Voices of experience need to be heard at this time of concern

Last week I spoke to numerous trainers about the problems facing Irish jump racing. It was an enjoyable experience, and yet a little depressing at the same time.

It was instructive to talk to professionals whose conversation was informed by knowledge, insight and passionate concern for the future of their sport. It was dispiriting because they were almost unanimous in identifying serious problems, and yet felt the racing authorities are doing little to address the situation. Some would argue the authorities have accentuated the growing gap between the top and middle tiers of jump racing by putting in place a racing programme which facilitates the most powerful.

To paraphrase, they spoke about broadly the same issues, the loss of owners during the recession, the difficulty in finding new ones, the hidden costs of training in terms of administration fees and various ancillary bills, and the fearsome competition for the right type of horse in their traditional price bracket.