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The Queen Elizabeth II Centre was presumably chosen as the venue for racing’s Axe The Racing Tax event in London on Wednesday as it is just the briefest of canters from the seat of power in Westminster, but it felt like a nod of respect too towards the most famous fan that the sport in Britain is ever likely to have.
The late queen, after all, was never impressed when politics impinged on the serious business of the turf. Her quickfire delivery of the Queen’s Speech in June 2017 when it clashed with day two of Royal Ascot is the stuff of parliamentary legend. It is said that her relationship with Theresa May, who seemingly scheduled the state opening of parliament without checking the diary, never really recovered.
So it was hard not to wonder too on Wednesday what she would have made of racing’s self-imposed “strike”, prompted by concerns that the Treasury will raise the current level of duty charged on online betting profits – 15% – to at least the 21% rate currently levied on fixed-margin casino products.
The proposal to “harmonise” the duty rates for gambling was first floated in the dog days of Rishi Sunak’s premiership, but it survived the transition to the new Labour government and would, according to the British Horseracing Authority’s calculations, cost the sport at least £65m annually.
The BHA’s calculation featured in its response to an official consultation on the proposal this year, and would, the Authority says, lead inevitably to significant job losses and decline in an industry that directly or indirectly supports 85,000 jobs. As a result, trainers and jockeys from all levels of the sport were among the 200 or so of the turf’s great and good who downed tools for the day to head for the capital.
Oisin Murphy, the current champion on the Flat, and Hollie Doyle, the sport’s most successful female rider, were among the jockeys posing in “Axe the Racing Tax” silks in the shadow of Big Ben for a photo opportunity to kick off the day’s proceedings. The rally at the QEII Centre in Parliament Square later in the day, meanwhile, was a protest event with a distinct racing feel – suits and ties, for the most part, and a free bar to lighten the mood. Militancy and racing types will always be a slightly odd mix.
But it takes more than the promise of a free glass of wine to get so many racing folk down to London in the midst of a tube strike, and the genuine sense of foreboding among professionals and track operators at every level of the sport over the potential tax rise was palpable, too.
John Gosden, one of the most successful trainers of recent decades, evoked memories of the Winter of Discontent, as he was starting out as a trainer in the late 1970s, as he warned the audience of what the future might hold.
“Our costs of production are absolutely frightening,” Gosden said. “When you compare it to the cost of production of online gambling [on casino products], I think you’re looking at two completely different ball games. I don’t think the government understand our industry.
“There is a worldwide symbiotic relationship between racing and betting, and the government needs to be careful. If they tax more, they could end up with less return. Taxes will only undermine and destabilise our industry and result in unemployment, and a further burden on the state. We have an industry to be proud of, and having talked about the 1970s, I do hope that this government doesn’t take us back to the 1970s.”
Brant Dunshea, the acting chief executive of the BHA, and Martin Cruddace, the chief executive of Arena Racing Company, one of the biggest racecourse operators, also addressed the rally. “We have always been taxed differently,” Cruddace said, “because of the contribution that we make to the economy and to livelihoods, and because racing is part of the fabric of the culture of this country.”
The extent to which racing’s message is being heard where it matters remains to be seen, but around 20 MPs accepted an invitation to the event and Cruddace was due to speak to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Reform later on Wednesday afternoon. “I think we are making incredible progress,” he said, “but we have to keep our foot down. We have eight weeks and it is absolutely vital.”
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Elana Osario fancied at St Leger
Paddy Twomey has a live chance to win his first British Classic at Doncaster on Saturday when he will saddle Carmers, the general third-favourite, in the St Leger, and he has big runner too in Thursday’s Park Hill Stakes, the feature event on day one of the St Leger Festival.
Like Carmers, who was Twomey’s first Royal Ascot winner in the Queens Vase in June, Elana Osario (3.00) has progressed by the race this season having got off the mark at the fourth attempt in a maiden event at Ballinrobe in early May.
Having taken a handicap at Killarney off a mark of 87, she made a confident step up to Group Three company over a mile-and-a-half at Cork last month and is likely to find further improvement for Thursday’s return to 14 furlongs.
Doncaster 1.15 An each-way bet on one of the less-exposed runners could be the way to go in this fiendishly tight nursery handicap, and Tim Easterby’s Bearin Up is an interesting candidate at around 14-1. She has shown glimmers of ability in three runs to date while also suggesting that she will only find her feet when handicapping, and has also drawn a potentially useful stall 13.
Doncaster 1.50 Oliver Cole’s Jel Pepper was drawn away from the main action in a big field at Naas last time out and his two-and-a-half length third behind the classy Zavateri at Newmarket in July is the best form on offer.
Doncaster 2.25 Sir Mark Prescott’s Moon Target surrendered her unbeaten record behind Precise in a Group Three at Goodwood last month, but she looked ill at ease on the track from the off and did well in the circumstances to finish within a length of the winner. She should improve significantly on that form back on a more conventional track and stepping up to a mile for the first time.
Doncaster 4.10 Jeddaal was beaten at odds-on last time out but finished nearly eight lengths in front of the third horse home and posted a useful time in the process. An opening mark of 80 could well prove lenient.
