Unhappy owner

Sir, – I read with interest Robbie McNamara’s article in The Irish Field on January 30th (‘Owners are the most important people to the industry’) in which he implored racecourses to make the experience more pleasurable for the people who largely fund the sport and the racing industry, ie the owners.

His remarks accurately reflect my own experience at Gowran Park on Thyestes Day. As part of a four-owner syndicate I went to watch my horse run at what I believed to be one of the better racing venues in Ireland.

We arrived 30 minutes before the first race, only to be turned away from the owners and trainers car park that was already full. There were not a huge number of entries on the racecard, and many were multiple entries, so it is hard to understand why space should be at a premium. No back-up facilities had been organised.

When I presented my HRI owner’s card at the gate, I was told I was only entitled to one entry and that I had to pay for my wife. Nor was a racecard included, as is the norm at other leading courses. This strikes me as both petty and short-sighted.

After our race, we and the other syndicate members made our way to the owners’ bar where we were refused admission on the grounds that we had ‘the wrong tickets’. We were brusquely told to battle our way through the crowds back to the gate to have our tickets upgraded. If Gowran Park issued an owner’s badge, as most courses do, these problems could be avoided.

I note their website boasts of the hospitality available for ‘Corporate Entertainment, Sports and Social Club Outings, and Hens and Stags’. It is a pity they cannot extend a warmer welcome and a modicum of respect to owners who make a huge financial commitment to the sport.

We pay the trainers’ bills. We pay the transport to races. We pay jockeys to ride our horses. We pay entry fees for the horse. We pay the vets and the blacksmiths. We owners keep the industry and the sport going, and we do it gladly, but we are becoming an endangered species.

As was also pointed out in The Irish Field on January 29th, the number of owners is in sharp decline (‘We’re leaking owners quicker than we can find new ones’). HRI has promised ‘further improvements in racecourse facilities’ as part of their strategy to attract new owners. They would do well to start at Gowran Park. Our experience there was in sharp contrast to a recent visit to Leopardstown where our treatment was first class. – Yours, etc.,

LARRY EGAN,

Kinsale,

Co Cork

Gowran Park general manager Eddie Scally replies:

Firstly, thanks to you, Mr Egan, for your feedback. I was very disappointed to read of the shortcomings you experienced at our track on your recent visit and would like to express my sincerest apologies for these.

Gowran Park prides itself on our customer service and is constantly trying to raise the bar with regards racegoers’ experiences on racedays and in particular owners. Your experience clearly shows this was not the case for you on Thyestes day.

We have a designated owners and trainers car park and, on Thyestes and Red Mills days with the expected attendance increase, we open a second private owners and trainers car park. The problem we faced on Thyestes day this year was the number of AIR cardholders who attended on the day and used these car parking facilities.

All owners in Irish racing have AIR cards so, regardless of whether they have a runner or not, our car park attendants cannot differentiate between owners with a runner and those without, hence the packed car parks. The same situation exists at all racecourses and this is the problem.

All AIR cardholders with runners on the day at Gowran Park receive an owners and trainers badge and a racecard on arrival. We also send an email to all owners at the entry stage with details of Gowran Park facilities. This includes my own mobile number and a request that owners get in touch should they require extra admission badges or any other information.

These owners and trainers badges allow access to both of our owners bars on Thyestes day - one in our rooftop and one adjacent to the parade ring.

Security staff are advised to only allow access to people with the correct badges to ensure comfort for owners during the day. I will be investigating how you were not presented with the correct passes on arrival as we had employed two people to specifically deal with our AIR access on Thyestes day, whom I might add have fulfilled this role in not only Gowran Park but many other racetracks in Ireland.

Once again I would like to thank you for your feedback on your experience and to convey my sincerest apologies. If you wish to discuss this matter further I would be happy to take or make a call to you anytime that suits you.

Wonderful article

Sir, – As a small owner who keeps one horse in training at a time I would like to say what a wonderful article Robbie McNamara wrote on owners in The Irish Field last week.

I could identify with almost everything he says about how important your experience as an owner at the racecourse is.

He is quite right when he says that at the very least there should be a dedicated room for owners. Preferably, as they do at many English racecourses, it should overlook the racecourse so that you can really enjoy all the thrills and excitement of going racing as an owner and having a horse in training.

Thank you Robbie for a great article. – Yours etc.,

VICTORIA BRANN,

Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Sense of humour

Sir, – My husband and I have had the best laugh reading Robbie Mac’s article in The Irish Field last Saturday. Everything he said was absolutely true. I used to go racing quite a bit but, for all the reasons mentioned by Robbie, I don’t bother any more. What a sense of humour he has. Perhaps he might think about writing for you all the time and forget about training. Keep it up, Robbie, and the best of luck. - Yours etc.,

EAMON & ANNE FITZPATRICK,

Kilminfoyle House Stud,

Ballacolla,

Co Laois.

Make more of racing’s stories

Sir, – At Leopardstown Racecourse recently I witnessed Ruby Walsh and Killultagh Vic recover from a final fence blunder to win against all odds, the drama immortalised in Dessie Scahill’s unforgettable commentary.

Sadly, I was one of only 5,104 people there to witness it. So I began thinking of the future of the sport, by considering its past and its most celebrated champions. Arkle, Dawn Run, Istabraq, Moscow Flyer, Beef Or Salmon and of course the exploits of Hurricane Fly cannot go unmentioned in any reminiscing of champions.

Racing is rich with these stories - stories that would rival that of any sport - yet our sport is in crisis; recent HRI figures reveal that betting, attendance and television viewership are all declining.

The current focus of those promoting the sport is racecourse attendance, or the lack thereof. Attendance, however, is not the problem; it is only the consequence. The problem is a fundamental lack of interest in what is a largely unrelatable sport. We need to make the sport more accessible and create opportunities to educate a wider audience and in turn, generate interest. If well executed, attendance and so on will follow.

Television is our biggest shop window. A touch of vision and an injection of Sky Sports knowhow revolutionised the image of football in the UK, from the dreary, rain-sodden matches of the ’80s to a real sense of occasion week in, week out.

Better quality coverage using a wider range of cameras would offer a fantastic opportunity to convey the essence of racing – the stories, the competitiveness, the rivalries between horses, jockeys and even countries.

Our stories need to be developed and marketed to the audience in a manner that captures the imagination, much like Sky will market a derby game between two premiership football teams; this of course will require investment.

This Saturday Leopardstown Racecourse hosts Irish Gold Cup day - four Grade 1s at a world class racecourse. This is our derby game, our All-Ireland, our Six Nations. How have we marketed it? As of now, we have one 36-second long advertisement running on RTÉ. “The Glamour … The Entertainment…Four Grade 1s” it purports, while showing no footage of any horse that will actually run on the day.

What are we telling the viewer? We’re telling them there will be horses running around a field in south Dublin this weekend and you can put a dress on and go watch them, if you’d like. Who’s running? Who are the big day jockeys and trainers? Who’s going to win? What price are they?

Where is the story of Ivanovich Gorbatov trained by the youngest (soon to be) trainer in the country? Where is the story of Zabana from the small yard of Andrew Lynch taking on the equine galacticos of Willie Mullins? Who is Rich Ricci and why does he wear such garish suits?

We need to take the game to the people, educate them on who the competitors are and give them a reason to follow these competitors through a season. A feature on racedays is not good enough; it’s too late, by that stage people have already decided whether to tune in or not.

We need our racing broadcasters to invest more time into the sport. A good starting point would be a weekly racing broadcast previewing upcoming races; offering tips, insights and interviews to whet the public’s appetite.

The age-old excuse of finance will undoubtedly be presented but this is no time for short-term, narrow-minded number-crunching. Of course marketing costs money - how much exactly I’m not qualified to say, but certainly not as much as a crippled sport with minimal popularity costs.

There is no quick fix, but with well executed marketing campaigns we at least give ourselves a chance. After that, who knows? Maybe twice as many people will be there to witness the next Killultagh Vic win the unwinnable. – Yours etc.,

PATRICK ROCHE,

Leighlinbridge,

Co Carlow.

Protecting racing syndicate members

Sir, – In last week’s paper, Robert Norton highlighted the pitfalls of becoming a member of a syndicate or club run by unscrupulous operators. As a long-standing syndicate operator with membership open to the general public, I would hope that Mr Norton’s unfortunate experience will not discourage others from getting involved in horse ownership through syndicates.

We pride ourselves on transparency, communication and accountability. Each syndicate is governed by an extensive agreement which protects members’ rights. Each syndicate has a separate bank account with annual financial statements so members can see where their funds have been spent. We can’t guarantee members a winner in Leopardstown or Cheltenham, but we can guarantee they are informed, their funds are properly managed and, hopefully, there will be winnings to distribute!

While I appreciate HRI cannot get involved in the operation of individual syndicates, I do believe they could create a gold standard for syndicates and allow a small pool of operators like ourselves the opportunity to prove we meet that standard on an annual basis. Then Mr Norton can have faith in his chosen operator and enjoy the thrills and spills of racehorse ownership. – Yours etc.,

ORAN CREAN,

Winning Ways Racing,

Leopardstown,

Dublin 18.

Letters to the Editor should be addressed to The Editor, The Irish Field, Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12. Name, address and telephone number must be included for verification. Letters are published at the Editor’s discretion and the Editor reserves the right to edit letters within reason.