Increase in Prize Money for Elite Races

 

“I’m not entering him in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the prize money isn’t worth it”.

 

How many owners will you hear utter this statement? I shall tell you – none! In which case, why continue to increase the already excessive prize money allocated to such illustrious and well supported races? Could this funding not be used to benefit the sport in other ways? How about increasing levels of prize money for the lowest levels of racing?

 

To hear that prize money in racing has increased will always be music to the ears of both those who work in the industry and those who simply enjoy racing. Higher prize pools generally mean higher class of horses on show which is obviously positive, and it is good to hear that certain lower levels of racing have had their prize funds increased. But I fail to appreciate how much of a difference will be made by adding an extra £50,000 to the £500,000 already on offer for the winner of the Gold Cup, and an extra £30,000 to both the Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase prizes. Horses competing in low grade handicaps can often win around £1,500, which, once deducting jockey fees, entry fees, trainers/stable staff cut, cost of diesel and other related costs, will often not even cover a month’s training fees! I appreciate that those owners with horses competing in the upper echelons of the sport are likely to have invested a larger proportion of capital to acquire their horses and so expect a decent return should they be successful, but I strongly feel that this gulf between the 2 extremes of racing is unhealthy for the sport in general and is similar to that which now exists within football whereby a number at the bottom level are being forced out of business whilst those at the top afford great luxuries.

 

As with any sport, the bottom is vital to the future of the top. Whilst many of the horses in low grade races will never achieve more than that level, it is still imperative that these races exist as they make up a far higher percentage of total number of races than the big money races. If horses are not there to compete in smaller races, racecourses won’t be able to stage a great number of the meetings they currently do (some racecourses aren’t fortunate enough to host any major races) and will seriously struggle remain a going concern, which will lead to more closures like Hereford and Folkestone.

 

 

From both ownership and racecourse perspectives, surely a more effective alternative would be to divide the additional funding across lower class races, as this could help to instigate a number of outcomes. With more prize money on offer for lower class races it could initiate an increase in the number of horses in training (as there would be more appealing prizes on offer) and attract more competitive and higher quality entries at smaller meetings, which should help to improve attendances as racing fans will be more inclined to part with their cash to see better horses in action. This should, in theory, lead to an increase in racecourse turnover which can be used to boost future prize funds, but also enables courses to improve the facilities on offer to race goers, therefore improving the overall customer experience which would hopefully continue the cycle in attracting more visitors. Although not as high profile an arena for sponsors (Betfair used as an example pictured above) to target, these smaller meetings at smaller courses still receive national press coverage (online, TV and newspapers) and so represent an additional opportunity to promote brands as the companies are already receiving great levels of exposure at the Cheltenham Festival from the huge sponsorship deals they already have in place. The other crucial benefit of this proposed idea is that in attracting greater attendances, these new or more frequent visitors are more likely to develop their passion for the sport. Increasing racing’s audience is vital to the future viability and success of the sport, so the powers that be must do all they can to attract new people.

 

These are merely my own, probably narrow minded and biased views, but I do believe that the future of the industry would be brighter should the currently deprived (in terms of prize money) levels of racing be awarded increased financial backing and provide greater incentive for prospective new owners, particularly given the expense they must go to if they wish to become involved in racehorse ownership. Please feel free to comment if you have an opinion on this issue as views would be much appreciated.