Short-Term Resolution Found In ARC Dispute

[Wandering Eyes]

The ongoing dispute between a significant group of horsemen and the Arena Racing Company (ARC) is heading towards conciliatory talks aimed at agreeing an acceptable level of prize-money at the group’s 16 British racecourses.

A protest initiated by owners and strongly backed by trainers and jockeys has already seen walkovers at ARC-owned Lingfield and Sedgefield as well as one Lingfield race abandoned with no runners during the Winter Derby meeting on Feb. 23. On Wednesday, the same track will hold a depleted meeting of six races with a total of 19 declared runners, two of which have subsequently been marked as non-runners. Ten trainers are represented at the meeting and five jockeys are engaged to ride, with three of the contests being match races.

Five ARC race meetings over three days, starting tomorrow (Wednesday), have been targeted by disgruntled owners and trainers making a stand against ARC cutting almost £3 million from its executive contribution to prize-money for 2019, a move which sees it potentially miss out on a further £4.5 million in extra Levy funding.

An emergency meeting between ARC, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and representatives from the National Trainers Federation (NTF) and Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) led to confirmation on Saturday of a short-term agreement on the matter. ARC and the NTF have come to an arrangement over the restoration of prize-money for lower-grade races throughout March, thus unlocking extra contributions from the Levy. Talks will continue in an attempt to reach an agreement for the remainder of the year and a further meeting has been scheduled to take place today (Tuesday).

The agreement was reached after entries had already been published for meetings on Wednesday and Thursday but races at the ARC tracks of Newcastle and Lingfield on Friday were reopened by the BHA.

Trainer Ralph Beckett, a member of the NTF’s presidential triumvirate with Ann Duffield and Emma Lavelle, and who will take over as president in 2020, issued a statement on Monday, saying, “As horsemen and women, we are very disappointed for the general public that they will not get the show they deserve in the coming days at ARC tracks. We are pleased that owners initiated the widespread decision by so many individuals to demonstrate to ARC that the livelihoods of many trainers, their staff, and jockeys depend on reasonable prize-money levels. It is encouraging that it has been taken seriously, and we hope that we will not have to resort to such extreme measures in future. We look forward to constructive negotiations in the coming days and weeks, and hope that ARC and the RCA will now be open and transparent, so that together we can help secure the future of British racing with a funding model that works for all.”

Among its portfolio, which includes Doncaster, home of the St Leger, ARC owns four of the six all-weather tracks in the UK and around 40% of the country’s fixtures.

 

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