'Teetering on the edge' - leading owner says hostility towards racing means punters and owners are falling out of love with the sport

A leading owner has warned people are curtailing their betting for fear of being stigmatised as problem gamblers and despaired at the hostility towards horseracing which he described as an industry "teetering on the edge".

Jim Cockburn, who owns 25 horses under the banner of Teme Valley Racing and previously founded the Favourites Racing syndicates, said the situation was contributing to him “falling out of love” with a sport he no longer bets on.

The owner’s intervention comes the week after the Gambling Commission published data for the year ending March 2024 that showed a £1.6 billion drop in online betting turnover, which has contributed to a £3bn real-terms black hole in racing’s finance when factoring in inflation, numbers that prompted calls for urgent action on affordability checks.

Last week, Andrew Black, the Betfair co-founder, said there would be a downward spiral for racing unless the drop in betting turnover was reversed, while Royal Ascot-winning owner Tom Morley said he had cut his sports betting “by more than 99 per cent” to prevent himself being caught up in affordability checks, having previously turned over up to £1 million a day.

Cockburn’s maroon and yellow silks have been carried by the likes of Cox Plate and Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner State Of Rest and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes scorer Bayside Boy in recent seasons, but he said on Monday his enthusiasm for the sport was waning.

“I didn’t bet much in terms of the amount I put on but the way things have become I don’t bet at all anymore,” he said. “I don’t want people to be asking for my details and treating me like some sort of recidivist. I run a number of businesses and I wouldn’t want to be stigmatised with having a gambling problem because I’m being asked for these documents and proof of funds all of a sudden.

“I was with George Boughey at the football on Saturday and we have a runner together at Kempton on Wednesday. The horse is likely to be one of the favourites and I usually bet no more than £100, but if you wanted to you’d struggle to be able to bet £1,000 on her. 

“The whole of racing is suffering with this and this is an industry teetering on the edge.”

Bayside Boy: carried Teme Valley Racing's silks to victory in the 2022 QEII Stakes at AscotCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Cockburn, who enjoyed success in the Scottish Grand National with Godsmejudge when operating Favourites Racing, said conditions in British racing were motivating him to send more horses to race in Australia for higher prize-money, or to sell horses to places such as Hong Kong.

“I have a few horses in Australia where the prize-money is better, and we have been getting horses to ratings in the 90s and selling them because that’s the only way you can keep going here,” he said. “In fact, I called one horse Stark Warning because people kept going on about it but no-one ever seems to do anything about it.

“I don’t think as owners we are treated properly and I know more and more people are feeling the way I do and are falling out of love with racing with everything that is going on.”

With online betting turnover declining, added impetus has been given to restarting negotiations on a new levy agreement between bookmakers and racing in an attempt to shore up the sport's finances.

Louise Norman, chief executive of the Racehorse Owners Association (ROA), said reaching an agreement was important for the sport but that broader efforts needed to be made to get people to re-engage both as owners and bettors.

“The ROA has been working with other stakeholders on much-needed levy reform and we continue to contribute to the essential resolution of this key issue,” Norman said. “However, that is not the silver bullet and we must look at new sources of inward investment. 

“The ongoing project to explore a truly premier racing product is key to the future finances of the whole of British racing and we must source new investment instead of squabbling over a diminishing cake.  

“In addition, we must win the arguments around the affordability checks that have obviously contributed to the decline in turnover and plug the hole that has been created by the black market as a result.”

Read these next:

The £3 billion black hole: calls for urgent action on affordability checks as online betting turnover on racing crashes 

British racing lays blame for £3bn black hole at door of 'out of control and unaccountable' Gambling Commission 

Betfair founder and owner-breeder Andrew Black warns about spiralling impact of £3 billion black hole  

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