Cheltenham is magical but jumping's grassroots need to be nurtured

In a week's time British and Irish racing will be embroiled in possibly the most intense experience the game can offer, the very peak of the sport.

However, while it is easy to forget that anything outside the Cheltenham Festival exists for those four days, it is the top of a pyramid and there are concerns about the foundations of jump racing in Britain.

Those concerns were voiced by Stephen Atkin, chief executive of the Racecourse Association, during last week's British racing industry roadshows. Atkin talked about the tight financial equation involved in running a smaller jumps course, with significant running costs and the threat of the weather and cancellations looming in the background.