Actions rather than words are needed for horse sport's future

The 2024 Racing Foundation conference considered how to help maintain public support

- LUCY ELDER

ACTIONS, not just words, are needed for horse sport to be relevant to the public.

That was a theme at the Racing Foundation conference (2 October) attended by leading figures in the equine, racing and wider industry.

The focus was how racing can retain public acceptance as societal expectations change.

“Sport is changing, sport is evolving,” said Nevin Truesdale, CEO of The Jockey Club, who spoke about changes to the Grand National including a reduction in the number of runners and moving the first fence closer to the start.

“Sport is evolving because society’s expectations of sport are changing, and the Grand National is in the centre of that.

“That’s what we as a sport need to accept as the challenge, realise, and act to be able to tell our story accordingly. While, in [the Grand National’s] case, maintaining the uniqueness of this wonderful race so it is [...] something that people want to continue to engage with.”

He referenced a survey in 2023, involving over 1,300 people, of whom 56% were quite concerned, not very concerned or had not made up their minds about horse welfare in racing, which he said is an opportunity as a “persuadable” group.

Mr Truesdale highlighted that YouGov polling shows public perception of the National “has worsened”; 39% of those asked in 2010 thought the race was “fairly cruel or very cruel”, which rose to 54% just after last year’s race.

“So if this sport is to be sustainable in the long term, it makes evolving the race, changing these things even more resonant,” he said.