Altior© Photo Healy Racing
The sad reality is that any fan unable to cough up four hundred quid to watch 'RUK' next year doesn't matter to Irish racing. If four hundred is a problem then owning a leg in a horse isn't on. Paying €30 to get into the 'Dublin Racing Festival' is probably a push too. And it's not as if anyone unwilling to bet because they can't see pictures matters either. The Horse & Greyhound Fund gets topped up anyway. The industry doesn't care because there's no percentage in you. Of course out of sight might end up out of mind. But for the next five years racing definitely won't be out of pocket.
HRI has had a lot of flak since news broke of the SIS deal with RMG. And it is off the wall how racing's ruling body basically handed over its own asset without preserving a say in what happened to it.
But since reliance on state subsidy is regularly referenced as a criticism it's only fair to point out how good a financial deal this seems for those involved. About €35 million a year, divided 85-15 between the racecourses and HRI for five years, is a coup in commercial terms. HRI and AIR seem to have done a fine job of capitalising on the corporate peeing contest that's going on in the UK.
In that context worrying about a possible fall in home viewing audience figures probably never occurred to those involved. It's a relatively minor element to the overall financial package anyway and Sky are set to go behind a pay-wall too. The big deal is betting shop pictures. Streaming is next, and direct-to-home gets in ahead only of international rights in terms of financial priority.
So the sense among brass at both HRI and AIR is that the big picture is being lost amid exposure concerns relating to switching coverage from 'At The Races' to RUK. And sure enough, with these kinds of figures, such fretting might seem a trifling consideration.
The conclusion was reached - perhaps helped by how they really wanted to reach it - that any dip in viewing figures arising out of switching the direct-to-home rights would be minimal and certainly not enough to justify scuppering the deal. That might yet prove to be the case too.
But it's a conclusion that yet again illustrates Irish racing's public disconnect. It's a disconnect ultimately rooted in how there's little or no tangible link between fans and the industry's finances. Armed with public subsidy and private rights sales Irish racing's financial picture is rosy. None of it is to do with fans. So if you're feeling snubbed just remember Irish racing can afford to disconnect you.
It's interesting to ponder how if the direct-to-home rights were such a marginal element then keeping them with 'At The Races' might have presented HRI and AIR with a win-win in terms of both money and exposure. Except of course the media rights committee bundled everything over to SIS in a nice little bow so racing has had no such say over its own asset.
And that's the mistake because ultimately exposure does matter. Maybe not in immediate cold cash terms but in order to charge the public long-term you're first got to interest them in what you're flogging.
Irish racing repeatedly insists it is determined to increase the sport's public appeal. But this deal swaps extensive air-time for uncertain exposure levels on a channel owned by Britain's racecourses. Assurances about commitment to Irish racing, 95 per cent live full-screen coverage and all the rest of it sounds good. But proof of such intent will only really come in the summer of 2019 when the practicalities of scheduling a lot of meeting onto a single channel have to be faced.
For example, July Cup day is always referenced as an ultra busy day. In 2017 there were half a dozen cross-channel meetings that day. Two were evening and all of them were on 'RUK.' The Irish Oaks card was on at the Curragh as well. All six British fixtures overlapped with the Curragh at some point.
In such a scenario coverage basically comes down to flicking from one race to the next. Editorial becomes a luxury. And it's a hard to imagine in such a busy scenario how UK tracks who own the rights to Irish racing will short-change themselves to focus attention elsewhere. There's a lot of presumption tied up in the new arrangement. But that's surely presuming too much.
Many will say that's a small price to pay considering the big money secured for the picture rights. And maybe this really is a lot of fuss over nothing. There's no way of knowing for sure. But we do know the advertising industry works on the basis of reminding the public something's there. It's not about persuasion but profile. And it looks like Irish racing has potentially compromised its most valuable promotional tool, and done so with barely an afterthought.
It's hard to imagine any other major sport being so cavalier about how it sells itself to the public. But this is Irish racing, and amidst all the talk of uncertainty there is always one message the game here manages to send out loud, clear and consistent. And that is that there's no percentage in fans, so why bother.
It was said to me by a couple of people on Sunday that the lack of pictures might at least mean a hike in racecourse attendance. As we pondered the vast bare steppe that was Punchestown I offered to take their car keys away and drive them home. I refer you to the start - anyone unprepared to pay a year's subscription is hardly likely to start driving to the races, cough up at the gate and pay over the odds to eat and drink. It's much more likely they'll simply throw their hat at the whole thing and then out of sight really will be out of mind.
It looks like everything else will be throwing its hat in Altior's wake after his wonderful return to action at Newbury. On the back of a long absence, and especially in relation to concerns about his wind, beating a Tingle Creek winner at his leisure was picture perfect stuff. It also puts Nicky Henderson in an enviable position.
In Buveur D'Air (Champion Hurdle,) Altior (Champion Chase,) and Might Bite (Gold Cup) he has the ante-post favourite for Cheltenham's three greatest prizes. Buveur d'Air looks un-opposable. Altior is pretty much the same. Might Bite's a nut-job who could do anything - including win. But surely betting on all three coming in is one for the lay market.
Finally this ad' was on the HRI site for the recent 'Dublin Racing Festival,' pointing out how it "will combine the best the city has to offer over one weekend. Join the party for the best of Dublin culture, music, fashion, food and jump racing that will simply take your breath away. Dazzle your senses in our jubilant celebration of Dublin with a full entertainment programme that supports culture, comedy, music, culinary delights and fashion. Savour the atmosphere that is unique only to Dublin: full of welcome, easy conversations, wit, warmth and humour."
That's 75 words. Racing is one of them. Well, two if you include 'jump.' Comedy, humour and wit make three. The Naas chairman Dermot Cantillon recently made the point the gimmicks have their promotional place but ultimately racing's selling point has to be actual racing. You'd wonder if he's a lone voice on that.
