FOLLOWING from his Twitter appeal on how to get more people going racing, Michael O’Callaghan notes a fairly valid point. “We can’t blame outside forces for why we are not getting the audiences.”

The Deloitte Report says racing is the second most popular sport behind GAA in this country. Yet that is not generally reflected in general media coverage.

Those of us who promote racing are tasked with finding the story, the newsroom angle, the point of interest, to come to us. We have to find it and push it out there.

Trainers and entertainers

TRAINING was always competitive, but now it’s even more cut throat, especially over jumps. As the National Hunt season swiftly approaches, we get glimpses of the firepower of Willie Mullins, and the number of new owners now seeking his expertise. Jared Sullivan is the latest to join forces and will have runners in Ireland this season.

To compete for new owners, it seems trainers are having to come up with more incentives. Last week in the UK, we saw numerous owners’ days being staged. It’s becoming the norm to make it almost a media day. Trainers are having to make bigger efforts than ever to encourage more participation, even in a time when prize money is better than it’s been for many years.

Joseph O’Brien, who most would expect to enjoy a very success career as a trainer, has employed a well known journalist as a race planner to select the best races for his horses.

Trainers have to be quick off the mark, as epitomised by Gordon Elliott and others. Buy horses in Goffs in Doncaster on Wednesday, advertise online Thursday morning, hopefully new owners within as soon as possible.

Gordon Elliott @gelliott_

3 horses for sale and ready to go; CUBOMANIA, AL KHAFJI and CRACK OF THUNDER email zoe@gordonelliottracing.com for full details

The pace of modern training is no better demonstrated by the speed of turnover from sale to new owner.