EARLY last week quite a furore arose when it emerged that the Savills New Year’s Day Chase at Tramore, won by Al Boum Photo, was run over a longer trip than the advertised two miles, five furlongs and 100 yards.

In a wider context this is not the most pressing issue that will confront racing over the next 12 months. However, it is important that the intricate framework that lies at the heart of horse racing should be seen to be subject of constant and vigilant oversight which leads to the smooth running of the sport.

Racing is no different to any other walk of life in that the last 12 months have subjected the sport to huge and unprecedented upheaval which continues. Only last week the issues raised by the ongoing pandemic and Brexit raised questions in some quarters as to the level of Irish participation at Cheltenham.

Pressure

That aside there are pressing matters closer to home and the extended period of racing behind closed doors is putting racecourses under pressure. The prospect of normal attendances returning to the track continues to look like a distant possibility and who knows when owners will be able to get back to the track to see their horses run.

Thus there are no shortage of obstacles confronting racing on a wide variety of fronts at the moment and the sport will be all the better for the much yearned for return to normality which will hopefully gather pace from early summer onwards.

The current situation has brought with it much for the sport of horse racing to contend with but there are plenty of other issues beyond the boundaries of Covid-19 which warrant concern and consideration. No different to other sports, horse racing can sometimes focus on micro issues but there ones at a macro level that require more than just a passing thought.

New owners

One of those is the issue of owners and where the sport is headed in attracting new owners and fresh investment. This is not a topic that is specific to Irish racing but rather this is something for the sport as a whole to consider because ownership is a vital pillar upon which the sport rests.

A glance back at the various yearling sales that took place in Europe this year revealed an intriguing and striking statistic from Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale where just two purchasers – Godolphin and M.V. Magnier – accounted for around 26 million guineas of the entire spend at the auction.

This represented around a third to the sale’s aggregate which is a remarkable statistic for Europe’s leading yearling sale. Obviously the 2020 edition of Book 1 was quite different to that of recent years but even so the sale performed quite well given the wider economic climate. The fact that two purchasers were able to account for such a significant portion of the sale’s turnover should give pause for thought and points to racing’s reliance on just a few key figures.

The upper echelons of the yearling market are only ever going to be the preserve of an elite few but at other levels and in other spheres the current levels of investment also strike a chord. This is not to say that the bloodstock market is struggling but rather ownership levels and the number of new entrants to the sport should be a point of foremost concern and an absolute priority.

Horse racing has long been known as the sport of kings and within that appellation was perhaps an unspoken acknowledgement that its owners were sufficiently well-resourced so as not to be overly concerned about racing for trivial sums relative to what horses might have cost.

The sport of horse racing continues to enjoy key support from an especially well-resourced cohort of owners but times are steadily changing. As the reins of ownership might pass from one generation to another there is perhaps a greater emphasis on obtaining some sort of return on investment.

Poor prize money

There was a time when poor prize money wasn’t really an issue and for a long period throughout its history racing was all about prestige with prize money a mere footnote.

This has changed and, as racing looks ahead, one of its key safeguards for the future will concern prize money and its ability to generate new owners.

At present the average prize money in Ireland is better than it is in Britain and geographical issues such as distances involved in travelling to meetings help to keep costs lower than they would be across the Irish Sea.

However, the international nature of racing, its participants and its key owners mean that an insular view is not the one to take and racing as a whole in this part of the world needs to start looking to the future.

Various initiatives such as the Foran series on the flat, the hugely valuable Ballyhane Stakes for median auction sires and the Connolly’s Red Mills series over jumps have all helped to do their bit at grass roots level in Ireland and offer a chance of good return with commercially priced stock.

How such ideas could translate or be formulated on a wider scale is another question but a valid one nonetheless. Admittedly racing is in the midst of some decidedly trying times and has to deal with obstacles of immediate urgency but this is no time to lose sight of the major issues that lie at the heart of the sport’s future.