'It's not viable anymore' - Martin Smith latest trainer to quit due to cost of living crisis

Martin Smith has become the first Newmarket trainer to quit the sport in 2023 after rising costs forced him to hand in his licence.

The 46-year-old had been training for ten years in three different locations across the town, including for the past three years renting 30 boxes from Tom and Jackie Clover in the lower yard at their Kremlin House Stables on Fordham Road.

Until last week, Smith, whose father Allan still holds a licence in Bahrain where he has been champion trainer multiple times, ran a dual-purpose operation which had yielded more than 60 winners.