 |
|
 |
The last two weeks have seen the return of spectators to racecourses in what is hopefully the gradual return to normality for the British racing industry. With that in mind, now is the perfect time to reflect on the lessons learnt from the past 15 months and what changes can be made going forward.
The first lesson, and one that was excellently summarised in the Racing Post's Big Read on May 9; is the British racing industry’s current business model is flawed and that fundamental reform is required to secure the long-term health and prosperity of the sport.
The other key lesson shown over the last year is that owners are the lifeblood of the sport, contributing more than £30 million a month to the rural economy.
Not only are owners an intrinsic linchpin of the industry but, furthermore, the model upon which they are based is rapidly changing, with there being an inevitable move toward shared
ownership.
This can be seen in there being a 7.8 per cent decline in sole ownership since 2015 - meanwhile, more than 60 per cent of racehorses trained in Britain are owned in some form of partnership.
With this inevitable change in ownership in mind, the British racing industry must learn from others to prepare for what is not only the future but already a core aspect of the country’s racing model.
Australia, as expected, is the first port of call when evaluating successful syndicate models, with one in 244 Australians owning a share in a racehorse. This difference with the UK is furthered by the incredible prize-money on offer due to a strong pari-mutuel system in a nation with an amazing capacity to bet, with on average A$862 (£472/€546) bet per capita each year.
With regards to this first issue, it is understandable owners take great pride in their horses, and an area where this is guaranteed - win, lose or draw - is seeing their name in the racecard. Australia hits the nail on the head by allowing up to 20 owners' names to be present on the racecard. In this way, owners have physical proof of their involvement in the horse.
Meanwhile, in the UK, our system has stuck with an outdated understanding of ownership, with racecards being limited to 40 characters for owners’ names (including spaces and punctuations). Not only is this not enough to allow the names of syndicate holders, but it is often not enough for partnerships of people holding as much as a leg in a horse, with partners often having to decide whose name(s) must be omitted.