I surprised myself by not actually hating the Racing League - and with a couple of tweaks it might be even better
A few days ago the inimitable Icy ran a poll on X, the artist formerly known as Twitter, simply asking the question: Has the 2023 Racing League done enough to justify a 2024 Racing League? There was a good turnout too, with 3,871 people voting, and, unbelievably, 52 per cent of them said yes.
I say unbelievably because this time last year the idea the Racing League would return for a third season, never mind a fourth one, seemed about as likely as the Friends spin-off Joey returning to our screens. That was cancelled after two seasons in May 2006 due to low ratings because it was bloody brutal. As brutal as it was, though, I would have preferred to watch Matt LeBlanc cracking cringe jokes than watch a team horseracing event nobody cared about.
The Racing League looked doomed to fail from day one; the concept was ridiculous. Yet somehow it is surviving. And, given that X is the platform where moaners, whingers and whiners congregate to get stuff off their chest, it is quite an achievement for 52 per cent of 3,871 glass-half-empty people to vote for its return in 2024. I was flabbergasted.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
- Let's stop copying other nations' ideas and come up with our own - how about a trials weekend at Epsom?
- My ten horses to follow for the rest of the Flat season - including this season's Paddington
- Farewell to Harchibald, the great entertainer who was misunderstood for his whole career
- Shame on all of us for not making a bigger deal out of the Kennedy v Townend epic title race
- A 5-1 shot who should be odds-on - and you'll agree with me once you've read this
- Let's stop copying other nations' ideas and come up with our own - how about a trials weekend at Epsom?
- My ten horses to follow for the rest of the Flat season - including this season's Paddington
- Farewell to Harchibald, the great entertainer who was misunderstood for his whole career
- Shame on all of us for not making a bigger deal out of the Kennedy v Townend epic title race
- A 5-1 shot who should be odds-on - and you'll agree with me once you've read this