Jockey icon Ruby Walsh sends urgent warning over horse-racing change which proves 'its most valuable as betting product'
RUBY WALSH warned horse-racing's new performance-related media rights deal proves it is at its most valuable as a betting product.
The new deal, which came into action in Monday, sees the payment-per-race model for racecourse income replaced with one determined by how much is bet on each race.
It comes at a time when the new Gambling Regulation Bill, proposed by Junior Minister James Browne, will look to introduce measures to tackle problem gambling.
One of these is the banning of gambling advertising between 5.30am until 9pm.
And writing for the Irish Examiner, legendary former jockey Ruby Walsh warned that the new media rights deal will embolden calls for the legislation while effecting the quality on show.
He said: "Last Monday, the landscape changed forever for Irish racecourses when the new performance-related media rights deal kicked into action.
"The golden goose that was payment-per-race is gone forever, and now how much is bet on each race, driven by the streaming market, will determine the income each racecourse receives.
"It is hardly an ideal situation with a new gambling bill on the way, but it is even more proof that horse racing’s value as a sport is at its most when valued as a betting product.
"How many runners a race attracts and what the attendance is to drive on-course turnover will start to become factors.
"We are led to believe small fields are not good betting races, and a minimum of eight runners is required to make a race attractive.
"On the one hand, more races create more opportunities for people to win, and the spread of success widens.
"Still, in a sport where you only have a limited number of competitors — horses — the wider the net is spread, the lower the standard of success.
"It becomes easier to win, and slowly but surely the standard of your product starts to fall and gets to where the UK is now."
To combat this potential problem, Walsh urged Horse Racing Ireland to maintain their control over the fixtures and make sure the industry doesn't lose its top horses, jockeys, trainers, and owners.
He added: "The trench warfare over fixture allocation and fixture numbers will soon raise its head again when some Irish tracks who gave away Mondays for Friday fixtures and took Saturday afternoons realise the Irish betting product is most valuable when English racing is not a competitor.
"We know that’s not the case in terms of quality, but for this model to work, Irish racing needs British punters.
"British punters bet British first, but HRI has to stand its ground and keep control of the fixture allocation.
"It also has to ensure we keep the vast droves of quality horses we have, and tearing up the programme book won’t drive owners to other Irish trainers; it will just drive the British ones back to the UK or off to France."
