Dearth of mainstream coverage makes racing's desperate headlines hurt even more

There’s no such thing as bad publicity. People say that, you know, and some may even still believe it, but racing has had too many bad headlines recently and none of them has been welcome.

From the notorious photo of Gordon Elliott that emerged in the spring to the summer’s Panorama exposé of abattoir malpractice and now two concurrent cases that have thrown the spotlight on weighing-room culture, this has not been a good year for racing away from the track.

What has made it worse from a publicity standpoint, and carries great danger for racing, is that there is less good news to act as a counterbalance. It is not that the sport is any different as a spectacle, just that it does not garner the same media coverage it once did.