Cruddace issues strong defence of Arc's position on prize-money

Arena Racing Company has mounted a robust defence of the £3 million cut it plans to make to next year's prize-money contributions, which "disgusted" the National Trainers Federation and was branded "disgraceful" by leading handler Ralph Beckett.

A statement from Arc chief executive Martin Cruddace on Friday made it clear the racecourse owner believed the cut, prompted by the threat of wholesale betting shop closures after the government's decision to reduce FOBT maximum stakes to £2 from £100, had been unfairly lambasted given Arc's improving record on prize-money over the last few years.

Prize-money for 2019, he said, would still be up 40 per cent on 2015 levels, and had Arc not led the Authorised Betting Partner scheme and the government not extended the levy online, there would in effect be no reduction in the 2019 contribution.

He said: "Between 2015 and 2017, and prior to the extension of the levy to online operators, we increased our prize-money commitment from £11.3m to £15.1m. Next year it's set to be £15.2m.

"In 2016 we sacrificed £2m in sponsorship income as one of the lead proponents, with our colleagues at the Jockey Club, of the ABP scheme. This led to the extension of the levy to online operators, bringing in close to an additional £40m per annum.

"To access that part of the additional £40m, which was specifically allocated to support grassroots racing, we had to pay a ‘levy’ of £900 a race, which amounted to £2.7m. This ‘levy’ disproportionately affects Arc as we run the highest amount of races that qualify. As such, our contribution to prize-money in 2018 will total circa £18m, close to 60 per cent up on 2015."

Wolverhampton: one of Arc's courses from which it will cut £3 million prize-money next yearCredit: Nathan Stirk (Getty Images)

Cruddace stressed there was no appreciable risk of betting shop closures on a major scale at the time Arc agreed to the levy, but the landscape had now "fundamentally changed", with almost 200 shops shutting in the last six months.

He also pointed out that after the ABP scheme Arc maintained prize-money levels when their races were not being shown across a number of major retail operators during the first six months of 2017, which cost them "many millions".

Cruddace added: "Our contribution to prize-money in 2019 will still be comfortably in excess of £15m, up close to 40 per cent on 2015. Put simply, if we hadn't led the ABP scheme and the government had not extended the levy online, there would, in effect, be no reduction of prize-money contribution in 2019."

Cruddace said Arc would now work with colleagues in the industry to submit to the Levy Board that racecourses should not have to pay a levy to access the ‘locked’ money that had already been budgeted to support grassroots racing.

"That," he said, "is the unanimous Racecourse Association position."

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