Gosden says the US are miles in front

[NoChanceToDance]

Courses will have to turn to casinos, says Gosden.

by Tony Smurthwaite
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DERBY-WINNING trainer John Gosden forecast that Britain's racecourses will operate casinos to shore up prize-money as he announced that he is to lose three of his stable stars to US racing after they have run at Glorious Goodwood.

Royal Oath, who contests the Group 2 Betfair Cup on Tuesday, Costume, a runner in the Group 3 Oak Tree Stakes, and Tybalt, on course for the Listed Blue Square Poker.com Thoroughbred Stakes, will all leave Gosden's Clarehaven Stables inNewmarket regardless of where they finish next week.

“We'll be very sad to lose all three horses,” said Gosden on Tuesday, “but we don't have the prize-money to hold them.

“When you ring owners and say there's a nice 14 grand handicap to go for, it just doesn't pull it.”

Gosden's critical comments came a day after global consultancy Deloitte issued a report suggesting that racing will lose ground on other betting products if it fails to diversify, create innovative bets and spice up racedays with other entertainments.

This season, Royal Oath has run second in the Spring Cup at Newbury, won handsomely in the Royal Hunt Cup and finished second in the Group 2 Summer Mile at Ascot, earning a total of £88,706 for US-based owners William S Farish and William S Farish jnr.

“I can see him making his mark in Pattern company in the US,” said Gosden, who began his training career in the US.

“Costume is on an upward learning curve and while Europe is a wonderful nursery, I can see her being areally good filly for the US towards the end of the year.”

Tybalt, who races for his Kentucky-based owner-breeders, Janice and Robert McNair, could contest the $400,000 Del Mar Derby on September 2 or the $150,000 Oak Tree Derby at Santa Anita in October, Gosden said.

Looking to the underlying reasons for the mini- exodus, the Derby winning trainer said: “We have to make the game here more exciting, and punchier.

“There might be salvation ahead as we're not running churches, we're running racecourses and gambling is the medium.

“Young people move too fast these days, they won't wait 30 minutes for the next race.

“Racing has to be more all-embracing and create more of a narrative. (Derby sponsor) Vodafone have pulled out believing theyget more consistent cover in other sports.

“Formula 1 was struggling and along comes Lewis Hamilton. Frankie Dettori has been a brilliant personality for racing but he can't do it all by himself. “In the US the tracks with slot machines take a cut (of takings) and prize-money has shot up. In time, here we will find casinos in racecourses.

“Racecourses are not churches, casinos are a logical fit and I wouldn't be surprised to see that happening.

“Prize-money in many cases is lower than it was five years ago - I think racing has quite a shock coming.”

Gosden said he was perturbed at comments from Tote chief executive Trevor Beaumont this month that the pool betting monopoly was now heavily reliant on fixed-odds betting terminalsin its betting shops.

“I'd be very concerned at comments like that,” he added. “Bookmakers will promote all other forms of betting, as Trevor Beaumont said.

“We have got to capture the imagination through the major meetings; from the Guineas to Chester to Epsom, to Royal Ascot then the July festival and Goodwood.

“These stand out as glamorous. We're not going to capture the imagination with a steady stream of division two stuff.”

Gosden is a past president and current council member of the National Trainers' Federation and his wife, Rachel Hood, wrote recently in her position as vice-president of the Racehorse Owners' Association that top of her wish list for racing was to improve the UK's “dismal” standing in international prize-money league tables.

She said: “Owners in Britain are close to the bottom, recovering only 23 per cent of their costs.”

She remarked that it was essential to “protect racing from the destructive avarice of business interests” who benefit from the sport but invest little in return.

The Deloitte report, written by the firm's UK director Alan Switzer, states that racing needs to be “more creative in its marketing strategies”, offer more innovative raceday packages, exploit the business brains in its midst and simplify its “sometimes confusing terminology”.

Switzer's report added: “Undoubtedly, a prerequisite for success is to increase racing's appeal among the younger generation, which remains a challenge while the sport has no truly global icons.

“Perhaps Frankie Dettori's recent Derby success can help, while younger, more media friendly jockeys can be groomed for stardom.”