Alarm bells ring over a bloated fixture list

NORMALLY you would expect trainers at the ages of 82 and 27 to have differing views on many subjects about the sport of kings.

David Elsworth is an elder statesman who has pretty much done it all in the game. Ed Bethel is enjoying his first full season of training horses after taking up his father’s licence.

But as one winds down and the other gears up, both figures agreed that there is too much racing.

The British Horseracing Authority unveiled the 2022 fixture list this week and decided to expand an already bloated weekend schedule.

Bethel voiced concerns about the workload for stable staff, particularly on Saturdays and Sundays, and the Professional Jockeys’ Association have also voiced concerns about the pressure on riders.

‘Everyone needs a day off,’ commented Bethel.

Bookmakers are stretched in pricing up so many races and punters are fatigued by trying to study for them, with some just losing interest altogether. There will be a guaranteed 1,482 fixtures in 2022 but more will be held on the weekend.

Racecourses have had a big say in the calendar and the need for short-term revenue post-Covid is obvious. More people are free on the weekends and will, therefore, generate more money on course. Simple economics.

But if trainers, jockeys, stable staff, bookmakers and punters all hold doubts about ‘feeding the monster’, as Elsworth put in on Sky Sports Racing this week, then it’s only the racecourses who are benefiting to the sport’s long-term detriment.

Quantity is beginning to dilute the quality. Do we need six meetings on a Saturday and three each on Sunday and Monday? Do we need a third day at Newmarket for the Guineas meeting?

‘There’s too much racing, basically,’ said Elsworth (pictured). ‘And that’s quite a popular opinion of us working in the game. We’ve created a monster. We have more horses in training and bred than we’ve ever had. We need more staff to look after them, with more trainers and more horses. We’ve created a monster, we have to feed it and it’s starting to get out of hand.’

The industry should heed the respected trainer’s warning. Elsworth has trained Classic winners on the Flat and jumping legends such as Desert Orchid. He wants to ‘slow down’ at his age and perhaps racing should do likewise.