If I were to write a letter to Mrs Phelps, who becomes Chairperson of the BHA on June 1^st, it would go something like this:

Dear Mrs Phelps,

Prepare for war. War about Animal Welfare, war about Whip and Interference rules, war about Stewarding. Also prepare to be brave; I suspect that any realistic report on Racing’s Finances will feature the word disappointing more than once.

I suggest you recruit an army to help you – as the Pendleton girl did in order to perform a miracle of horsemanship. Your need for support will be greater than hers ever was – if you intend to make a difference.

The Racing industry is 95 percent stars working wonders. Breeders, Owners, Trainers, Jockeys, Stable Staff, and everybody involved in racing’s shop floor and at racing’s coalface are entitled to be extremely proud of themselves.

The other 5 percent is the BHA and it is a disappointment.  I haven’t lost hope, but I feel it needs a good kick up the backside – and then several more.

Am I being rude? Is there another way to deal with people who seem to combine enormous conceit, few morals, profound ignorance and not much time for honest endeavour? Racing deserves better.

Best wishes…..

 

THE FINAL CURTAIN.

Thirty years ago I wrote an article claiming that female jockeys were certain to make a serious impression on racing, Flat and National Hunt, because of certain facts and figures.

It took longer than I expected, but I now feel I can modestly take a bow and doff my hat in the direction of the cheering masses. Thank you, cheering masses.

In the last five years lady jockeys have shown themselves the equals of their male colleagues at every level and under both codes…. and…

Was it not after Cheltenham last year that two of the top ladies  (Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh) announced that they were retiring from race-riding – in their early thirties? Why so soon? Children… family life… the next challenge, whatever it may be. .. That is what it was all about. No sweat, just a natural reaction to changing circumstances.

So what? You will have noticed that male jockeys, particularly male jump jockeys, tend to find it difficult to give up, in spite of the dangers and the injuries and the irreversible effects of the ageing process.

And…?

And now the boys have been introduced, by two young and pretty and charming girls, to the fact that there are other things in life besides jockeying, and that breaking a collar bone eleven times is not something to be proud of.

Instead, wouldn’t it be fun to do some planning? Take pencil and paper and write (some of them can write, I believe) “I will not break my collar bone eleven times. Instead I will…..” and take it from there.

Who am I to preach on this subject? I am he who has recently read for the third time John Francome’s first autobiography “Born Lucky”. Just a few seconds lying on the ground with an ankle caught in a stirrup iron, hanging beneath a stationary horse with nobody as yet keeping it stationary – Mr Francome made up his mind – and retired, just like that, upside down and praying!

Same principle, different jockey.  George Baker is six foot tall and was constantly dieting to maintain his weight at a level which was only just light enough for a flat racing career.

So it took him some years to show the sport that he was exceptionally talented. Eventually he started winning Group One races and became the Go-to-Jockey for several of the very top owners and trainers. That is to say that many top class owners and trainers, if their retained rider was unavailable, would dial his number first of all when looking for a substitute. Quite a compliment. He had made it to the top.

What happens?  During the winter the Swiss race on a frozen lake. They think they have learnt how to produce a racing surface out of the snow covering the ice. Baker was a regular there, perhaps in order to keep his weight from ballooning in the British off-season.

Two years ago a crashing fall (a false surface gave way and his head took the brunt), and George didn’t know much for several weeks (or was it months?) until he woke up in a hospital bed in England.

There he lies, and wonders if he will ever ride again. Early in his convalescence he tries walking and it appears that his sense of balance is not what it once was, and it doesn’t improve. So he writes a book and a very fine book it is.

I imagine that eventually he reflected that he had reached the top as a rider, and now Fate has tapped him on the shoulder (or on the head) with the suggestion that he might just try something new and different,  like  writing a book. So he does, (and a very fine book it is. That’s twice I’ve said it, so it must be true.)

I am not suggesting that thirty-something jockeys should hurl themselves head first into snow and ice as part of a make-up-your-mind process. I am simply reminding all jockeys of the attitude of those two wonderful Irish girls, who realised that there is life after jockeying, but only if you say goodbye to the saddle before it has reduced you to a bag of broken bones held together by metal rods.

THE TOTE (Less than 450 words. Skip it? READ IT! Skip it…. Virtually the same article, word for word, appeared in last month’s edition. There is a possibility that my memory is overdue for its MOT…. I apologise. On the other hand this is a subject that needs all the publicity it can get. )

Recently Parliament decided to undo a law. It decided that the legislation which legalised FOBTs (Fixed Odds Betting Terminals) in Betting Shops was a great mistake, as it encouraged people to become addicted to heavy betting on machines that cannot lose. So it changed the rules. Now the maximum wager is £2 rather than £100.

Law changed, gambling fever diminishes, respectable world says “Well done!” That is the principle.

Is it not possible that the legislation initiated by David Cameron to sell the Tote was also a great mistake?

The Tote was created by Winston Churchill in 1928 to provide racing with an income from betting on the horses. It made sense to ensure that racing should enjoy its fair share of the profits that were being achieved by a process that depended almost entirely on the participation of the racing community. Reasonable?

Let us look at the history.

Privatisation

Privatisation was first suggested in 1989 by the then Conservative government . However, these plans were met with strong opposition from the racing industry and were later abandoned by the then Home Secretary Michael Howard.

After the 1997  election Howard’s Labour successor Jack Straw launched a fresh study and privatisation was made a manifesto commitment.

To enable privatisation the Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Act 2004 was passed with the intention of converting the Tote from a statutory corporation to a limited company, so that a sale could take place. 

Chancellor Gordon Brown announced plans for privatisation in the 2006 Budget and the Government invited a racing consortium and Tote staff to formally bid for the Tote by 26 January 2007.

This bid was successfully submitted but was rejected by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as it was backed by private equity.

On 5 March 2008, the Government announced that the Tote would be sold on the open market. However the prevailing financial situation forced the Government to retain the status quo until further notice.

On 12 October 2009, Gordon Brown, at that point Prime Minister, announced plans for the sale of the Tote, although no progress was made before the 2010 election.

Under the new Coalition government, a bidding process ensued with 18 bidders. On 31 January 2011, the government announced that a short-list had been drawn up for the next round of the process. There were believed to be five on that list, including Betfred, the Reuben brothers, Gala Coral Group, Sports Investment Partners led by Sir Martin Broughton and a foundation set up by the existing management.

In May 2011 it was reported that only two bidders remained in the process, Betfred and Sports Investment Partners. On 3 June 2011, it was confirmed that Betfred had been chosen by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt (now Foreign Secretary) as the successful bidder, for a reported figure of £265m. The sale process was completed on 13 July 2011.

End of history 

So where are we?

Legislation was required to make the Tote saleable and legislation was required to legalise the sale. I am suggesting that on reflection the government should decide that the sale was a mistake, and should reverse the process, and that the Tote should return to its perch under the wing of the government (where it was safe, one thought) and should resume its original function, exercising the exclusive right to carry out pool betting for the financial benefit of the racing industry. As Winston had intended.

This might be a project worthy of the BHA’s attention, but I don’t believe that it is on racing’s agenda at the present time. A pity, because in July of this year the future of the Tote over the next few years will be decided.

DICKENS

I am reading A Tale of Two Cities. I cannot tell you how much fun it is. The way the man plays with words is breath-taking. He uses them like an artist uses colours, and as a result there is no passage so unimportant that it does not get the full and glorious treatment. In a lifetime during which I have devoured many books I have not come across anything like it.

When I am overwhelmed by the dreariness of the BHA, I seek comfort in words on paper. I commend Mr Dickens to your attention.