Flat field sizes show uptick for first three months of 2024 but jumping remains 'way short of where we want it to be'

Field sizes on the Flat in Britain showed a small rise in the first three months of 2024 with the average of 8.88 runners per race the best since 2007.

But the figures for jump racing during the same period remain a concern, with the BHA's director of operations Richard Wayman saying a further cut to fixtures and races could be considered for 2025 as one of the tools to counter the continued pressure on competitiveness. 

The average on the Flat is up from 8.72 runners per race over the same three months in 2023, and is a welcome piece of good news in the wake of last week's revelations about the decline in betting turnover on British racing. There has also been a decline in the number of so-called 'failed' races. 

Just 62 of the 955 races run on the Flat in the first quarter attracted fewer than six runners – the metric the BHA uses to determine if a race has failed – which represents 6.23 per cent, down from 9.11 per cent in 2023 and 12.23 per cent the year before. 

The increase in average number of runners and the attendant decrease in races with small fields has been achieved despite a small expansion of the programme, with 955 races comparing to 911 in 2023 and 883 in 2022. 

Already under pressure in recent seasons, field sizes fell back slightly over jumps, with a combined average of 8.09 runners per race, down from 8.38 in 2023, representing the third-lowest figure since 2000. 

Addressing a BHA media call, Wayman said: "Our Flat fixtures through the winter have probably generated more competitive racing than we’ve had for a long time. I think if we look at the percentage of races that attract eight runners you’ve got to go back to 2007 to find the sort of percentage that we’ve achieved in the first three months of the year. 

Field sizes over jumps have dropped again in the first three months of 2024Credit: Edward Whitaker

"Jumping is way short of where we want it to be and we continue to face our challenges in terms of competitiveness. We’ve introduced a number of measures for jump racing this year; we’ve made changes to the programme, we took out 300 races through the year. Some of those fell in the first quarter. It is certainly under discussion as to whether we need to go further in 2025 in an attempt to make jump racing more competitive at this time next year than it has been in the last few months. 

"Having said that, in our view you can’t just keep reducing fixtures and races with a view to making jump racing more competitive. There are more fundamental issues I think as a sport we’re going to need to tackle to support the long term future of jump racing." 

Reflecting on the almost uninterrupted run of wet weather and its impact on field sizes over jumps, Wayman said: "The percentage of races run on soft or heavy ground since New Year's Day is 78 per cent, compared to 43 and 42 per cent in the last two years. That will have had an impact on field sizes. 

"However it is important to stress we’re not using that as an excuse and saying that if only it hadn’t been for the ground, everything would be rosy in the garden."

Read these next:

'She ran a very good race' - John Gosden eyes Coronation Cup defence for Emily Upjohn after Dubai return 

Oisin Murphy to miss the Craven meeting at Newmarket after picking up whip ban for Good Friday ride 

The Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, the reigning Racing Writer of the Year, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content