Sky Sports Racing has partnered with the British Horseracing Authority ‘Step on Track’ Programme, which will take pace via ZOOM Oct. 26-30. Conceived by the BHA’s Careers in Racing team, the focus for the week will be to develop interest in the sport from groups currently under represented in horseracing. Aimed at 16 to 19-year-olds, the first ‘Step on Track’ comprises a week-long programme of talks involving high-profile names from across all areas of the horseracing industry.
Chief Executive of At The Races and Sky Sports Racing, Matthew Imi, said: “The programme of events that the Careers in Racing team have been able to put on during next week’s ‘Step on Track’ will provide participants with a broad range of career options they might want to consider and we are very grateful to all of our colleagues within the sport who are supporting us with their time and expertise. Along with organising work experience and mentoring, this is the sort of initiative which will help expose horseracing to those from ethnic minority backgrounds and allow them to explore career opportunities in racing, the UK’s second largest spectator sport.”
Added Zoe Elliott, Head of Careers Marketing and Recruitment at the BHA, “When anyone is thinking what they might want to do work wise, they really need to be able to ‘see it’ in order to understand that they can ‘be it’ so making career options and job roles visible–and having BAME ambassadors-is really important to careers in racing. We are very much looking forward to developing the Step on Track Programme over the next few years.”
For more information on the Step on Track Programme, click here.
Hollie Doyle's achievement in setting a new record for winners in a calendar year by a female jockey has been warmly applauded by two of racing's most famous female faces.
Doyle's senior colleague Hayley Turner and TV presenter Francesca Cumani were among those to heap praise on Doyle after the popular rider broke her own record with her 117th success of 2020 at Kempton Park on Wednesday evening.
Doyle, 23, went one better than last year's mark of 116 when she partnered State Occasion to win a Polytrack nursery for trainer Ralph Beckett.
In a landmark year, Doyle became the first woman to ride a five-timer in Britain (at Windsor on Aug. 29) and has also recorded her first victories at Group-race level with Dame Malliot in the G2 Princess of Wales's Stakes at the Newmarket July meeting. Three more have followed on Extra Elusive (twice) and Certain Lad.
In addition, she joined Turner and Gay Kelleway and Turner as the only females to have ridden a winner at Royal Ascot when she scored on 33-1 shot Scarlet Dragon in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes. She also has earned a retainer to ride as first jockey to owner Amad Al Sagar, best known as co-owner of 2007 Derby winner Authorized.
Turner was among the first to congratulate Doyle on her new record mark. “It's a fantastic achievement to have broken the record again,” she said, speaking to Great British Racing.
“Hollie is very driven and focused. She has an outstanding work ethic and attitude every young jockey should have. She has kept her head out the clouds and her hard work and results prove that.”
ITV Racing presenter Francesca Cumani sounded a familiar note in stressing that gender should not matter, saying: “I have made the point many times that I think gender is irrelevant when it comes to jockeys.
“For too long, female riders have not had the same opportunities as their male counterparts and have not had the chance to show the extent of their skills,” she went on.
“Hollie has proven that when given an opening she can be just as capable, if not more than any of her colleagues. She is pocket-sized but has talent for horses big and small that you can't measure. Her humility and affability hold her in great stead for further successes and more records.”
Doyle's achievement in beating her own record is all the more impressive when it is considered that racing was suspended for 75 days between March and June owing to COVID-19.
Reflecting on her latest landmark, she said: “When I broke the record last year in the back of my mind I was always thinking about breaking it again this year, as I didn't want it to be a one-off, so I'm delighted to have achieved that goal.
Doyle is currently fourth in jockeys' title race, which started only in June.
“When you think that we also missed two months of racing this year, it is amazing that I have been able to do it so quickly,” she added, speaking to GBR. “I want to thank all the owners and trainers that have supported me throughout this year, without them, none of this would have been possible.”
Lambourn-based trainer Archie Watson, who has provided more of Doyle's winners than anybody else, said: “Hollie is an incredibly hard-working and talented jockey. We have had over 100 winners together in a short amount of time and I am delighted that she is starting to gain the recognition she deserves.”
This story originally appeared on Horse Racing Planet and is reprinted here with permission.
It's no secret the COVID-19 pandemic has proven disruptive and dangerous to the business and sport of horse racing, but some international authorities say some good things have emerged from this unprecedented time.
In the first digital presentation released Monday as part of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) annual conference, a panel of racetrack officials and racing authorities gathered to talk about the challenges and lessons from the pandemic so far. This year's 54th international conference is being conducted virtually for the first time, with conference materials being released gradually over the next two weeks. This year's focus will be on COVID-19 and its impacts on racing. In most years, the IFHA conference is held on the day after the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at the France Galop offices in Paris.
Readers are familiar with the challenges faced by American racetracks starting in March and April, as some had to shut down, close to fans, or delay major races. In other countries, cross-border travel restrictions caused significant headaches even when racing resumed.
Andrew Harding, executive director of racing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said that organization was particularly taxed, as racing in Hong Kong relies much more heavily on horse movement than in other countries. It's also a lot more concentrated population of participants, with a much smaller pool of jockeys, stewards and trainers licensed to keep horses running, so Harding and his colleagues knew they had to be as strict as possible with biosecurity measures.
“If one of [the stewards] were to become infected, in normal circumstances they'd all be sitting in the same room together. In one fell swoop, we'd lose all our stewards,” he said, pointing out that would be the end of racing while officials were quarantined.
Hong Kong jockeys were divided into four clusters and had their jockeys' quarters separated to keep riders in bubbles. Stewards were also given separate rooms to minimize the risk of disease spread. Additionally, licensees were required to provide Hong Kong racing officials with a daily log of their temperatures. Jockeys were required to provide officials with an activity schedule so they could be advised what their potential risk for exposure might be, and to provide a guide for contract tracing should a COVID-19 positive occur.
In the United States, many racing fans have become frustrated by what seems like an uneven application of government regulations to different businesses. For a period of time this spring, Santa Anita Park was closed to fans and required jockeys to live on-site to reduce exposure, while crowds of people poured into the Los Angeles County Arboretum across the street. William Derby, chief executive and clerk of course at York Racecourse, told panelists the same is true in England, where he's aware of nearby bars and pubs beginning to bustle while fans are still not permitted at the track. In fact, York had to erect 3.5 kilometers of fencing to keep people away from the racecourse despite it being on public land. Still, Derby pointed out, local and national governments are overwhelmed, dealing with basic safety questions for hospitals and schools, and patience is key.
“Sport takes its place in the queue, despite the fact [racing] is a very important employer; 18,000 jobs in the UK rely on it,” he said.
Still, some good things have come out of the pandemic. Stephen Cook, director of content for IMG Productions, said that as soon as racing fans were barred from coming to the track, his team had to think of ways to recreate the experience for them remotely — including filming horses whenever possible in their stable yards and in workouts to create a sense of familiarity before they headed to the track.
“It's helped us jump probably a couple of years ahead on something we'd be behind on if this hadn't happened,” said Cook.
Of course, racing was one of very few live sports that was able to carry on or return quickly after initial shutdowns in the spring. Olivier Delloye, CEO of France Galop, said that after racing resumed in France, it took just five weeks for handle to regain its 2019 averages. From early June until now, wagering has consistently been up 10 to 20 percent over last year.
“We didn't expect that,” Delloye said. “We were all worried that even if the betting shops would reopen, even if people were opening new digital accounts, people would think of many other things than going to bet on horse racing.”
The panelists are certainly not seeing a cloudless sky ahead, however. Delloye and Derby both worry tremendously about ownership retention, as owners have been hit particularly hard in the wallets by the spring shutdowns. For Cook, questions remain about whether racing will be able to capitalize on its time in the spotlight and turn temporary interest into long-term loyalty once the virus is controlled and other sports return. In the more near term, Harding worries about how many racing authorities can outlast the ongoing disruptions COVID-19 is causing.
'”As hard as it's been in the UK and France, there are some countries where they haven't been able to operate in a manner that's profitable,” he said. “How long that's sustainable is troubling to me. That will have an impact globally.”
Hong Kong has no breeding program of its own, so potential future impacts of the current economic downturn on the international foal crop is another long-term concern.
All in all, Keeneland president-elect Shannon Arvin said she looks to the future with a mixture of realism and optimism, uncertain of what comes next, but hopeful racing's new lessons will carry it through.
“We don't know how long this will last,” she said. “Somebody asked me this morning, 'Will we have fans back in April?' I don't know the answer to that.
“I think there are definitely silver linings to the pandemic, and I think we need to keep looking for them. I think the perseverance that so many in our industry have shown and that resiliency is shining through ad showing us the silver linings. Winston Churchill said, 'Never let a good crisis go to waste.' I think about how the Keeneland sales actually started, which is during World War II, because we weren't able to ship horses up to New York so we started our own sale. Now of course, that's such a critical part of our business as well as a key piece of the industry and the marketplace. I'm excited to see what innovations come of this.”
Following on from the Government announcements on Tuesday, the British Champions Series is extremely disappointed to confirm that it will not be able to welcome customers to QIPCO British Champions Day on Oct. 17 as planned; this year's event will unfortunately be held behind closed doors in line with the new government policy.
All those with tickets for the day will be entitled to a full refund or the chance to roll over their ticket until QIPCO British Champions Day 2021.
The British Horseracing Authority released the following statement about the government's decision:
The delay to the public's return to sporting events is a serious blow to the horseracing industry and to the people and communities who depend upon it for their living. Our sport has worked hard with public health officials to return safely and carry out pilot events.
The exemplary response from the spectators in following the measures we put in place has shown that organised events can be run safely. We look forward to a full evaluation of the pilots and for the evidence to be used to inform future decisions about sporting events.
Despite all those efforts, our industry is now facing a severe threat. We are the second most attended spectator sport in the country. Without the millions of people who normally enjoy a day at the races, many people's jobs are at serious risk, as are the businesses they work in.
We know this is recognized from the regular discussions we have had with ministers and we thank them for their strong support in these difficult times.
We have kept the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments updated on the financial impact of COVID and the effects on the rural economies in which so many of our racing staff live and work.
We have told the UK government our racecourses were facing a loss of £250 to £300 million (approximately US$292 to US$351 million) of revenues this year, which in turn means less prize money flowing through to our participants and our owners.
We will be conducting a further economic impact assessment and will work with government to put in place financial assistance to protect livelihoods and rural communities. We were pleased to hear the Prime Minister say that the Chancellor and the Culture Secretary are working urgently to do what they can to support our sector. The Chief Executive of the BHA, Nick Rust, will attend a meeting with the Culture Secretary this afternoon.
We have worked closely with the betting industry during our safe return from lockdown.
Responsible betting is part of the fun of racing. It benefits both industries, flowing back into racing to create jobs and fund the care of horses. But British racing does not benefit to the extent of our European counterparts for structural reasons. We have seen growing signs that our best horses are being lured elsewhere by the promise of greater financial rewards. We believe the case for urgent reform has been made. This will be part of the assessment we share with government.
The Chief Executive of the BHA, Nick Rust, said today: “Racing's leaders are responding to this crisis by working together like never before. We are working to a recovery plan, but today's announcement will set back our progress. We will urge the government to provide financial support, as they have indicated they are considering, and to accept the case for urgent reform of the Levy.
“Our loyal owners and our key international investors have stood by us and we ask government to work with us to maintain that confidence in racing and in Britain.”
