Why the racing dream is so much harder to sell here than in the US

Ask any owner why they got involved in racing and the vast majority will tell you the sport of kings is a conduit for bringing dreams to life. It’s a bit like buying a lottery ticket, only a great deal more fun. You might enjoy a life-changing experience, even though the odds are stacked against you.

In Britain, however, instances of dreams becoming reality are few and far between. Racing is dominated by overseas owners with such deep pockets that romance is hard to divine. Not so in the US, where the dream is still very much alive.

To spend time in Kentucky last week was to see it at first hand. Larry Best roamed the sales grounds at Fasig-Tipton looking for foals to race. The American native had no intention of buying breeding stock but two days later he laid out a cool $5 million for Blue Prize, who had just won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. He saw her being unloaded from the horsebox on arrival and fell profoundly in love. It must go down as one of the most expensive first dates on record.