Opinion: Will The ‘Radical’ UK Racing Strike Change Industry Fortunes? The UK’s “radical” racing strike on Wednesday 10th September may not have the desired effect but it is a worthwhile endeavour. That is the view of racing journalist Johnny Ward, speaking on irishracing.com’s The Irish Angle show this week. UK Racing goes on strike on Wednesday with meetings at Lingfield, Carlisle, Uttoxeter and Kempton cancelled so attention can be drawn to a protest in Westminster. It is part of the ‘Axe the Racing Tax’ campaign which is protesting proposals to increase the 15 per cent duty on racing to the 21 per cent levied on games of chance. Campaigners warn it could see a £330 million revenue hit to the industry in the first five years, putting 2,752 jobs at risk in the first year alone The strike will not be effective in Ireland, with Cork staging a meeting on Wednesday. Racing In Danger Of Losing Bookmaker Support Asked whether the strike will have an impact, Johnny Ward said: “It's hard to know. “Lee Mottershead’s article in the Racing Post is quite interesting because the betting tax campaign, and it's been a fairly big campaign, just hasn't gotten anywhere near the amount of petitions that some might have thought it would get. “This is really, really significant for the future of racing and in terms of how racing is changing. “I worry about the action of Flutter which has been referenced as well, in relation to Flutter's concerns about the betting tax. Flutter pulled out of sponsoring a TV show ostensibly based on concerns about betting tax. “Flutter issued a statement afterwards about racing's place and how they remain committed to racing, but racing's in danger of being left behind. “My first memory of a betting shop is when tax was 10% in Ireland and you went into a smoke-filled place in the corner of some grubby town and basically everything was a bet on the horses or the dogs. “Now the betting shops are closing and the guys who can make these models to sell to the bookmakers where you can make a bet or betting in play and all that sort of stuff, they're making the money. “Like many things in life, it [the money] is going towards as few people as possible working in a particular sport.” Racing’s Unique Position “Bookmakers want stuff they just have to monitor but they don't need people to actually set the odds. Racing is kind of unique.” Ward added. “My perspective on racing is that the bookmakers really care less and less about it. “And this is worrying because if bookmakers start pulling out of sponsorships and they start getting wary of the money that they're having to pay, we're in big, big trouble going forward. “If you have a situation where Lee Westwood is on about affordability checks in the last few days, you really do need to step up and take notice. “We'll see how the strike goes. It's a radical move. I'm not really sure what it's going to achieve, but I respect the fact that those people in Britain are worried about the betting tax and are coming from a good place because we're in big trouble with racing going forward.” Watch The Irish Angle Or Listen On Spotify
