Part of the article
Few men espouse the traditions of jump racing more clearly than Henry Daly, so every supporter of the code should be troubled by his concerns for its future.
By his own admission, Daly is anything but impulsive or effusive. His words are generally weighed carefully. Yet he says: “I believe in my lifetime, jump racing will no longer exist.
“I actually formed this view about ten years ago and although I hope very much that I’m wrong, nothing has happened since to dissuade me. We are in the entertainment industry. However else we dress it up, that’s what it is and I fear the society we live in will not accept jump racing as a form of entertainment.”
Such alarm is frequently spread in conjunction with the Grand National but it is not this iconic race that causes Daly his gloomy prognosis. “The National doesn’t worry me because Aintree has gripped the situation so firmly – they are so far ahead of the rest of us in understanding the issues and acting on them.
“Elsewhere, jump racing is being routinely dumbed down. Even at Ludlow, my local track, the fences are half as stiff as they once were. No-one wants to see horses falling but the sport is actually called JUMP racing. My fear is that this dumbing down will continue until the sport is an irrelevance.”
As a past President and long-serving council member of the National Trainers’ Federation, Daly is well qualified to speak on the financial issues affecting his profession. He fears for those operating at the lower end of the scale and believes casualties are inevitable. “Some of the figures are quite alarming,” he says. “Equally, it’s very hard for trainers to put their fees up for fear of driving owners away – I haven’t raised mine for five years.”
He also has some trenchant opinions on prize-money – specifically on one Grade 1 course that is failing in its responsibilities. “Just before Christmas, there was a day when Ludlow put on £80,000 prize-money and Newbury offered only £55,000,” he says. “How can that be?
