Paltry prize-money means cherishing owners should be racing's top priority

One of the treats of the Christmas recess is sifting through the assortment of features in this newspaper with an end-of-year feel. It's an interesting snapshot of the past 12 months for those who don't have the time to take it all in as it happens.

Yes, folks, it's not just you who feels overrun. There was a time when it was possible to follow racing on a daily basis, but the all-weather's advent put paid to that. Flat fixtures piled up year upon year until it became folly to even try. Hence the opportunity to kick back over Christmas and catch up.

A personal favourite was the piece about what the new year holds for racing in which an array of professionals outlined their themes for 2020. Welfare and the whip were prevalent, as you'd expect, but it was surprising how few highlighted British racing's dearth of prize-money in its ceaseless quest to attract new owners.