Willie Mullins calls for big prize-money hike
The Closutton genius believes that too much of racing’s revenue in general is swallowed up by the gaming industry and should instead be redirected to make it more viable for the chief protagonists – owners, trainers and jockeys – to thrive.
To that end, he believes that authorities in Britain and Ireland should not be worrying about the drop in owners and trainers in recent years, arguing that the current number is a return to normality after the excesses of the Celtic Tiger.
The trend will continue however, he maintains, if proper prize-money isn’t provided for the top races and in general, and proposes an Irish Champions Week for national hunt.
“Jump racing is a huge ambassador for racing, and except for the Grand National, which is a handicap, our major prize is probably the price of an expensive national hunt horse” said Mullins yesterday.
“And to me, what people race national hunt horses for, is not fair and not on for what they do for the sport of racing. I’d like to see a Champions’ Day or Weekend… we could have a Champions’ Week in jump racing.
“When I see what we have in Punchestown over five days — Grade 1s every day — it’s a natural end to both seasons. It fits in beautifully coming after Cheltenham or Aintree and possibly England could do the same. And maybe prize-money in Cheltenham for the Grade 1 races could be at least doubled if not more to give what we see in flat racing; meaningful prizes for racing and racehorses.”
He accepts completely that people might look askance at the most successful Irish trainer there has ever been worrying about prize-money but points out that his outlay at the beginning of every year is “eye-watering” and that the percentage of profit from his prize-money won is quite low.
His motivation though is to shine a spotlight on the travails of the majority of racing people, who are struggling.
“When I look at the racing countries around the world that have Tote monopolies like France, America, Hong Kong, Japan, to a certain extent Australia – they have a very good system there where they’re able to combine Tote and bookmakers –those countries seem to have a lot more money.
“So there is a lot of money in the game that is earned by the game that goes out of racing into other pursuits. There’s lots of money in it for everyone but I think racing is getting the short end of it with the prize-money that goes into a sport that has a huge amount of people in the industry. It’s a fantastically big sport and I think it’s not getting enough of a share.
“You can’t just cut out one facet of the people in racing. It has to be redistributed a little bit better. The gaming end of the game seems to be getting huge and racing isn’t. We’re growing very slowly and when I see the levels of prize-money that’s being earned for what it costs to put on the show, it doesn’t make sense and it can’t last.”
He points to the likes of Italy, Germany and Belgium as countries that have seen racing fall by the wayside and is concerned that the same could happen in the UK and Ireland.
“I have seen lots of my colleagues getting out of the game and I’d say we’re going to have more. I can’t imagine how a lot of them survive at the other end of the game because the rewards are so small.
“When you take out the top half dozen trainers in Ireland and see what their winnings for the season is, it barely makes sense. There’s a living in it but that’s about it.
“I’m probably not the person to say all this but someone has to say it. I would rather see a game well funded for the people that are in it than do what appears to be the case in England; you race around for small prize-money just for the gaming industry to punt on.”
Meanwhile, Mullins hinted that Ruby Walsh could choose to ride Faugheen over Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle.
“Probably what the bookmakers say is as near an indication as I get as to what’s going to happen rider-wise, I would say.”
He warned that Arctic Fire should not be ruled out of the equation but admitted that if he could choose a result, it would be for Hurricane Fly to win it a third time.
“I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Hurricane Fly fan, so it’s probably not fair to ask me what will happen. I’ll be absolutely delighted if Hurricane Fly can do it this year — it would be my dream result for the whole of Cheltenham.”
Speaking to a press pack of more than 40 at his pre-Cheltenham press day in Closutton, Mullins also revealed that Supreme Novices’ Hurdle favourite, Douvan could be as good a horse as he’s ever had, while Annie Power and Champagne Fever are likely to go for the Mares’ Hurdle and Champion Chase.
Summing up his team, Mullins said that he his team for Cheltenham would be his strongest ever, both numerically (approaching 50) and in terms of quality.
