Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports, British racing trainer Ed Walker gave his candid thoughts on the state of Horse Racing, slamming the current schedule as “ridiculous” and says the sport wastes too much money on rubbish” racing and rewarding mediocrity”
Walker explains why he believes Premier Raceday has “failed” and revealed how AI is making its way into the world of racing but claims that nothing will ever beat the human eye.
He also speaks about why “quirky” Oisin Murphy is the next Frankie Dettori in racing as the sport's most marketable face and why he wants to have dinner with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Fixture List Is “Ridiculous”
One example is the fixture list. We all know the fixture list is absolutely shot to bits. Yet every year, the fixture list is just the same. And that's just one classic example of how defunct the running of British racing is.
They reduced the number by a handful, maybe two. That’s ridiculous. This has been going on for five years. Every year is the same. It's pathetic, really. It’s because no one can make a decision or get anything done because someone is blocking something.
There's probably going to be winners and losers. At the end of the day, the sport needs to look after its owners better. Because without the owners, there's no sport.
Stop Wasting Money On Bad Racing!
I think we waste too much money on bad racing. There's plenty of prize money at the top of the pyramid. It's the middle-tier stuff which needs looking at.
People who have horses in training, at a cost of £25-30,000 a year, to win £3,000 at Wolverhampton in a 0-55 race. They're not doing it for the money. They're doing it for the love of the sport or for a bet. There are other reasons. Whether they win three grand or no grand, it makes absolutely no difference to their participation in the sport. It doesn't even pay a month's training fees.
We waste so much money in those thousands of bad races. That money needs to be moved up into the middle tier so when somebody does have a decent horse, an 85-90 horse, no super star, but actually that horse goes and wins two races, which pays its way for the year.
Support and reward the good horses. We should not reward mediocrity. Then people would stop owning bad horses. There is too much racing anyway. Who wants to watch rubbish racing? There are so many other distractions in life now to young people than there used to be. So, it is a bigger challenge. Racecourses need to do a better job of getting people through the door.
You don’t want to lose the people who want to dress up and look smart, that side of racing. But I think also there could really be the cheap as cheap-as-chips laid back picnic racing afternoon. We could do better at doing that.
It wasn't that long ago that every single person in the world had some connection with a horse because they needed a horse to commute or to plough the fields or to get from A to B. Horses were an integral part of life and in a very short period of time the vast majority of the population would never have seen a horse let alone touched one. So we're up against that in a very, very fast-changing world.
Prize-Money Improvement Not Enough
Yes, it is good news for once. It's positive and positive. I'm hoping that Lord Allen can help improve that even further. It's not enough, but it's a step in the right direction.
Explore a wide range of horse racing odds across all the big races.
Premier Raceday’s Has Failed
I think [Premier Raceday’s] has failed. I think it was never launched properly. It started on the wrong foot, and then you're always chasing a tail. It wasn't marketed well. And to be pretty honest, it seemed a waste of time.
I don’t think you can try to reinvent the wheel [Racing League and Shergar Cup]. It's about horses and the good horses. It's not about it, it's not even about the jockeys or the trainers, it's about the best horses. We need to make more of a deal of that, really.
AI Will Never Beat The Human Eye
More and more trainers, especially younger guys than me, are probably using data more than I did or my mentors Luca Cumani and Roger Charlton did. Maybe AI has its place in analysing that data, collecting stride lengths and heart rates and recovery rates and everything else.
I'm sure people will be trying to use AI at the breeze-ups. I know giving up videoing horses galloping at the breeze ups and trying to interpret it using AI to interpret it. In terms of training, it will be hard to beat the human eye.
Next Big Star In Racing “Quirky” Oisin Murphy
Oisin is the one, really. He has got that X-Factor brilliance and that intriguing, quirky personality. He gets everyone talking because he's an interesting guy. He's not your kind of bog-standard bloke.
I'm very close with him and know him very well, and he's a great guy. He is the one, really, I think, who can capture the outside of the racing audience. He’s got that personality and that brilliance in the saddle that just makes him one of the few difference makers in the game.
Oisin has been under a huge amount of pressure this season, but he's riding better than ever. So he must have a heck of a temperament. His issues have never once reflected on his riding. Never. Nobody has said this season that Oisin is taking his eye off the ball.
And he's had quite a fair bit of stuff going on by the sounds of it. When he's in the saddle, he's just A1.
Billy is a very rare talent as well. Again, he’s got the charm. He's a great guy. He probably wouldn't be as blessed as Oisin or Ryan or Will, and Tom in terms of his size. Hopefully, that won’t be an issue. He is a lovely guy.
I think so. It is sad, but is it a bad thing? There's just too much racing. Would you rather have less race courses doing it brilliantly or lots of race courses doing it, struggling to make ends meet? When was the last time you heard anyone crying, ‘I miss Folkestone!’
Career If Not Racing
I'd be doing something by the sea.
My involvement in racing is largely Andrew Balding’s fault! I was born close to his yard at Kingsclere. I always wanted to be a vet, but in my early teens, I discovered racing and met Andrew and Claire Balding, who used to teach me to ride at Pony Club camp. I got fascinated by the Balding set-up.
My late father used to commute to London, and I used to look at him and look at Ian Balding and think, ‘I'd rather work here.’
Dream Dinner Party!
Julia Roberts, who’d have some stories to tell. Andy Murray would be a great crack. He has quite a dry sense of humour. It would be fun to see how grumpy he is. Jonny Wilkinson, who was part of that great World Cup-winning team in 2003. He’s a bit of a hero. And finally, Volodymyr Zelensky, he’d be fascinating too.
Bet on Horse Racing Odds at BOYLE Sports
*Prices are subject to fluctuation.
Remember, Always Gamble Responsibly.
