Scrutiny isn’t the problem for racing: being able to stand over what it reveals is what counts
Racing’s reaction to coverage of Cheltenham deaths shows worrying insecurity about nature of the sportSean Bowen riding Abuffalosoldier at Cheltenham on Sunday. The horse died of an apparent heart attack after the race. Photograph: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Imagesis more flesh and blood than most sports, so comes with more life and death. That got starkly underlined at Cheltenham last Sunday when three horses lost their lives.
Racing’s ethical dilemma about the toll taken on its central players is rooted in it being entertainment. Jump racing particularly, with its demands on endurance and the constant risk of falling, juggles daily with how thrills are accompanied by spills and the statistical inevitability that a tiny percentage of them will be fatal.
Racing does that by being able to stand over the challenge it sets both horse and rider. Something as inherently hazardous as National Hunt racing can never be fully proofed against danger. However, its sustainability is rooted in persuading the large silent majority mostly oblivious to its charms that that challenge is hard but fair.
Britain’s racing authorities are reportedly sour about how lopsided some news coverage of Sunday’s events was. ITN gave time to someone from the Animal Rising group who said popular support for the sport is decreasing and urged a complete ban. But no one from the British Horseracing Authority or the Jockey Club was interviewed to counterbalance that.
The nature of media means it gravitates towards headline statements such as calls for banning something. Nevertheless, not having racing’s authorities make the case for the sport could seem like, editorially speaking, dirty pool. Arguing that point is fair. Arguing that its underhand to shine a spotlight behind the scenes isn’t.
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