Leading jumps trainers hit out at racecourse group for 'quietly' slashing prize-money levels

The Sun

23 November 2023

Leading jumps trainers hit out at racecourse group for 'quietly' slashing prize-money levels

TOP trainers have hit out at Arena Racing Company for cutting prize-money levels.

In September last year, ARC pledged to put on a minimum of £75,000 per fixture for the entire 2022/23 jumps season.

But they appear to have quietly canned that scheme, with tomorrow’s card at Chepstow worth £55,200, while it’s a similar story at Newcastle today, with £52,150 on offer.

An ARC spokesperson said the increased prize-money scheme “was not in place” for this season, but did not specify why, adding that all races were "above agreed minimum values".

Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Kim Bailey, who has one runner at Chepstow, was among a number of unhappy trainers to have noticed the drop off.

He said: “It’s very disappointing to say the least when they give the impression a year ago that their meetings are going to be worth a certain amount and then it’s quietly reduced.

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“Maybe I didn’t read the small print, but it appears last year’s promises haven’t been fulfilled.

“Owners spend a lot of money keeping their horses in training and more often than not they aren’t getting rewarded on the track.

“It’s a pretty significant drop going from 75 to 50-odd thousand, you definitely notice the difference.

“They made a big announcement last year when they were very proud about what they were doing - they should have communicated it if the situation was now different.”

Philip Hobbs, trainer of great racehorses like Rooster Booster and Flagship Uberalles, has a handful of horses heading to Chepstow and says no good reason has been offered as to why prize-money has been cut.

He said: “When you give the impression you’re boosting prize-money there should be a good reason why it’s no longer the case.

“And if there is a good reason, they need to at least communicate it to us, then maybe we can understand.

“Prize-money has been a huge problem since I started training in 1985, sadly it’s nothing new.”

And Grand National winner Donald McCain, who runs Present Fair at Newcastle, said the standard of racing being staged at some tracks, including ARC venues, was not good enough.

He said: “These races and these meetings sum up what’s wrong with jumps racing in this country at the moment.

“The prize-money isn’t good enough, but Newcastle is a Grade 1 track and there are four races for 0-100 horses. There aren’t enough races or prize-money for the better horses.”