Owners wrong to wage war on racecourses - but transparency is desperately needed

The accusations made against Arena Racing Company by the Keep Owners In Racing pressure group last week generated plenty of heat – but not as much light as was claimed.

Figures compiled by former leading racecourse executive Mark Kershaw claimed Arc had received at least £23.66 million in media rights income from the fixtures staged at the group's four all-weather tracks from last June until May while only putting a small percentage of that income back into prize-money.

In two blogs on the subject last week, KOIR claimed the figures demonstrated that Arc had made "significant returns" throughout the pandemic period and that they "must be delighted with the super-normal profits achieved".