The view expressed by some that horse racing in the UK will emerge from this crisis stronger and better than before is to most minds, ludicrous, without any foundation and merely raises false hope.
It cannot possibly return stronger. Many trainers will already be holding desperately on to the cliff's edge, some will be forced to let go and enter freefall. They are of course inextricably linked to their owners, many of whom will have been struck so hard by the severe financial impact of the sudden recession that keeping racehorses in training will be near the bottom of their priorities.
Part built structures are going to be a common sight standing lifelessly against the skylines up and down the country, along with permanently padlocked business premises of all sorts of varieties, while those producing for the food chain from their own land have been destroying their wares on mass.
Behind many of these troubled, once thriving enterprises will be the backbone of the lower to middle ranking racehorse owners. They may only have a maximum of three or four horses in training at any one time, but there are enough of them for their demise would be felt. And this is where we have a potential horse welfare issue taking hold.
Sanctuaries for ex racehorses are already struggling with money drying up - many are after all charitable organisations and when you switch on the telly and are faced with reports of zoos' running short and being near to collapse, then you can appreciate the predicament faced by those who altruistically are living to preserve the life of animals who are of little financial worth.
The already long existing, covered up dirty secret concerning the number of fit and healthy racehorses, who unbeknown to the general public end up in grim slaughterhouses simply because they are unable to run fast enough, will not able to be hidden away much longer,
It is about to become more difficult for the ' all is roses in racing's house ' ITV racing to justify projecting the false impression that all racehorses finish their career, go to a caring home and live happily ever after. Soon they would be better advised to drop this pretence and highlight an issue that will escalate to an extent that it will become common knowledge.
And what will be offered up whenever the shackles are loosened ? Irrespective of the arguments of whether or not the sport could have and should have been permitted to race on behind close doors, the chance of it having the stage to itself in front of a television audience far larger than all but the showcase festivals, is now fading by the day.
And what will be offered up whenever the shackles are loosened ? Irrespective of the arguments of whether or not the sport could have and should have been permitted to race on behind close doors, the chance of it having the stage to itself in front of a television audience far larger than all but the showcase festivals, is now fading by the day.
The plan for racing to resume here next month at one or two all weather venues, with twelve runner races, and maybe even twelve race cards, would in the unlikely circumstances it was given the thumbs up so soon, be better than no racing. But it would be very much mistaken to believe that this minority sport can reverse it's waning popularity
Though some would disagree, AW racing in this country is in the main programme filler that fits neatly into the method of which the levy is harvested, from a mainly unattractive, congested fixture list.
It is a sphere of the sport that lacks grace, soul and feel, and any logical working mind would conclude that it should never, ever be the sport's shop window, as the potential customers will glance in, then carry on by rather then stepping in to take a closer look.
At least Newmarket offers a bit of mystique. A casual viewer, faced with runners cantering nonchalantly down to the start, strung out, with a lush green backdrop of never ending open space, might just sit back and take in proceedings, half wanting to discover that bit more.
There may be some individuals who will view the news that French football will not be returning in any form until at least September, as an opportunity for UK racing. This on the basis that there must now be a prospect of UK football not receiving the go ahead signal until that same month, giving horse racing, granted it is able to start in four weeks time, a full three months before it is inevitably swamped by the God that is the Premiership.
Nevertheless, for racing to take advantage of such a scenario by bringing in some much needed finance through the levy, it would be banking on the younger generations changing their deep rooted habits of directing their betting interests at the round ball games.
This is not a guess, it's a fact. This generation that is, so to speak taking hold, bet almost exclusively through their smartphones and these transactions are predominantly on sports other than racing, with football being by far the most popular.
As we must accept that high streets will continue to have little footfall during the first stages of easing the lockdown, the prospect of betting offices re-opening anytime soon is a remote one. In fact with many independents unlikely to open ever again, along with the conglomerates shredding a sizeable number of outlets, they may have become a rarity once we return to something resembling normal.
And for those of us who dearly wish for a fixture list that ticks along at a pedestrian pace similar to that of forty or fifty years back, who are hoping that racing will return as a 'better' product, may be left with something they had not bargained for.
For some muddied thinking reason, we are expecting that a scaling down of the programme, with a reduced number of horses in training would signal a return to the days when the jam was spread wider with more trainers overlooking medium sized strings containing a higher proportion of quality animals.
But the nightmare that may become reality is that the progressive establishments that promise in the long term to breakthrough at the top level while still having some way to go, along with the smaller numbers wise operations who hit the jackpot in turn, may go under leaving those few dominant forces in both spheres to take an even firmer grip on the game than they already have.
Being truthful, the landscape in this sport is looking so bleak at the moment that instead of disentangling the ramblings of Rust, Johnston and Beckett, it would be more apt for a realistic summary to be provided by the pale skinned, sloped foreheaded suicidal character Gray, from that memorable episode of Rising Damp titled the ' The Good Sammaritans'.
image in public domain
At least Newmarket offers a bit of mystique. A casual viewer, faced with runners cantering nonchalantly down to the start, strung out, with a lush green backdrop of never ending open space, might just sit back and take in proceedings, half wanting to discover that bit more.
There may be some individuals who will view the news that French football will not be returning in any form until at least September, as an opportunity for UK racing. This on the basis that there must now be a prospect of UK football not receiving the go ahead signal until that same month, giving horse racing, granted it is able to start in four weeks time, a full three months before it is inevitably swamped by the God that is the Premiership.
Nevertheless, for racing to take advantage of such a scenario by bringing in some much needed finance through the levy, it would be banking on the younger generations changing their deep rooted habits of directing their betting interests at the round ball games.
This is not a guess, it's a fact. This generation that is, so to speak taking hold, bet almost exclusively through their smartphones and these transactions are predominantly on sports other than racing, with football being by far the most popular.
As we must accept that high streets will continue to have little footfall during the first stages of easing the lockdown, the prospect of betting offices re-opening anytime soon is a remote one. In fact with many independents unlikely to open ever again, along with the conglomerates shredding a sizeable number of outlets, they may have become a rarity once we return to something resembling normal.
And for those of us who dearly wish for a fixture list that ticks along at a pedestrian pace similar to that of forty or fifty years back, who are hoping that racing will return as a 'better' product, may be left with something they had not bargained for.
For some muddied thinking reason, we are expecting that a scaling down of the programme, with a reduced number of horses in training would signal a return to the days when the jam was spread wider with more trainers overlooking medium sized strings containing a higher proportion of quality animals.
But the nightmare that may become reality is that the progressive establishments that promise in the long term to breakthrough at the top level while still having some way to go, along with the smaller numbers wise operations who hit the jackpot in turn, may go under leaving those few dominant forces in both spheres to take an even firmer grip on the game than they already have.
Being truthful, the landscape in this sport is looking so bleak at the moment that instead of disentangling the ramblings of Rust, Johnston and Beckett, it would be more apt for a realistic summary to be provided by the pale skinned, sloped foreheaded suicidal character Gray, from that memorable episode of Rising Damp titled the ' The Good Sammaritans'.
image in public domain
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