Racing: Moving up the agenda

Peter Savill has never been shy of confronting issues head on during his time as chairman of the British Horseracing Board and as he embarks on his final two-year-term at the helm of the racing industry he has some more radical changes in mind that could stamp his imprint on the way the sport functions for decades to come.

Speaking yesterday at the annual general meeting of racing's governing body, Savill revealed that the BHB would shortly be embarking upon a root-and-branch review, leading to a new business plan for the sport. The review would tackle such issues as regular morning race meetings and how best to allocate the greater resources at the sport's disposal.

"On Tuesday the Board authorised a review of the sport that will be both far-reaching and all-encompassing," Savill said. "This process must not only embrace all of racing's stakeholders, but be inclusive of the betting industry, the media and the fans.

"To make decisions on the future shape of the industry we are going to have to ask some searching questions. How many additional owners and horses will be attracted by the greater rewards on offer? How many fixtures do we want? Who is going to fund them? Do we want horses to be rewarded according to merit? Do we want narrower handicap bands? Should we establish tighter limits on the number of horses in a race? Do we want a more readily-identifiable premier racing product? Do we want more, or less-centralised race-planning? Should we be offering a regular morning racing product?"

Savill shared the platform with another of racing's tough talkers, John Brown, the chairman of the bookmakers William Hill and a successful racehorse owner. His address to racing's chiefs, in itself a sign of the improving relations within the sport, made a series of radical proposals over the spending of the new income streams.

He highlighted the problem of lofty overheads for owners and said that the £170m that would be generated next year as a result of sales of data and picture rights by the BHB and racecourses could be used to dramatically reduce entry fees and administrative charges rather than increase prizes.

"Obviously, as an owner, I would like to pay less," Brown said. "But I accept that there is a premium to pay if I want to race here rather than in a country where the racing is boring and where tracks rely on fruit machines to keep them going.

"The racing industry and even the Racehorse Owners' Association are constantly telling us that we are somewhat simple for owning horses in Britain. Perhaps, instead, the ROA's time would be better spent working on the most effective way to use the new money, perhaps considering how to get owners' expenses down.

"Remember, only a small percentage of owners ever receive prize-money and, as we all know to our cost, over 20 per cent of that disappears in enforced deductions."

The luckiest of owners will have runners at Flat racing's showpiece meeting next week. Royal Ascot and there are still some crucial decisions to be made about the destinations of various runners. Nayyir, the favourite for the Royal Hunt Cup at prices as low as 2-1, has also been declared for the Queen Anne Stakes and his trainer, Gerard Butler, is leaning towards that contest.

"I don't want to sound evasive," Butler said, "but I want to look at the Queen Anne and consider conditions and then we will decide over the weekend. I want to do what is right for the horse."

Nayyir looks a blot on the handicap for the Hunt Cup after winning the Diomed Stakes at Epsom last Saturday but Butler also trains the race's 8-1 second favourite Beauchamp Pilot, who has been supported markedly in recent days. He denied, though, that having such a potent second string would have any effect on the decision. "That won't influence us at all," he said. "They have both been trained for Royal Ascot and they don't know they are first and second favourites."

* Charles Benson, The Scout of the Daily Express for many years, has died at the age of 66.