New £2 million Racing League promises to 'engage' fans like never before

The creators of a new six-week summer evening racing team competition offering around £2 million in prize-money have stated an ambition to engage millions of fans in a way that has never previously been achieved.

Two years after the concept was first unveiled, Championship Horse Racing on Monday announced the Racing League will take place on consecutive Thursday evenings, with the fixtures at Arena Racing Company racecourses Doncaster, Lingfield, Newcastle and Windsor to be televised on Sky Sports Racing.

As was initially mooted, the competition's 36 races – all of them £50,000 handicaps for horses rated up to 90 – will be conducted with jockeys only allowed to use the whip for safety and corrective purposes. That was described by rider Martin Dwyer at the launch event as "no big deal" but the stipulation was criticised by trainer Ralph Beckett, who will not take part.

The six-week competition carries prize-money of £1.8 million

How it works

• Each of the Racing League’s 12 teams, made up of two to four trainers and three jockeys, will select one of their 30 horses to contest each of the 36 races. Those 30 horses must be declared three weeks before the competition begins
• The winner of each race earns 25 points for their team, with the second getting 18 points and the third 15 points. In total, points are available to the top ten finishers in each contest
• The £50,000 prize-money for each race will be distributed as per existing BHA rules
• The team with the most points at the end of the season will be crowned the Racing League champions
• The winning team will earn a bonus prize shared between participating owners, trainers, jockeys, stable staff and a team ambassador, who will be picked from the public at random at the start of the competition

Twelve teams will take part in the fixtures, two of which will coincide with Glorious Goodwood and York's Ebor festival. No sponsors or participating trainers have yet been named by the organisers, who had initially identified eight different tracks – including Epsom, Newmarket, Newbury and Leopardstown – as the Racing League sites.

CHR's chief marketing officer Oli Harris said: "We want to engage fans like they've never really been engaged before. It's our opinion we can make this competition really exclusive in a way that no other sport has done before.

"We don't believe there are hordes of people banging at the gate to suddenly become racing fans but what we do know is that with a more youthful feel and look we can encourage the casual sport fan to pay attention to this league.

"The Racing League is an adventurous proposition. We have tried really hard to do something different. We are sticking in over £2 million into racing. We're going to try to engage millions of fans, not just hundreds of thousands. It's our aim to bring racing back to the top sporting table in media terms and sit it alongside cricket, rugby and football, where it used to be."

CHR's chief executive officer Jeremy Wray acknowledged at a time when the BHA has launched a whip consultation, in conjunction with publication of the independent Horse Welfare Board's five-year strategy, the "hands and heels" concept would not please everyone.

"I must admit I am pretty ambivalent about the whip," said Wray. "However, we will at least now have 36 races that will provide data for that discussion. At the end of those 36 races people will be able to analyse the debate in a different way."

Wray added: "It is fair to say in the discussions we've had, sponsors have pointed out the issues why they have not been able to get involved in racing in the past.

"The links with the gambling industry has always been the biggest one but the perception of the whip being a racehorse welfare issue – which I don't think it is – has been another reason why marketing directors have decided there are easier places to go. We have removed any potential reasons why they would not want to have a conversation."

Dwyer said: "I can't speak for every single jockey but for me personally it's not a big deal. The one thing jockeys in this country are very good at is adapting. This is a different competition, it's hands and heels and it won't be a problem."

Ralph Beckett: is not a fan of the Racing LeagueCredit: Edward Whitaker

Less enthused is Beckett, who argued: "I am not a fan of the concept, nor am I in favour of race programming that clashes with Glorious Goodwood and the York Ebor meeting.

"Above all, I cannot support anything that doesn’t allow the use of the ProCush, as it should be called, for encouragement. Ultimately I hope, and believe, that makes the concept flawed, and by its third or fourth fixture punters will be turned off.

"In that sense it might do us all a favour and demonstrate categorically that we need the ProCush to support the turnover that sustains the industry."

A spokesperson for Jockey Club Racecourses said: "We supported Championship Horse Racing’s efforts to launch a team racing series last summer, but sadly that didn’t prove possible. We wish them all the best for the future."

BHA's head of media Robin Mounsey said: "The BHA is open to ideas that seek to take racing to new audiences and, to that end, it felt that this interesting new initiative was worthy of support in 2020.

"The BHA is currently working with Arc and Championship Racing to schedule the six additional fixtures required to run this event, and expects to confirm the full list of fixtures within the next couple of weeks."

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