A SPORT on the brink of collapse, or a sport with the opportunity to rise like the phoenix?
Fans of horse racing reading this will probably think the former right now, but trust me there is enough good in this game – one I adore and many of you love – to give hope.
My Saturday NAP
Brings Listed form to the table for very powerful owners.
What we need now is the correct reset and restructure of the gambling and betting markets.
It won’t, though, be easy.
Levy reform is dead which is a massive blow. So funding is a mess.
Affordability checks are a disaster, causing harm rather than help. The black market is like a plague. Seemingly Government is incapable of understanding the situation.
Betting shops are closing. That hits everyone hard, and not just those who sell media rights.
Most contracts are done on turnover, and there is a hope when a shop closes some of the money it takes will transfer to another similar outlet or online.
But income will no doubt go down from media rights.
And while some shops sold – William Hill are due to close 200 – might be bought by another bookmaker, they won’t be an easy pass on having been ditched by an organisation which clearly could not make them viable.
Following the utter shambles of Lord Allen’s departure, the BHA still has no chairman, while Chelmsford racecourse has been shut down, at least for the time being.
Kempton is on Death Row, having been sold out by the Jockey Club, and Nottingham’s freehold could be sold by the City’s Council.
There will be several racecourses on the edge over the next few years.
Those that survive will have been agile and thought about profit. There is nothing wrong with that.
Meanwhile, SIS has given up on greyhound tracks in Oxford and at Suffolk Downs. Wales and Scotland have ruled out dog racing for good.
Jockeys are continually looking for opportunities abroad, while many trainers are on the brink of collapse.
Those that can make a living are continually challenged by staffing shortages.
The horse population is decreasing, the foal crop is dropping, and owner-breeders face increasing struggles as costs constantly rise.
And it’s not just in the UK there are concerns.
In America racing on TV is being slashed, with the demise of TVG/FanDuel.
Most punters under the age of 45 have only watched their action Stateside on that medium.
The linear TV channel will be phased out through 2027, with 60% of its workforce set to be cut in June following the Triple Crown.
The doom and gloom is substantial.
But ultimately hitting rock bottom might be just what a sport like racing needs. After all, for tens of years this is a game that has failed to progress or sort itself out.
Now, racing, the Government and bookmakers have the chance to come together.
And they can do so knowing horse racing is still a sport loved by the people.
Going racing is something so many in the UK like to do, indeed it is believed more than five million people did so in 2025.
Crucially, the Under eighteen attendance was up 17% from 2024.
The 2026 Cheltenham Festival was a huge success, and Constitution Hill’s presence at Southwell was one of the biggest betting turnover events seen by the Arena Racing Company. This very newspaper has a thriving racing audience and readership. ITV viewing figures are also sound.
Awareness of horse racing is growing once again.
The key right now is to sort out affordability checks and the Black Market.
Betting operators need to work out which product is useful for them. Once they do that, I would be fairy hopeful horse racing can rise from the ashes once again.
If Coral don’t think it’s worth sponsoring at Cheltenham, then so be it. Someone else will.
Horse racing is also now in effect the same price as a lot of other gaming products, and it has gone a long way in bridging a gap that was there with the cost of taking bets on other sports.
So, there is a chance bookmakers will, at some point, reflect and understand that horse racing is not the drastically expensive product that they like to suggest right now.
A firm financial footing is key for the long-term prosperity of British horse racing.
But there is absolutely no reason why horse racing can’t be a thoroughly positive industry for not only bookmakers but Government as well.
Accept millions of people enjoy it. Understand betting is not a dirty word.
Realise horse racing doesn’t have to be a ridiculously expensive product. Raise awareness and grow.
It just can’t be that difficult, can it? Time will tell.
