Smaller tracks need a stake in this new dawn for racing

Smaller tracks need a stake in this new dawn if the views of Bill Farnsworth (April 9) and James Sanderson and others (April 12) are a true reflection, racing’s mooted renewal programme in 2024 will markedly benefit the top racecourses and large ­race­course groups at the expense of the smaller, ­inde­pendent ones. 

The proposed plan to enrich and focus on the sport’s ‘premier’ racing might be described as the polar opposite of that phrase of the moment, levelling up.

If some of the plum Saturday fixtures, for example, owned by smaller independents like Musselburgh, Thirsk and Chester are to be sacrificed, these aspirational courses need to be given something lasting and worthwhile in return.