Prize-money boycott at Newbury after intervention by prominent Newmarket trainer

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Anger at the prize-money on offer at Newbury has prompted trainers to boycott a race for the first time in more than three years after no horses were declared for the final contest scheduled to take place in front of a near sell-out crowd on Saturday.

While trainers on Thursday stopped short of confirming a collective decision had been taken to embarrass Newbury by not declaring any of the 13 entries for a 1m2f novice for fillies aged three and older, racecourse chief executive Julian Thick said it was “disappointing this has happened and at a time when the industry needs to pull together”.

The Racecourse Association (RCA) added that the apparent action “reflects poorly on British racing” and threatened to put progress and cooperation around the industry’s ongoing governance review “in serious jeopardy”.

Ralph Beckett, president of the National Trainers Federation (NTF), and Roger Varian both confirmed they had taken the decision not to run their horses due to the £6,500 prize fund offered. The winning prize of £3,510 is the joint-second lowest offered for a Class 5 fillies’ novice in Britain this year.

Ralph Beckett: trainer pointed to poor prize-money when speaking on Thursday morningCredit: Edward Whitaker

The Racing Post understands trainers with horses entered for the race were contacted by a prominent Newmarket handler to ask whether they would consider not declaring due to the purse, but Beckett insisted the final choice was made by trainers individually.

“Trainers have decided, it seems, that £3,500 for the winner of a novice at Newbury isn’t enough for them to run,” he said. “It’s a Grade 1 track and it’s a Saturday afternoon. I decided to declare my horse to run elsewhere and presumably – I have no idea because trainers are independent creatures – they have decided to take the same view.

“The race was originally carded to be worth £5,300 in total and Newbury added to it after the entry stage, but it clearly wasn’t enough – it was too little too late. I believe there was some correspondence from one trainer with the racecourse when the conditions were published a month ago.”

Asked what image a race drawing no declared runners presented for racing, Beckett said: “That’s a question for the racecourse.”

Varian added the prize-money offered was “simply not good enough for a Group 1 track on a Saturday afternoon”, while the NTF said Newbury should “reflect on whether a race offering just £5,300 in prize-money is suitable for a televised Saturday fixture at a premier racecourse.”

The stance taken by trainers was supported by Group 1-winning jockey Luke Morris, who labelled the prize-money on offer “a disgrace” for the calibre of track, while leading owner-breeder Kirsten Rausing, whose filly Altjeringa was not declared, added she would support similar action in the future “when necessary”.

Owner Craig Bennett, who has raced the likes of Purple Moon and Group 1 winners Second Step and Cursory Glance under his Merry Fox Stud banner, added his support for the action after his Golden Sheen was not declared by trainers Harry and Roger Charlton.

“We didn’t run for two reasons, the primary one was the ground as she would need a drop of rain,” he said. “Irrespective of that, if a premier racecourse like Newbury thinks it can get away with putting on races like that with that sort of prize-money then they are badly mistaken. You cannot expect owners to support it with what it costs to breed horses, to train horses and to get them to the races – it’s disgraceful, there’s no other word for it.

“Newbury needs to have a very hard look at itself and so does any other racecourse that adopts the same approach. It’s out of sync with other racecourses, lesser racecourses, and they need to look at themselves as what they’re doing is patently wrong.”

Bennett, who has 20 horses in training split between Britain, Ireland and France, added: “The directors of racecourses in Britain must know that owners have the choice of racing in Ireland and France, and unless there is competitive prize-money offered it doesn’t take a genius to think where they are likely to allocate their horses.”

Six races remain on Saturday’s card, headlined by the £200,000 Weatherbys Super Sprint, with course officials expecting a large crowd with a post-racing concert from Craig David also taking place.

Julian Thick: 'It is hard to imagine this isn't a concerted action'Credit: Edward Whitaker

Julian Thick said Newbury had been transparent with funding for prize-money and that the cancellation of one race was “disappointing” given the numbers expected to attend.

“It is hard to imagine this isn’t a concerted action with a race that had 13 entries from ten different stables receiving no declarations,” he said.

“Newbury has always had a portfolio of races run at different values and aimed at different types of horses throughout the year, this year is no different. As an independent plc we are transparent about our prize-money strategy and our finances and have an ongoing dialogue about this with the NTF.

“We have recently publicly announced an increase to prize-money levels when our new media contract comes into effect next year, committing a minimum of 40 per cent of total media revenues to our prize-money for the next three years.

“Given this background, it’s disappointing this has happened and at a time when the industry needs to pull together.”

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