'I love racing but I am wondering if there is any enjoyment left' - an owner questioning his future in the sport

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Nick Stockley describes himself as an “avid” horseracing fan. A self-confessed lover of horses, he could easily go racing a couple of times a week if the opportunity presented itself and he likes to have a bet as part of his enjoyment.

Yet, Stockley, 45, is at a crossroads. This is all the more acute for him, and for British racing more broadly, because Stockley is an owner who at the start of the year was revving himself up to get “stuck in” to expanding his string from three horses.

There has been a little misfortune for Stockley with the recent retirement of one of his horses due to injury, but his misgivings run deeper and have left him wondering what to do next.

“I love horses, I love horseracing and I love to have a bet, but I am looking at it now and wondering if there is any enjoyment,” he says. “If you’re being badly treated as an owner and badly treated as a punter, where do you go?”

Stockley’s areas of irritation fall into three categories: the ownership experience on a raceday, the financial return to owners set against what they contribute, and the difficulty in striking a bet.

Stockley, who owns and runs his own building and home improvements company, is not a new owner, but a returning one.

He reiterates throughout our discussion that he has no expectation of a monetary gain from ownership and has a good relationship with his trainer.  However, he argues that for an outlay of approximately £10,000 a month, the raceday experience doesn’t match up, with facilities cramped, outdated and lacklustre.

He says: “I put this to the test with a good friend of mine who’s been into racing his whole life but has never owned a horse. I’ve taken him to three or four tracks now and it’s been such an eye-opener. He says, you watch these horses on TV and the owners in the parade ring and you’re thinking they’re being wined and dined, that it’s all sweet and lovely but it’s not.

Stockley is disappointed with the experience provided by racecourses to ownersCredit: Alex Davidson

“It’s gotten to the stage that when I have a horse running I don’t bother going to the owners’ facility. I just go to the grandstand and pay for my own drinks and food.”

The Racehorse Owners Association has a benchmarking scheme for owners’ experiences at racecourses, known as the Gold Standard, which ranks the offerings of each track. As for the Racecourse Association, in its recent annual report, chair Wilf Walsh said he routinely meets racecourse staff “who strive endlessly to deliver competitive racing and great customer service”.

Stockley's experience has been left wondering what the merits of sole ownership are over being in a syndicate, who can often share the same facilities despite their differing levels of investment.

“Don’t get me wrong, I think syndicates are very important and that they are the only way racing is going to have a future,” he says. “But you’ve got people in the same room who have maybe got ten per cent in a horse and are shelling out £200 a month and you’re getting the same treatment in terms of the badge and the offering you’re given.

“If I say the racecourse offers me six badges and I take all six that’s maybe £180 in concessions. If you have the meal, that’s maybe £25 a head, so I’m getting £300-330 worth of ‘value’ on a raceday. This is against the costs I’m putting into having a runner.” 

Stockley says he is increasingly feeling used, rather than valued, as an owner with this coming to a head following the performances of one of his horses during the summer.

“I had a horse win both of his races in June, which was a great feeling and everybody loves that feeling of winning,” he says. “But even after that, after everything that is taken away in fees, it doesn’t cover my training bill for the month.”

Stockley bristles at having to pay annual fees to the BHA to renew his colours, VAT registration and authority to act. It has left him with the view that the organisation sees owners as “a bottomless pit” and wonders what he is getting back from the authority for his fees.

“I look at it and I think I enjoy going racing more in the public domain than I do as an owner, so why do I think that?” he says. “It’s because you put in so much as an owner and what you get back in terms of value for money and experience isn't fair.

“I had a horse win both of his races in June - they didn't cover my training bill for the month."Credit: Mike Hewitt

“When I take a horse to the races and the costs that entails, to be treated the way I feel you are and to win a pot that doesn’t cover a month’s training fees leaves you wondering whether it is worth it.”

This is where the final element of Stockley’s disillusionment comes into play. The hostile environment created around betting through affordability checks and bookmaker restrictions means having a bet on his horses is becoming increasingly laborious, if not impossible.

“Most people who own a horse like to have a bet on their horse, or in general, and without betting there is no racing industry,” he says.

“There was an incident last year when we were running a horse and I tried to back him the night before on one of my accounts. A trader came back to me and said that they knew I owned the horse and I was restricted in what I could put on. That’s so frustrating. 

“I’m dead against all these checks too. For example, I’m a smoker and I never get asked whether I can afford to buy a packet of cigarettes or whether I am aware of what it is doing to my health. I can make my own decisions.

“I have a choice whether I own horses or not, and it is one I’m having to think hard about right now.”

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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.