Core Prize Money: Cardinal Sin of Racing's Revival

Richard Wayman, British racing’s self-styled “12-Target Man” and Director of Racing, embarked on an ambitious two-year trial to rejuvenate the sport. His dozen targets seek to boost betting turnover, attendance, and field sizes, and to inject fresh enthusiasm for racing among fans, owners, and trainers alike. But as we near the halfway point, the picture is murkier than expected. Declining Core prize money, a catastrophic fall in quality jump horses, and the curious fixation on betting turnover are all raising eyebrows. And let’s not forget Wayman’s well-intentioned but ultimately failed Sunday evening experiment, a target that perhaps exemplifies the pitfalls of chasing the wrong metrics.

In Wayman’s own words, “we are not comparing apples with apples” when it comes to the success of certain racing initiatives. But it seems he’s overlooked one crucial detail: the Sunday racing experiment itself, generously subsidised with extra prize money, could hardly be called a fair comparison.

The Betting Turnover Obsession: Does Turnover Tell the Whole Story?

Central to Wayman’s twelve-step approach is betting turnover – increasing it, protecting it, and using it as the cornerstone of racing’s financial health. The idea was simple: limit Saturday racing to three fixtures during the “protected window” between 2pm and 4pm, boosting turnover per race by 10% on these key days. In a year where overall betting turnover on British racing has dropped 9%, and a staggering 18.4% over the past two years, a 10% per-race bump sounds like a breakthrough.

Yet, here’s where Wayman’s plan takes a turn. For all the emphasis on turnover, it’s actually bookmaker profit that determines the levy contribution back to racing – a metric Wayman’s twelve targets barely mention. While a rise in turnover is encouraging, it doesn’t necessarily translate to higher profits for bookmakers or a stronger levy for racing. To ignore the profit margins and focus purely on turnover is to misunderstand the structure of British racing’s funding.

This oversight is glaring in the context of Wayman’s abandoned big experiment: Sunday evening racing.

The Sunday Evening Fixture Experiment: The “Apples to Oranges” Disaster

Ah, the Sunday evening experiment – six fixtures held in the first quarter of the year, hoping to outshine midweek floodlit races with a projected 15-20% betting boost. The BHA threw money at this trial, hoping that increased prize money would lure in the crowds. And yet, it managed a limp 3.6% increase in betting turnover over midweek fixtures – a figure that, given the prize money injection, feels less like a success and more like a classic case of “not comparing apples with apples.”

Wayman himself would be the first to remind us of the importance of comparing like with like, yet he conveniently omits this principle when touting his Sunday evening experiment. Bolstered by extra prize money, these races had every advantage – theoretically making them more attractive than a standard midweek fixture. But when the lavishly funded Sunday nights failed to deliver even modest results, it was quietly swept under the rug, as if the disparity didn’t matter. In truth, the money-fuelled Sunday experiment proves little beyond the limits of chasing metrics that don’t resonate with the punters. One can’t help but wonder if the BHA might have been better off listening to the fans themselves, rather than the bookmakers clamouring for a Sunday schedule.

Premier Racedays: Lofty Aims and Mixed Results

Wayman’s Premier Racedays, designed to inject festival-like energy into the calendar, have similarly struggled to deliver. Betting turnover on these days is down by 5.6% at core meetings, while the big festivals have seen turnover per fixture dive by an eye-watering 12.4%. Punters seem less willing to part with their cash at these marquee events, in part because bookmakers have scaled back their once-generous concessions, and in part due to unfortunate calendar clashes with other major sports.

Outside the festivals, the picture is a touch brighter: Saturday Premier Racedays saw a smaller decline of 3.9%, while weekday Premier Racedays – at prize money levels of £100,000 or more – even managed a slight increase of 0.5%. But without metrics on bookmaker profits, we’re left to wonder: are these upticks enough to justify the emphasis placed on them? Or is the fixation on Premier Racedays ultimately another case of apples to oranges?

Attendance Targets: The Illusion of Incremental Gains

When it comes to attendance, Wayman’s report is full of half-hearted optimism. Overall attendance is down by 3.3%, although, with fewer races, the BHA has reported a slight increase in average attendance per fixture – up 0.7%. At Premier Racedays, attendance dropped by 2.5%, while on Saturdays it fell by 4.6% after Wayman’s adjustments to start times and race density.

For a plan that aimed to draw fans back to the track, these figures offer little to celebrate. Wayman’s “Saturday Strategy” appears to have muddled the routines of loyal fans, who prefer a more predictable schedule. And while he highlights the incremental gains, they ring hollow in a year when racing desperately needed genuine growth.

Quality Jumpers: An Existential Threat to British Jump Racing

Among Wayman’s targets, the most pressing issue is the sharp decline in quality jump horses. Since 2021, the number of horses rated 130+ has fallen from 866 to a dismal 585 in 2024 – an astonishing drop of over 30% in just three years. This is no mere trend; it’s a looming crisis. Without elite horses, British jump racing will continue to lose its best talent – and with them, the fans and bettors who follow these stars.

Wayman’s twelve targets tiptoe around this crisis, but the fact remains that poor prize money, high training costs, and a lack of meaningful incentives are driving these horses elsewhere. As overall prize money stagnates at home, British jump racing is at risk of slipping from relevance, ceding ground to Irish and French circuits that offer far more attractive returns. For an institution built on jump racing, the BHA can ill afford to let this decline continue unchecked.

Core Prize Money: The Cardinal Sin of Racing’s Revival Plan

Amid all of Wayman’s targets, one cardinal sin stands out: the drastic reduction in Core prize money. While Premier Racedays received a £7.9 million boost this year, Core fixtures – the backbone of British racing – have suffered a punishing 20% real-terms cut over two years. Prize money for Core fixtures fell from £84 million to £79.7 million in just a year, leaving many to wonder how the BHA plans to sustain its everyday races without adequate support.

Making matters worse, the financial return per pound spent on a Core racehorse – once a slim £0.15 – is now thought to have dropped to an even skinnier £0.10. For owners, this means that the financial incentive to enter horses in Core races is rapidly vanishing, the money spent is not so much and investment but more a sinkhole for owners. If the aim was to revitalise racing’s bread-and-butter fixtures, cutting Core prize money wasn’t just an oversight; it was a devastating misstep that threatens the long-term health of the sport.

Field Sizes, Competitiveness, and Clash Rates: Minor Gains in a Shaky Landscape

Wayman’s remaining targets focus on race competitiveness, field sizes, and reducing Saturday clash rates. On the Flat, there’s been an encouraging trend: field sizes, races with eight or more runners, and odds-against favourites have all improved, with figures reaching their highest in four years. But jump racing tells a different story, as the shortage of 130+ horses leaves Premier Jump days struggling to fill fields and sustain the level of competition that British fans expect.

Race clashes – simultaneous races in Britain and Ireland – have been reduced from 7.9% to 5.7%, giving punters a better chance of focusing on one race at a time, at least until 5pm on Saturdays. While these gains are certainly welcome, they pale in comparison to the unresolved issues that continue to plague the sport.

Ownership and Quality Horses: Modest Gains on the Flat, Decline in Jumps

Wayman’s ownership targets have yielded modest improvements on the Flat, where horses rated 85+ increased by 4.4%, just shy of the 5% goal. But the jump circuit remains in dire straits, with 130+ rated jumpers dropping dramatically, from 866 to 585 in just three years. Without significant incentives, British jump racing’s best talent will continue to leave, taking fan interest and betting revenue with it.

Conclusion: The Twelve-Target Man and Racing’s Crisis of Focus

Richard Wayman’s twelve targets set out to modernise British racing, attract new fans, and keep the sport financially robust. Yet, halfway through this trial, the picture is far from rosy. The laser focus on betting turnover, without a corresponding emphasis on bookmaker profits, risks misunderstanding the sport’s funding structure. Without profit-driven metrics, turnover may be an illusion of growth rather than a measure of sustainability. And as for the Sunday evening experiment – buoyed by prize money and touted as a win by bookmakers – one can’t help but ask: are we really comparing apples with apples, or merely glossing over a costly failure?

With Core prize money slashed, quality jumpers fleeing, and real signs of decline across the board, Wayman’s twelve-target plan is in urgent need of recalibration. If British racing is to thrive, it must address the funding of Core fixtures, incentivise quality jumpers, and perhaps above all, stop comparing apples with oranges. Without a serious rethink, Wayman’s grand vision risks being remembered less as a strategy for growth and more as yet another gamble that fell short of the finish line.