Next race unavailable
FREE BETS
Check out all our Offers on our Free Bets pages
- More
premium
Legend's axing from County Hurdle a sign of the times we live in
Commercial realities trump traditional ideologies in world of sponsorship
Superb Story after winning this year's renewal of the Vincent O'Brien County HurdleCredit: Getty Images
It says a lot of the commercial environment that now prevails in the world of racing that the removal of Vincent O’Brien’s name from the title of the County Hurdle prompted barely a ripple of dissent.
That’s what happens when an action previously considered incendiary becomes normalised.
Remember the despair when races like the old Whitbread Gold Cup, Stayers’ Hurdle, Bula Hurdle, Bunbury Cup and Stewards’ Cup lost the signature element of their names?
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Richard ForristalIreland editor
Published on inComment
Last updated
Copymore inComment
- We know that times are tight - but racecourses really do need to step up and improve outdated weighing rooms
- The budget has heaped even more trouble on racing - and I fear many trainers will now decide the numbers just don't add up
- Why I think Cheltenham Festival handicaps need to change - JP McManus writes exclusively for the Racing Post
- No-one has ever emerged from the womb wearing a trilby - racing's future survival hangs on pursuing a young audience
- Four score and ten just a number to Peter Harris as July Cup triumph shows there's more to the elderly than medical conditions
more inComment
- We know that times are tight - but racecourses really do need to step up and improve outdated weighing rooms
- The budget has heaped even more trouble on racing - and I fear many trainers will now decide the numbers just don't add up
- Why I think Cheltenham Festival handicaps need to change - JP McManus writes exclusively for the Racing Post
- No-one has ever emerged from the womb wearing a trilby - racing's future survival hangs on pursuing a young audience
- Four score and ten just a number to Peter Harris as July Cup triumph shows there's more to the elderly than medical conditions