Found winning at last year's Breeders Cup© Photo Healy Racing
Long ago when the Horse & Greyhound Fund first started I remember pointing out how Irish racing generated about 15 per cent of bookmaker turnover yet, along with the dogs, it got 100 per cent of the tax revenue. Might not other sports have something to say about such a gap, I wondered? And wasn’t the theoretical basis of it all fundamentally, and perhaps dangerously, dependant on political whim?
This was obvious stuff but it made me very popular for a while. I still remember a Gowran meeting where I was invited to both literally and figuratively f—k off by a few of Irish racing’s great and good. Because everyone knew the score: the horses and the dogs had political pull that other sports could only dream of. Racing also had - and still has - a legitimate funding argument in terms of jobs and general economic output, something acknowledged by broad cross party support over the years. But this is Ireland and pull helps.
Racing is never shy in its sense of entitlement and over the years familiarity has deepened it, so the industry’s singular financial structure has rather got taken for granted in some quarters. Record funding at the last budget will have only deepened the sense of entitlement further. But there was always an understanding that such singular status was best kept, if not secret, then it certainly didn’t need to attract undue public attention.
The basic ‘trickle down’ economic model has after all been widely discredited and arguing for extra prizemoney for a small oligarchy of billionaire owners is a tough public sell for anyone. So it’s bad news for all concerned that the mixture of arrogance and ineptitude behind the controversial reappointment of Brian Kavanagh’s as CEO of HRI promises to continue generating uncomfortable scrutiny for racing and perhaps a rekindling of those same obvious questions from long ago.
Nothing has changed in terms of what Irish racing generates in betting turnover and what it receives basically constituting a subsidy based on political whim. What has changed, and dramatically, is a gambling environment where sports betting is taking over, and a political environment which is fickle enough to now have politicians publicly pondering aloud if HRI should have its funding removed as Sinn Fein’s Martin Kenny did last week.
Racing’s brass can dismiss that as Sinner populism but it resonates and who’s to say it won’t especially resonate with other sports, some of which generate significant betting yet receive little or nothing in comparison to racing. Why not, they might ask? In fact bring things closer to home, how long can it be before other rural animal based sports start seriously asking why is it only the thoroughbred industry that gets such specific funding?
For instance in terms of employment and economic activity a resurgent harness racing sector surely has a theoretical argument that it’s entitled to a slice of the pie. Spread it out a little and the same rural employment and economic output rationale could be employed by all animal sectors, from three-day-eventing to coursing, even, God Forbid, the flaps: there’s plenty economic output there, including betting turnover!
What’s more, votes are there, and probably a lot more appreciation, and a lot less haughtiness, compared to what has been displayed by racing’s top brass recently.
You see, it’s a funny thing, attention. Racing loves it, on its own terms; the whole applaud on cue and tell us we’re the best in the world bit. But taking public money invites public scrutiny and if you don’t play ball that scrutiny can prove both uncomfortable and maybe even costly.
There’s haughtiness too in how racing’s Anti-Doping Task Force pledged to examine the implementation of its much trumpeted report six months after its release but will only actually do so next Monday, three months late. The attitude seems to be what’s a few months when sales are on, and the Turf Club’s new veterinary officer, Dr Lynn Hillyer, needs to settle in. And there might be point to all that but none of it resonates with an urgency that the matter surely merits.
Only Wayne Lukas on 20 and Bob Baffert on 12 can trump Aidan O’Brien’s haul of ten Breeders Cup winners and the Irishman will be well represented at Santa Anita this week with up to 11 raiders.
The argument behind Found’s Classic tilt is that it’s a shot to nothing but even if the Arc winner runs up to her best turf figure she still comes up short of both California Chrome and Arrogate. And expecting her to improve for a first taste of dirt is almost certainly wishful thinking. Highland Reel (Turf) and Alice Springs (Mile) look to hold sound chances but it would be no surprise if Roly Poly emerges as a Ballydoyle winner in the Juvenile Filly Turf.
It is 30 years since the top sprinter Last Tycoon stretched his stamina out long enough over Santa Anita’s tight turns to land the Mile. Limato could be a similar case. The July Cup winner already has high class form over a mile and will relish fast ground conditions. He’s also had only four starts this year, the last of which was an impressive win in the Foret. Limato looks to have a lot going for him although Harry Bentley’s international inexperience is a negative.
The French have regularly saved European Breeders Cup blushes and the Niarchos team in particular have a wonderful record over the years. The Turf hope Erupt has something to find on European form with both Highland Reel and Flintshire but he was impressive in the Canadian International, can’t have the ground quick enough and could have the race run to suit his closing style.
No matter how much American razzmatazz is thrown at it though, the Breeders Cup action has to be viewed through the depressing prism of a medication environment that continues to be a stain on international racing. And that’s been obvious for a long time too.
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