Lancaster comments kick off passionate exchanges over future direction

Shadwell Stud's Richard Lancaster believes Arabian racing needs to be allowed to develop in different ways across different geographical regions as the sport looks to advance to new levels of visibility.

Lancaster's recorded comments were played at the opening of the final panel session at the World Arabian Horse Racing Forum in Bucharest, one which was devoted to seeking solutions to existing issues and searching for ways to expand.

The three days of the forum – which is one of the centrepieces of the calendar for the Sheikh Mansoor Racing Festival – has been marked by a spirit of creative endeavour and, while that continued on Friday, there were no holds barred as a distinguished panel wrestled with a number of issues.

"There's got to be some radical thinking and my first observation would be that Arabian racing needs to be regionalised because what is a problem in the Middle East is probably not the same problem that exists in Europe or America or Australia," said Lancaster. "That doesn't mean to say that IFAHR [the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities] isn't done away with because once a year the regions would come together and compare notes, helping each other."

IFAHR president Faisal Al Rahmani was at the centre of a number of debates and reflected on a year when his organisation had managed to reverse the decline in numbers of Arabian races staged across the federation.

"Thanks to the sponsorship of Sheikh Mansoor and others we have incredible stability but the federations in every country have to look at what the sponsors are doing and give some effort," said Al Rahmani. "You give some countries five [sponsored] races and they will stage just five races. My decision is that you concentrate on fewer countries and then you push them."

US now on a sounder footing

Jon Henningsgard addresses the World Arabian Horse Racing Forum in BucharestCredit: Racing Post / Scott Burton

One of those territories to lose ground in terms of the number of races staged in the 12 months prior to the 2018 forum in Madrid was the United States but Jon Henningsgard, a major sponsor and breeder based in Houston, sounded an optimistic note.

"Sponsorship is always welcome but I think we can solve a lot of our own issues in the United States because the more horses we breed, the more races we can have, the more the public bets and the more the tracks make money," said Henningsgard.

"One of the things that has just been passed in the state of Texas is that they are putting $25 million into purse money there. That clearly includes thoroughbreds but Arabians will get their share."

Also looking at the sport from a commercial angle was Edward Hamod of National Feed and Flour, a key sponsor involved with the Sheikh Mansoor Festival.

"We have a product and the Arabian horseracing industry has been there for a long time," said Hamod. "When we became involved three years ago it was comparable to a new product launch with a lot of spend on marketing and momentum behind it. Now like any product we need to maintain that momentum. In the world of sports and entertainment you need innovation."

Festival commits to continued expansion

Lara Sawaya reported that in 2019 the number of races promoted across the Arabian racing world by the Sheikh Mansoor Festival had risen from 109 to 124 and she expressed a desire to see the doubling of that number over the next three years.

"Each country has to brainstorm more," said Sawaya. "Most countries have two or three Sheikh Mansoor Festival races at a lower level and they are there to help promote those countries in their breeding programmes. By the time it gets to raceday there is always harmony and that comes down to communication between us and the individual countries to find out what will work for them."

The forum's stay in Bucharest will be brought to an end on Saturday with a gala raceday at the city's brand new racecourse, the Hipodrom Ploiesti.

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