Give Hearn a dart at racing, says McCoy
NATIONAL Hunt legend Sir AP McCoy wants master salesman Barry Hearn to run horse racing.
McCoy, the 20-times champion jockey, makes a comeback of sorts in a celebrity show jumping event at the Olympia Horse Show this weekend.
But a visit to the William Hill PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace gave McCoy an insight into some slick marketing far removed from the racing calendar.
And the bookmaker’s brand ambassador would like PDC chairman Hearn, 70, to sprinkle his stardust on the sport of kings.
Promoter
Hearn has delivered untold wealth to darts, snooker and British boxing, and McCoy said: “I’d love it if Barry was in charge of horse racing. No disrespect, but what racing lacks is a decision-maker, one person in charge saying, ‘This is how it works.’ “There are too many people with vested interests. If the BHA can’t tell you or can’t decide what’s going on, it’s not good for the game. And I think the lack of leadership is more acute than ever now.
“I know it’s a hobby, and you’re not meant to make money from it, but an owner can have a horse that wins three races and it costs money for the year.
“It’s still the most attended, and most watched, sport in the country after football, and it needs to be better marketed.”
McCoy still pines for ‘living on the edge’ in a sport which brought him 4,358 winners.
He said: “I miss winning more than anything. Although it’s a tough thing to say when I’ve seen colleagues fatally injured, I miss the danger. I miss living on the edge.
“I’ve broken virtually every bone in my body as a jockey, and yet I miss it.”