Sir, – For racing to survive and be ‘healthy’, it must create – or should I say – bring back the balance into racing for horses, trainers and owners.

Promoting and developing the top races and Grade 1s won’t keep the industry alive on its own. The grassroots and low/medium interests’ needs must be catered for to ensure that critical balance that allows all levels to thrive which indirectly and directly will also make the top end thrive. Bottom-up instead of top-down principle.

For example, the industry constantly pushing the Irish Derby as one of the world’s great races is now becoming a very flawed marketing strategy.

If we are blind to how this race - as one example of the health of Irish racing - is actually portrayed around the world, then we are missing something that is going to become a much greater problem, going forward.

It has to be obvious to anyone who looks beyond the top end that all 45-65 handicap races are oversubscribed and most listed/group races are undersubscribed or monopolised by a very small number of owners and trainers.

If we had to begin again and totally relook at the way racing is managed and how the calendar works, then maybe we would see the obvious flaws and the reasons why we do not have any overseas runners in our premier flagship race.

Where is the incentive? Prize money hasn’t worked.

Meanwhile, at the other end we have incredible frustration as trainers and owners can’t get a run in a 45-65.

Why don’t we question this or, even better, have an open industry discussion on how we make it genuinely better for all?

Balance is the key to success in any sport. If left to its own devices I’m afraid we are going to leak horses, owners, trainers, credibility and audience at an ever-increasing rate over the next five to 10 years. The phrase ‘golden goose’ comes to mind.

Derby day attendance this year was 10,897 and in 2010 we had 24,000 people through the gate. Do we still think that Derby day is the bee’s knees?

The guts of 13,000 fewer people through the gate is significant and it has been in serious decline from 2016. The 2010 Derby had 10 runners, including three from Britain and six different trainers represented.

Are we, in the next few years, going to have a classic with only one family of trainers represented? We are nearly there already. Just to be clear, I don’t have a problem with these top yards. It’s not their creation or fault, they are just playing it as it is.

But why are we not asking or even discussing this major question? We collectively bury our heads in the sands at our peril. - Yours etc.,

JOHN FITZGERALD

Restricted Trainers Association

Oak Tree Stud,

Butlerstown,

Dunboyne,

Co Meath