George Baker: “Epsom Lacks Racecourses, But Not Potential”

Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports, Epsom trainer George Baker recalls his racing story and how he went from working in the media to training his first horse in 2008

George also speaks about the importance of reviving Epsom as a Racing Hub and how it can attract new horses and investment.

The piece concludes with another ambitious vision where he reimagines the Derby as London’s Race and how the event could create a “party atmosphere” in 2029.

Our Racing Journey

This mad gig of training resources was no more than a very far-fetched dream for most of my life, and a completely unattainable dream. The catalyst really was a bank called Barings, where I worked,  that went bust in 1995, which was not all of my fault! It was Nick Leeson’s and the chain of command that allowed him to be in a position to do what he did. I went to go and live in Vietnam for a couple of years after that. I met Paul Webber at a dinner party, and he was looking for an assistant trainer.

I had no more than a passion for the sport, but he took me on. Then I got the opportunity to work with the Sportsman newspaper, which was started in 2006 but folded. So, I went off to the British Racing School, did all the courses, and we had our first runner in March of 2008 Back then, the all-weather was much less competitive than it is now. You go to Wolverhampton now and you run in a Maiden, and you find you're taking on a Godolphin son of Dubawi. But back then, you could actually pick and choose your way through the programme.

Everybody wants to go to Goodwood or Ascot, but if you've got average horses, you've got to be realistic. So, you've got to go and win the claimer at Wolverhampton on a wet and windy February night. And we did that. We were winning bad races. But because we were there and winning, I was getting quite a lot of media coverage very early on, purely through placing the horses correctly and not tilting at windmills. That gave us the early traction.

Now we have recently moved to Epsom, which is, I hope, the final move.

Epsom Back On The Map

It’s fantastic. Downs House, where I am, is a furlong from the Derby start. I drive over the Derby track every morning on the way into work. The history of the place is extraordinary. The only thing Epson lacks at the moment from a racehorse training perspective is racehorses. It has the best facilities, comparable with Lambourn, Middleham and Newmarket. Back in the 50s, Winston Churchill had all his horses trained there when there were 800 horses being trained there. Sadly, a lot of these ancient stables disappeared under property developments.

Now with Downs House and Jim Boyle’s yard at a renovated South Hatch, and other establishments, there's a genuine feel that you can have good horses trained at Epsom again. We've got a huge catchment area over the hill called London. We’ve just got to persuade everyone to wander up the hill from London and come and get involved because there's literally no reason not to.

Already, plenty of our owners are based in London. We've made a beginning, and it's no more than a beginning, but it's exciting times, and we've got all the sales upcoming, and so we're going to go roll the dice and buy a lot of horses and then persuade everyone that Epsom is the place to have them in training.

“London Race” Needed

The Jockey Club is not making a huge amount of sense at the moment. A disappointing attendance at Cheltenham definitely impacts the bigger picture. But they've got a 990-year lease on Epsom, and they are committed to it. Everybody there is incredibly enthusiastic and really wanting us to do well and wanting our presence there to generate interest in getting more people to the place. The Derby, in terms of attendance, hit a low this year.

They desperately want to get both the place back as a training centre and get that iconic horse race back. The Derby itself is a great spectacle; it’s just everything that goes around it. I was very aware of arriving in Epsom and talking to people, and people going, ‘When’s the Derby?’ I think they've just got to strip it back a little bit, make it Epsom's party. It's the 250th Derby in 2029, off the top of my head. Like the Melbourne Cup, it did stop the nation.

The whole of London would come up the hill. I think that they've got to engage with London and make it London's race. It's not going to happen next year, but in 2029, the 250th, it can really be a massive event. Personally, there are media rights issues and television issues, but I would personally much rather have it back on a weekday. Obviously, it used to be a Wednesday.

I would love to see it on a Wednesday. It’s a shame when it's competing with football. This year, the race was half an hour earlier to make sure it didn't impact ITV's coverage of the five o'clock kick-off of England and Andorra. When you're playing second fiddle to England v Andorra, you know there are problems. It should be a standalone event. It is a great event. It still captures the public imagination.

I have a strong sense that since the Derby moved from Wednesday to Saturday that the public engagement in the race and the meeting in general has been on the wane. I think that's sad. But I don’t think it's beyond redemption. When you look at the numbers and good work down the road at Royal Ascot, the attendance figures were fantastic, through the roof.

Royal Ascot is raging away on the numbers. People are going racing. I think on the hill, you just strip it back to basics and just say come for free and you'll be able to have a pint with your mates, bring a picnic, have a bet. Also, just bring everybody into the infield and create a bit of a party atmosphere, and maybe get the fair there for a few days beforehand.

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