OpinionPeter Scargill
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'We don't make any money' - trainers' boycott may have been averted but the restlessness and agitation isn't going away

Peter Scargill on the lessons to be learned from last week's dispute

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Deputy industry editor
June: The royal procession – this remains the most historically colourful image in the whole racing firmament. That the Queen still heads an 18-horse, four-coach parade on each of the five days of Royal Ascot never ceases to amaze me
Project Pace has been looking at pooling top fixtures, such as Royal Ascot, for commercial gainsCredit: Edward Whitaker

This time last week, the Professional Racing Association (PRA) delivered an ultimatum stating that racecourses and media rights groups had to pay up or its members would boycott television interviews.

“The ball is firmly in their court,” a PRA statement said, the gauntlet thrown down and sabres rattled close to the noses of racecourses, Racecourse Media Group and Sky, from whom the PRA was seeking to elicit payments for trainers’ group media rights.

Those words rang hollow, though, as a day later the PRA backed down after mounting pressure and criticism at the timing and nature of the action. The decision, the PRA said, was made “in the best interests of the sport” with the National Trainers Federation (NTF) and the Thoroughbred Group opposed to direct action.

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