Levy row threatens to get ugly

11 November 2010
by Matt Rumble

SHROPSHIRE owner Jon Glews believes the Cheltenham Festival should be abandoned for a year as the row over horse racing funding continues.

It was announced yesterday that the Levy Board’s contribution to racing would decrease by a further £10 million to around £60 million for 2011.

The board, who determine how much bookmakers should contribute to Horse racing for the right to take bets on the sport, have been at loggerheads with the racing industry for a number of years over how much they should pay.

A deadline for a decision passed on 31 October, which means the government are now stepping in to arbitrate.

Glews, who has a number of horses trained at Donald McCain Jnr’s yard, believes strike action is now necessary to force bookmakers to negotiate.

“Bookmakers try and say they don’t need Horse racing but it’s a complete an utter fallacy. Horse racing is their primary product” he said.

“I would be in total support of strike action. I would abandon the Cheltenham Festival for a year. Then we would see how much they needed racing because they would lose millions of pounds.”

The owner also feels that there are a number of fundamental issues in the way that prize money is awarded.

“If you own a Chase horse they can only run once a month. All-weather horses can run once or twice a week but the prize money is about the same. Really the prize money should be four times as much in Chases.”

“If it were up to me I would abolish All-weather racing. No one is ever in attendance so it isn’t making any real money for the industry. The only people who benefit are the bookmakers as the poor standard of racing provides betting fodder for them.”