A RACECOURSE THAT COULD DO BETTER FOR ITSELF WITHOUT STAGING HORSE RACING

There can never have been a period before in UK horse racing like now were self examination has become such an obsession with everyone throwing in their two bob's worth in taking an inward look and suggesting solutions on how an ailing sport can be reinvigorated.

Some of the offerings are better than others, though there does disappointingly seem to be a general consensus that concert nights serve a purpose in bringing in a fresh audience to the sport - a claim in  which no evidence whatsoever exists to support it.

One member of the ITV racing team attended the concert night at Goodwood on Friday and witnessed trouble near to where he stood but put a positive on the event because one of two inebriated attendees came up to him to boast of winners they had supported earlier in the evening.

To suggest that this amounts to proof that these events are picking up and retaining a new fanbase for horse racing is ridiculous. They may have had a few bets as they began their boozing session to get in the mood for the concert but back home the following day, are we to expect that they would have watched the racing from their homes and carried on wagering? - Of course not, they'd have been watching and betting on the footy to the exclusion of everything else sporting.

Anyone believing that these attendees will eventually form the backbone of a an emerging young fanbase for the sport is gravely mistaken. I've never heard of anyone who became smitten with the sport after first being 'introduced' to it on a concert night - and these events have been going for some time now, right back as far as the mid 1980's when the Newmarket July course regularly hosted the likes of Suzi Quatro, Tom Jones, and that group that represented the UK in Eurovision who had American parents based at RAF Mildenhall. 

Try speaking to these people who claim to be racing fans. From out of the blue they may suddenly say that so and so had been raised so many pounds in the ratings. You then engage in conversation only to quickly realise that they haven't a clue what they mean and have just read it from an article on a betting site on their smartphones. You then realise that the name Nijinsky does not register with them which is like someone claiming to be a footy fan who had never heard of Pele. And some of these so-called racing fans are as old as forty!

I've spoken to someone around this age who claimed to be a genuine racing fan because he often watched ITV racing on a Saturday and sometimes had a Lucky 15. He did not however know what a classic was or that they were confined to three year olds. Had never heard of Kieren Fallon or Henry Cecil, and none of them have ever heard of Nijinsky.

This may seem harsh but a few weeks back I watched a preview of the British &Irish Lions Rugby tour, watched the three matches and had bets in two of them. Does that make me a fan? Truth be told I do not even know the rules while the only position I can name is a prop forward but I haven't the foggiest what the purpose of that role is and whereabouts on the field they play.

To be a genuine fan of a sport you cannot resist that initial urge to become engrossed and go on to mop up as much information as you can, historical and contemporary, as quickly as possible. The history has so much depth that a lifetime is not enough time to enrich yourself with all the knowledge you wish. And with racing it will mean you'll be a punter for life and the sport could not possibly survive in its present form without betting, which is why the explosion in general sports betting which continues to increase its portion of the betting pie, casts a shadow over the future of the game.

What is becoming clear from the increased importance being placed on these music nights is that there are racecourses, some with bleak balance sheets, which are missing a trick here. Most racing fans would be in denial if they did not agree that a large section of the crowds that now pack the cult venues (we know which courses these are) would not bat an eyelid if they changed the sport on show without prior announcement - which leads to the suspicion that some may already have held off the record discussions about the benefits of utilising their establishments by holding sports that would lessen the dependcy on racing.

Similar to show jumping, the sport of speedway seems to have disappeared from view but it still exists and can be watched on BT Sport and Eurosport, though is not promoted on these channels as much as most of the other sports. There are bookmaking firms who take bets on it too! Those of a certain age will recall that Peter Collins (in picture) was a household name during the 1970's, the sport itself with a prominent profile.

If truth be told this is the ideal sport for the emerging generation of racegoers. Bookmakers on track, a concert to look forward too after, the roar of the engines and smell of petrol, would be a perfect for for the gangs of young bucks and their companions - it's certainly something they would embrace with more passion than horse racing.

And which venue would be the first to go down this route? With all due respect to the venue, Catterick Bridge would be an ideal candidate. It's a long, long time since I've visited this track and there is nothing at all wrong with it lacking any glamour - but it also lacks any quaintness too, something which the likes of Beverley and Ripon certainlypossess.

In fact the stark, harsh coldness about the place makes it ideal for speedway. And being right on the A1 is easily accessible to a large area covering Yorkshire and the North East, with a shuttle bus service operating from Darlington Railway Station on race days. 

In a world in which change rarely takes place subtley it would not be a surprise if some venues began to tailor themselves to the needs of the modern, emerging attendees. For if these audiences have been enticed to the courses for something other than racing, then changing the sport on show would be a risk free gamble for many of the struggling establishments. It really could happen, and happen soon too.

image in public domain 

This released the month that Sea Pigeon finally got one over on Monksfield in the Champion Hurdle and when Tied Cottage took the prize many say he deserved only to be later stripped off his title. However, the only link this song is likely to have with racing in future is that it could be the welcomimg tune for attendees arriving at venues that once staged horse racing but had since moved on.