THIS week’s news that Jockey Club Racecourses [JCR] are to follow Ascot in leaving the Racecourse Association [RCA] is being closely watched by senior Irish racing industry figures, anxious to see how the rift will impact Irish racing. The fracture of the RCA appears to mark a significant development in the complicated world of British racing politics. Unlike in Ireland, the funding of British racing is hugely dependent on a levy on betting turnover, which continues to fall.

Another key difference between Irish and British racing is that British racecourses ‘own’ their fixtures, which greatly limits the power of the British Horseracing Authority to alter the fixture list for the greater good of the sport.

Many industry stakeholders feel that the racecourses have too much power, particularly the smaller all-weather tracks who stage a large quantity of low-grade racing. In the RCA, tracks such as Southwell and Newcastle have the same voting rights as Ascot or Cheltenham.

Lord Allen resigned as BHA chairman last March, presumably because he could not get the RCA to agree to give up powers, and in May, Ascot announced its intention to leave the RCA unless the association was reformed.

Last weekend, the RCA published the results of a review it had carried out internally and offered to replace the ‘one vote per track’ system with a model in which four groups of racecourses [Arena Racing Company, Jockey Club Racecourses, large independents and small independents] would each have one vote.

“Tone deaf”

This offer was described as “tone deaf” by JCR chief executive Jim Mullen who said the proposal “fails to address our fundamental concern that the RCA can continue to act to stifle the necessary changes needed in the industry.” He confirmed that the 15 JCR-owned tracks, which included Cheltenham, Aintree and Newmarket, will leave the RCA at the end of the year.

“It is our intention to work with Ascot Racecourse and other like-minded industry partners to pursue a vision based on the long-term sustainability of the sport and we are in the early stages of establishing a new organisation to do this,” Mullen added.

The Jockey Club and Ascot’s departure sets up a direct challenge to Arena Racing Company (ARC), which runs 16 courses. ARC has focused on volume racing to serve the betting market.

Global trend

Brian Kavanagh, CEO of the Curragh Racecourse and former CEO of Horse Racing Ireland, has been following developments “with great interest” and its potential impact on Irish racing. He believes the situation in Britain is reflective of a global trend in racing.

“Given the overlap between the two countries and the importance of the UK market to all aspects of the business here, a healthy UK industry is vital to Ireland,” he said.

“As the industry comes under pressure, globally, it is not surprising that governance and funding structures come under review, and change is probably inevitable.

“This type of debate and discussion is positive although it is imperative that the industry presents a clear an united message when engaging with government.

“I know there is a similar process underway in France, where a special task force has been established by France Galop to look at future funding and structures.

“In my view the key is to have a governing body that is empowered and supported by the various sectors of the industry, all of whom ultimately depend on each other.”

No surprise

Asked if he was surprised by the threatened break-up of the RCA, Kavanagh said: “I don’t think it was any great surprise.

“This issue has been brewing for some time. It is difficult for a single body to represent the interests of so many different racecourses of different scale with different priorities.”

He said Irish racecourses enjoy a good working relationship with many British tracks “on various matters such as sponsorship, race programmes, media rights, reciprocal days, ticketing, et cetera. We share similar challenges and regularly exchange ideas and suggestions.”

On the differences between the Association of Irish Racecourses and the RCA, Kavanagh said: “The AIR has a smaller number of racecourses to represent than the UK and, in my experience, Irish racecourses tend to operate as colleagues rather than as competitors.

“They are the shop front of the industry and always seem prepared to help each other. I am sure the same happens in the UK. However, a key difference is that the racecourse landscape there is dominated by three main groups – JCR, ARC and the large independents.”