The government may seem oblivious - but racing and betting can no longer afford to bury their heads in the sand

British racing has spent so much time bouncing from one existential crisis to another, often self-inflicted, that it can be challenging to know which threat most deserves our attention at any given time. 

Between recent changes to betting duties and the associated blow to racing's finances, the impending rollout of affordability checks and some good old-fashioned in-fighting between racecourses and their representative body, the Racecourse Association, it can be fairly demoralising to dwell for too long on the sport's health and long-term outlook.

However, that does not mean racing's many and various leaders, nor its followers, can afford to simply bury their heads in the sand, and they would do well to pay attention to the mood music in Westminster, which was pretty concerning this week.