who know people employed within the public sector will be aware that these courses, or seminars, whatever they are called, have been swiftly introduced owing to certain events that hugged the news throughout the summer. They are to make people aware of what is termed as ' micro aggression', and that one may be guilty of this behavior without realising it.
I was given an example from an acquaintance who works in the public sector. He explained that you may have a male work colleague who chooses to dress in female attire. You arrive on the work floor one morning where a system of ' hot desking' exists, which roughly means you take whichever seats and desks are available. On this particular day there are plenty of empty seats. You walk past a desk where the colleague dressed in ladies clothes is sat alone, surrounded by empty spaces, and take a seat on a bank of desks where four other colleagues are sat.
This apparently would make you guilty of a ' micro aggression' towards the colleague wearing ladies clothes even though you may not have said anything vocally, cast a bad glance, or indeed never have ever had a cross word with them or made a disparaging comment about them.
I am told there is now a culture taking hold where workers are encouraged to be on the lookout for ' micro aggressional ' behavior, to 'challenge' it when they spot it, and to report it. Not surprisingly some will see this as a niche area for them to concentrate on as a basis for obtaining promotion. If such a culture is embraced by the horse racing industry, then one or two characters would no doubt be happy to go to town on it, finding a niche which will provide them with handsomely paid employment for the foreseeable future.
There can be no way now to prevent a radical downsizing of the of the sport in the UK, with Ireland no doubt going the same way. A reduction of the numbers of horses in training, closure of venues, an increase in horse wastage as owners pull out and horses go through sales rings unsold, job losses in abundance, all the specialist racing publications going under for good.
Enough trainers and owners had previously considered the funding issue to be serious enough that they took strike action long before the plague emerged thus by comparison, the state of play at this present time will involve many licence holders losing their footing and slipping down to the cliffs edge, some even hanging off with their legs dangling and no safety net to break their impending fall.
image CC Wikimedia
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