racecourse attendance & T.V. VIEWING FIGURES.

​Before I relate my views on the above, yesterday’s Epsom Derby. To the annoyance of the majority, I suspect, I am loathed to read from the authorised hymn sheet, refusing, as I do, to accept the Epsom Derby as ‘the greatest horse-race on planet Earth’. It is, without doubt, the most famous horse-race on planet Earth, and with the longest history of all other contenders around the world. But it is, when all said and done, a race run on a very difficult racecourse for immature three-year-olds, many of whom will not necessary gain any benefit from participating in the race. Yesterday’s race was, though, a magnificent spectacle, perhaps the race of the year. And one other matter concerning the Epsom Derby, and which should be debated by the media is the paucity of runners. If a virus had hit Ballydoyle in the days and weeks leading up to Epsom, there might have been only six runners this year. We must remain eternally thankful Coolmore are prepared to prop-up the reputation of the race.
 
There is a goodly amount of concern in official racing circles and in the media on the topic of racecourse attendance and t.v. viewing figures. The latter score does not bother me unduly. The figures the B.B.C. achieved when they televised the majority of the racing output are an erroneous benchmark as they did not have to contend with either racing devoted channels or on-the-go viewing via mobile phones and other electronic devices. I am pretty sure if you added together I.T.V.’s viewing figures with those achieved by the other methods people can watch racing these days the total would not be too far short of ‘the halcyon days of the B.B.C.’.
Attendances on the racecourse are a different kettle of fish and I believe the month of June is nothing short of a hindrance when it comes to marketing the sport as a pleasant outdoor activity for all the family. The problem is the morning suit and the image the wearing of such an outfit at outdoor event propels into the minds of possible attendees.
If you asked Joe Public, and perhaps an independent survey should be conducted on the High Streets of Britain to slay or bring credence to my theory, on the image horse racing brings to mind, Royal Ascot would figure highly in peoples’ answers. Now, Joe Public may not necessarily conflate code of dress for Royal Ascot with a day’s racing at other racecourses, or even Ascot away from the heady month of June, but in this day and age, when casual has come to mean jeans and t-shirt, Royal Ascot and Derby Day does racing no favours when it comes to attracting new people to the sport.
I am not suggesting for a moment that Royal Ascot should be banished from the calendar. It is a magnificent race-meeting, the five-days of flat racing that come closest to the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National for meaningful racing. But Royal Ascot is not representative of British racing. The highlighting of the glamour and the outlay required to acquire that glamour sets in viewers minds a perception of racing as a sport for the fabulously wealthy and not for the likes of you and us.
I have seen nothing more ridiculous than a hard-working I.T.V. cameraman having to wear morning dress, no doubt for no other reason than he would not be allowed into the ‘posh’ enclosures if he did not comply with the dress code. I am for retaining standards but common-sense should be applied to all situations. Surely ‘smartly dressed’ should be sufficient.
And where is the equality of the sexes if women can wear clothes to fit the weather, with boundless choice of fabrics and clothes, whereas men are bound hard and foot to tails, waistcoat and top-hat! The I.T.V. presenters at Epsom and Royal Ascot look like they are playing hookey from a society wedding, not reporting on a major sporting event.
As I have said many times, and will doubtless repeat myself hundreds of times into the future: horse racing is a working-class sport underpinned by the rich and the fabulously verging on the obscenely rich. Portraying the sport, and marketing it, as an entertainment for the upper classes, for the mega-wealthy of the world, with champagne as an obligatory factor, does horse racing no favours. Owners may sign the big cheques that buy and keep in training the equine talent but without the blood, sweat and tears (literally) of the men and women who care for and train horses there would be no sport. This is a working-class sport and if this fact was put into the public domain the image of racing as a sport for ‘nobs’ would be erased and attendances would increase. Of course, free entry into all enclosures would also help.
Perhaps if I.T.V. were to focus more on the work of stable staff during Royal Ascot week and less on the clothes-horses who are nothing but walking endorsements and advertisements for hat and dress designers the sport might be seen for what it truly is. A sport for you, me and the man on the Clapham Omnibus.