On Wednesday, racing takes the unprecedented step of strike action for one day in a bid to support the ‘Axe The Racing Tax’ campaign.
Strikes can divide public opinion but firstly they must gather enough attention of the masses to convey the point the industry is determined to make.
That might be difficult to do given the current volatile political landscape.
MPs at Westminster are just back from summer recess and we’ve already had the resignation of the Deputy Prime Minister and a hastily-arranged cabinet reshuffle.
Racing’s fear is that the Chancellor will hike taxes on horseracing betting, currently at 15 per cent, to 21 per cent and aligning that rate with the one set on online casinos.
The British Horseracing Authority estimate that 2,752 jobs in the industry will be at risk and the tax hike will cost British racing £66million a year.
Asfoora wins the Nunthorpe Stakes at York, the last big racing festival to take place before the strike
Glorious Goodwood was a damp squib last year but is still a big deal for British racing
Queen Camilla and royaly at racing is a massive selling point for an under-pressure sport
These are grim figures to put on top of a sport that’s been financially suffering already. Gambling Commission-mandated affordability checks and operator restrictions have seen a staggering £1.6billion drop in online betting turnover in just two years.
The budget is pencilled in for late November as Chancellor Rachel Reeves seems poised to raise taxes in a bid to fill some of the burgeoning blackhole in public finances which could be as high as £40bn.
Whacking betting companies, and with dire consequences for racing, would earn a quick £3bn for the public coffers. On face value, it would be the type of short-term populist cash grab that would poll well with the electorate.
In reality, it’s a short-sighted policy that will force more frustrated punters to either walk away from the game entirely or go into the black market.
A recent survey this week reported the black market’s share of the betting industry was rising to nine per cent.
That is money that does not end up in the sport or the Treasury’s coffers. This is the real threat at play.
British racing needs to secure a good deal for itself in the corridors of power but can’t afford to completely alienate bookmakers in the process.
The wider public narrative is winning the argument that gambling is not necessarily a bad thing. Betting on racing is not like casino. There is a larger element of skill in sports punting, while the machine is always fixed in the bookies’ favour long-term.
The sport must use Wednesday to champion itself.
William haggas enjoyed a superb Saturday at Haydock and Ascot and is a class apart
Racing is the second-biggest spectator sport in Britain, with five million people visiting 59 racecourses each year.
It hosts world-class social and sporting events such as Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham Festival. It’s key to local communities in every pocket of the country. It’s a world-leading industry worth £4.1bn to the UK economy and supports 85,000 jobs.
These are the numbers and narratives racing needs to shout loud and proud about. If not, then Wednesday’s strike will have little impact.
HAGGAS MAPS OUT HIS STRING SUPERBLY
What a magnificent trainer William Haggas is. If I was ever fortunate enough to own a high-class Flat horse, he’s the man I’d trust the most to get the very best out of them.
He knows the programme book inside out and brings horses along steadily when ready. Haggas plundered both the prestigious staying handicaps at Haydock yesterday, with a one-two in the Old Borough Cup. And he had three winners at Ascot, too.
Haggas gave Baaeed time to be a superstar by effectively missing out his three-year-old season. Bullet Point won the Clipper Handicap at York’s Ebor Festival and he immediately nominated a target in Australia for the progressive four-year-old.
The campaigning of More Thunder climbing through the ranks has been one of the highlights of the season.
More Thunder (left) won the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket earlier this season
He runs horses up north to give them as great an education as possible and usually it results in having a lenient handicap mark to go to war with at this stage of the season – watch out for six-furlong sprinter Almareq at York today.
His strike-rate is consistently sensational and he always conducts himself with class when discussing his horses pre-race and post-race with the media.
Haggas is picking up more top-class horses and it’s easy to see why. His timing and judgment is simply immaculate and he’s a credit to racing in this country.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK… Much has been made of an ordinary sprint division but BIG MOJO deservedly picked up a Group One given how consistent he’s mainly been this season in picking up the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock.
Trained by Mick Appleby, William Buick sneaked him up the rail and Big Mojo found very generously for pressure. He was second in the July Cup at Newmarket and a shade underwhelming over five furlongs at Goodwood but the step up in trip was in his favour and he ended up winning decisively.
Big Mojo was a brave winner of the Group One Haydock Sprint Cup
Henri Matisse (black jacket) was third in the Sussex Stakes but can improve on that today
SELECTION OF THE DAY…
HENRI MATISSE (3-1, William Hill) was third in a messy Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood but the French Guineas winner should find things much more suitable at Paris Longchamp today in taking out the Prix Du Moulin (2.50) on Arc Trials day.
He’s well drawn to attack from stall two, while most market principles are parked wider. Christophe Soumillon should be able to have Aidan O’Brien’s three-year-old in a good position throughout at a venue he likes.
O’Brien last won this in 2019 with a similar type of three-year-old in Circus Maximus and can strike again in the French capital.
