It's the owners, stupid: why those who fund the sport have to be put first

Last month at a near-deserted Newmarket July course a group of probably half a dozen people sat around a table laughing, joking, swapping stories and reliving their experiences.

The group, part of an Ontoawinner syndicate, had travelled down from York for the day and had just witnessed Star Of Emaraaty, the horse they part-owned, capture the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes at the eyecatching odds of 66-1.

One of the party had let slip in her joy in the immediate aftermath of the unlikely victory that she had fallen hook, line and sinker for racehorse ownership. “I know some people say owning horses is like an addiction, and I can see why as we’re well invested now!” she said.