Racing fixture list 2023: Paul Nicholls, a champion trainer, is encouraging racing to take a cue from the Premier League and push for a blanket ban on summer jumping in the months of June and July.
Following the announcement of the 2023 calendar, which sees minor changes to the number of meetings despite substantial criticism from a number of major individuals in the sport, including leading trainers and riders, racing’s fixture list has come under examination once more in recent days.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) prepared a plan to eliminate 300 races from the schedule in response to worries about dwindling field numbers and levels of prize money, but that was rejected earlier this year.
According to the BHA’s chief operating officer Richard Wayman, 1,478 meetings are now scheduled for 2023. He also stressed the importance of the continued effort to examine the situation.
In particular, summer jumps racing has been criticised for lacking competitiveness, and Nicholls has advocated for a two-month sabbatical and a greater emphasis on the elite level.
“Some of the races I’ve won this summer with the likes of Hell Red have been two-runner races,” Nicholls told Sky Sports Racing. “That’s just not good for the sport and no one is going to want to go and watch that.
“It’s controversial but I think we should go back to how it used to be and have no [jumps] racing at all in the summer.
“Finish the season at Sandown, race through May and then have June and July off, building up slowly through August to the new season. That would do everyone involved in National Hunt racing a lot of good.
“We’d know where we start and where we stop and we wouldn’t have all this ludicrous, mediocre racing during the summer. There are plenty of opportunities throughout the rest of the year.
“The great thing about the Premier League in football is everyone is striving to get to the top. That’s how it should be in racing.
“We [trainers] don’t have any power but then I don’t know who does. Someone needs to be strong enough to stand up and make these things happen.”
BHA chief: Fixture list debate ‘almost Brexit-like’
Wayman compared the argument over the fixture list to the differences that appeared after the Brexit decision, noting that the BHA had attempted to “find a compromise.”
He remains confident the BHA will be able to bring the various parties together for an “agreed industry plan”, but accepts that will involve some “compromises”.
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