horse racing needs little change, nina the first, community spirit & another one goes.

​I believe the rules of football need more change than horse racing. Yes, less racing would be beneficial to both the sport and for people wishing to attend as spectators and more imagination might be brought to bare by those who form the conditions of actual races to make races less formulaic. And apart from more sparing use of the whip, what goes on between the white rails needs, in my opinion, little to no alterations.
Where great minds coming together may bring about change in the public’s perception of our sport is in what goes on between the races. Some people choose a day at the races for the drink and alcohol consumption that is easily obtained, while others attend to engage in battle with bookmakers. Some people are at the races for no other reason than they are involved in some way with a horse running at the meeting. Different people choose to spectate at a racecourse for their own individual reasons and these people, our core supporters, must not be left behind in the mad dash for ‘doing what other sports are doing’. We are not an ordinary sport and cannot be aligned with cricket, golf, darts and certainly not Formula 1.
First, racecourses must engage their collective minds to increase and encourage patronage from their local community. And as Newbury have proved, when these people have come through the turnstiles they must not be bored with their surroundings. Everyone from toddlers to the walking stick brigade must be catered for to their satisfaction.
And if we want the outside public to give us thought, what must never be overlooked is our star players – the horses. Horses win Derbies and Grand Nationals much more than jockeys, trainers or owners. When a racing result is announced, though the racecard number may precede the name of the winner, it is always the horse that comes before the jockey, trainer or owner. Any great mind trying to solve the problem of ‘how we make ourselves more loved’ should always remember the order of preference and importance. Sometimes a problem can be overthought. Sometimes simple and obvious change is all that is needed to fall upon a solution.
Oh, an inconvenient truth from someone who neither lives in a racing hotspot or around racing people, the main reason people dislike being associated with horse racing, apart from fatalities, is a jockey’s reliance on the whip. If we either restricted use of the whip further – one hit and that is it – or banned its forceful use entirely, our demographic would increase in an instant. 

Nina Baltromel, an amateur – did not realise amateurs could ride against professionals on the flat in Germany – became the first female jockey to win a national Derby recognised by the European Pattern Committee. It is an achievement I always hoped would first occur in this country, yet the honour of breaking another of racing’s glass ceilings has fallen to Frau Baltromel riding Hochkonig.

The ‘Go Racing In Yorkshire’ campaign is up and running again this month and their community spirit template should be considered by racecourses linked by location to boost awareness and attendance. I have always argued that summer jumping should be organised around local festivals, with racecourses such as Worcester and Stratford, Perth and Kelso, Carlisle and Cartmel either staging joint meetings or as is the case with the Yorkshire racecourses, cooperating with shared tickets, and race-meetings in the same week or on consecutive days to allow trainers, jockeys and owners to cut down on travel expenses. It just needs the B.H.A. to rip-up the present calendar and start the schedule anew and to allow for more innovation from clerks of the courses.

Always saddened when a jockey is forced by circumstance to retire. The latest is Jordan Nailer who chose to go quietly. At least he is not entirely lost to the industry as he continues to ride out for trainers local to him and, as Greg Fairley has proved, he remains young enough to make a comeback if the hard-work of landscaping and gardening steadies his weight, the main contributing factor that has caused his retirement.