IT’S not often that I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with Yorkshire trainer Mark Johnston, but the stars align themselves occasionally, and there isn’t much in his latest column from monthly magazine the Kingsley Klarion (aptly titled Straight Talking) which doesn’t have me nodding quietly to myself. “Mark is renowned throughout racing for his forthright, often acerbic but always entertaining views as expressed in his monthly column in the Klarion,” says the magazine blurb, and while some may choose their own definition of the word acerbic, it’s hard to argue with the description.

Johnston tackles the much-debated issue of crowd trouble at racecourses, and while that particular subject has seen more hot takes than I’ve had hot suppers, there is an underlying theme which remains worth exploring. The trainer complains that while racecourses have worked hard to increase attendances, they have done virtually nothing to sell racing to this new audience, and as a result, a large proportion of the crowds at big racedays have no interest in the action which unfolds in front of them. This is pretty much the same point I made in this column a few weeks ago, and I won’t rehash the argument, other than to tip my hat to Mr Johnston for his description of racing executives as “food and beverage men”.