Horsemen Hold Firm Over Planned Boycott

[Wandering Eyes]

As a large core of owners and trainers continue to hold firm on their stance to boycott meetings at racecourses run by Arena Racing Company (ARC) between March 6-8, five horses originally entered for Lingfield’s meeting on the first of those days have been scratched by trainers before final declarations. After the entry deadline was extended and then four of the races were reopened for entries, a total of 35 horses remain engaged for six races.

When entries closed on Friday for the meeting at Southwell on March 7, 61 entries had been received for six races, 19 of which were from Scott Dixon, who trains at the track. Furthermore, there will be a walkover at Sedgefield on Sunday, where just one runner has been declared for the 2m1f handicap hurdle. All prize-money ‘won’ by Wazowski (GB), who is owned and trained by Donald McCain, will be donated to Jack Berry House in Malton, which is run by the Injured Jockeys Fund.

“I’ve been asked to support it [the boycott] and I have,” McCain said. “This not just a new thing. ARC haven’t been putting enough money into the game for many years—it’s shameful.”

McCain, whose yard has only recently reopened after being quarantined with four cases of Equine Influenza, added, “I’m in a position where I need to run horses. I’ve been out of the game for a long time but this can’t carry on.

“I’m an employee—I work for my owners. Luckily I’ve got a very good bunch of owners, but it’s hard to look them in the eye and say we’re going to run their horse in a particular race and even if they win, after all the expenses, it will probably pay for two weeks’ training. It’s appalling.”

Despite an announcement on Thursday that ARC, which is owned by Reuben Brothers, would redistribute funds from more valuable races to ensure that extra Levy funding was unlocked for races falling below the prize-money threshold, many owners and trainers remain of the opinion that ARC was too hasty in its announcement of prize-money cuts ahead of the FOBT minimum stake reduction coming into force in April.

Daniel Kubler, who trains in Lambourn, said, “An overwhelming majority of trainers are behind this stance and certainly owners are behind the trainers as a whole. It’s important as there are obviously going to be changes in the funding system in the longer term but ARC in particular—though they are not the only ones—need to work together with the horsemen to put on a good show. While this is a drastic measure, for too long ARC have taken the view that they are many and we are few, and we have been in a weak bargaining position. But we need to have an equal partnership for a mutually beneficial outcome, and I would like to see the BHA work better with the horsemen, too.”

Kubler’s Newmarket-based colleague Charlie Fellowes concurs with this view. He said, “Unity has never been easy to come by in racing but I’m encouraged that enough people clearly feel so strongly about this that we’ve been pushed and pushed and pushed to do something.

“We’ve seen trainers big and small, owners, jockeys and agents all coming on board. A three-day boycott is pretty unprecedented and I hope this sends a message that we’re not going to be trampled on. I don’t know why but I’ve had more success abroad than I have had in England and the huge prize-money on offer abroad has kept me afloat. The situation here is disheartening and I feel sure that there are plenty of young trainers out there looking at this situation and wondering if they would be better off training elsewhere.”

While racing looks likely still to go ahead on the days of the proposed boycott, albeit with small fields, one problem for the owners and trainers engaged in those races could come in finding jockeys to ride for them.

Agent Tony Hind, who represents nine jockeys in the UK said, “I will not be putting any one of my jockeys on any horse in any of those races until the trainers get a deal from ARC that they can accept.”

His feelings were echoed by jockey Stevie Donohue, who said, “I’m not going to take up any engagements and I’ve spoken with a lot of other jockeys who feel the same way. We need to support the trainers and take a short-term hit to hopefully make things better down the road.”
He added, “I can understand that some people might need to honour commitments to their stable or to a certain owner but on the whole we need to take a stand here. At the end of the day jockeys will be losing out on those days but this is for the greater good. I’m fully behind it and it didn’t take much to convince most of the lads to get behind this and stick together.”

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