We’ll have squandered a great opportunity if Premier racing remains this anonymous for racegoers

We'll have squandered a great opportunity if Premier racing remains this invisible to racegoers

Banbridge (right): held off Pic D'Orhy to win the Silviniaco Conti Chase

Pic D'Orhy and Banbridge battle it out in the Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton's Premier meeting on SaturdayCredit: Mark Cranham

It was a simple answer to a simple question but one that said a great deal – and precisely mirrored my own impressions of the brave new dawn that is Premier racing.

"It's been a damp squib so far," said racegoer Lee Barrett at Kempton on Saturday when I asked him what he made of the concept. "Nothing's happened."

There really was nothing at all, not even the four advertising boards that were at Cheltenham on New Year's Day, to signal to customers at Kempton that this was a Premier raceday. For those in attendance, it felt like Premier racing didn’t exist at all.

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Published on 15 January 2024inLewis Porteous

Last updated 16:00, 15 January 2024

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