Lee Westwood slams state of British horse racing: ‘Owners are taken the p*** out of’

The top golfer was commenting on a detailed economic analysis which suggested that the financial problems in the sport were pushing the sport nearer extinction

Golf legend Lee Westwood has slammed the state of British horse racing, claiming owners like him are ‘being taken the p*** out of’. Passionate racing enthusiast Westwood has been involved as an owner for 25 years enjoying some of his biggest success with Hoof It, who claimed Goodwood’s Stewards Cup twice.

He was also involved in the Willie Mullins-trained mare Augusta Kate who ran at the Cheltenham Festival three times. The 52-year-old has maintained a team of horses in the north of England, on the Flat with Michael and David Easterby and over jumps, in partnership with Dave Armstrong, with Iain Jardine, Sandy Thomson and Chris Grant, as well as owning stakes in others.

However the level of prize-money in the sport has been a constant concern for owners most of whom never get their money back on their investment. Other headwinds have emerged with the imposition of affordability checks deterring punters and the government considering raising the amount of tax paid on horseracing bets.

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Horseracing Bettors’ Forum member Ed Grimshaw has carried out his own economic analysis in a post on his Cutting Comment website under the headline ‘UK Racing The Bleak Outlook: A Self-Reinforcing Decline’

Grimshaw examines breeding, betting, ownership and prize-money and conclude the sport is “committing economic suicide”

“Without addressing the systematic destruction of hope, no amount of prize money increases or infrastructure investment can restore industry viability.

“The sport that created the Derby, established global breeding standards, and exported racing expertise worldwide now faces the ultimate test: whether it can restore the fundamental hope that participation in its ecosystem might occasionally be rewarded rather than systematically punished.”

ITV Racing’s Rishi Persad shared the analysis with the comment, “If you care about our sport, have a read of this…”

Westwood replied: “I understand that you’re taking a chance when owning a race horse but when owners feel like they are being taken the p*** out of with higher fees and lower prize money it’s simply time to get out. You can’t have a horse winning 3-4 times in a season and not breaking even. As for affordability checks…..”

Persad added: « Exactly all of this the maths for owners in the UK are hard to fathom. And punters seem to be low on the list of priorities and subjected to unilateral actions from some bookmakers. Lord Allen will have to turn water into wine. I wish him luck. »