Hi all,
Inside today’s main piece I’m looking at a couple of races at Thirsk this afternoon. Plus, there’s a Ralph Beckett juvenile debutant in September angle for you.
Racing’s Lost Working-Class Men
As horse racing scrambles to attract a new audience and, even more importantly, to get people betting on the sport regularly. There’s one group it really needs to focus but isn’t and its young working-class men.
In the 1980s, betting was woven into working-class life. Walk into any high street betting shop and you’d find it packed with young men — usually from manual trades — studying form, filling in slips, and watching the racing. Back then, around two-thirds of working-class men were thought to place regular bets. Horse racing and the football pools dominated. It was social, familiar, and part of the weekly routine.
Fast forward to today and the picture is very different. The high street shop has lost much of its pull. Since the 2019 clampdown on gaming machines and the rise of smartphones, young punters no longer see the shop as their natural home. Gambling Commission data shows only around a quarter of men aged 16–34 bet on racing at all in the past year – a far cry from the levels seen four decades ago.
That doesn’t mean they’ve stopped gambling. Football accas, online slots, and even esports betting have filled the gap. The action has shifted from smoky betting shops to slick apps, available anywhere and anytime.
A Sport at a Crossroads
For racing, the shift is stark. Once the heartbeat of working-class betting, it now struggles to attract the same young audience. The “Saturday shop crowd” that once fuelled the sport is ageing fast, and there’s no obvious replacement waiting in the wings.
Horse racing isn’t dead in the betting market, but the habits of young working-class men have changed beyond recognition. What was once a social ritual is now a private tap on a screen — and that’s a big challenge for the sport’s future.
If racing is to reconnect, it needs to meet young punters where they are. Smarter use of digital media, cheaper racecourse experiences, and a clearer betting product could help. The sport has history and excitement on its side, but unless it adapts, it risks losing touch with the very audience that once kept it alive.
This shift links directly to racing’s wider financial challenge. As I wrote in yesterday’s column, the sport’s slice of bookmaker revenue has been in steady decline for decades. Fewer young bettors today mean less betting strength tomorrow and that’s why reconnecting with this generation isn’t just desirable, it’s essential.
Racing’s Big Problem: Making Betting Attractive Again
How does the sport move forward? It’s simple in theory but hard in practice: make the product one people want to bet on. That’s easier said than done because, right now, the betting product on offer just isn’t tempting enough.
In the past, racing could rely on one big advantage. It had a monopoly on betting. Punters who wanted a flutter on sport were funnelled towards horses and greyhounds. That monopoly disappeared years ago and now racing finds itself in direct competition with not just football or just about every other sport you can name and of course casino games. The sad truth is that racing hasn’t done nearly enough to adapt.
Take the Racing League as an example. For all its gimmicks and its garish presentation, the original concept wasn’t without merit. The idea of attracting a new audience and packaging the sport in a modern way was sound. But has it worked? Absolutely not. The hoped-for new crowd hasn’t materialised, and the product has fallen flat. The only people betting on it are the ones who already bet.
So where does that leave the sport? It needs to think harder about the betting customer — because that’s the lifeblood of the sport. The fixture list is bloated, the field sizes too small, and the value for punters is often non-existent. If the sport is serious about growth, it must stop protecting the status quo and start offering a betting product that feels competitive, exciting, and worth staking money on.
Curragh: Irish Cambridgeshire – 1m
Fifteen were declared for this year’s Irish Cambridgeshire. That’s nine less than 12 months ago Where are all the Irish mile handicappers? You have to back to 2003 to find the last time we had such a poor turnout.
I realised that I forgot to highlight some of the more interesting trends for Saturday’s big betting race at the Curragh.
SP Odds: All the last ten winners of the race were returned between 9/1 & 28/1. Those horses returned below 9/1 are – 0 winners from 22 runners and not surprisingly there hasn’t been a winning favourite in the last ten years, albeit 6 have placed.
Stalls: 7 to 18 are – 1 winner from 112 runners, 17 places (Exp/Wins = 7.23).
Runs at the Distance: Horses with 5+ runs at the distance are – 1 winner from 125 runners. 17 places (Exp/Wins = 6.98). Nine of the last ten winners had run four times or less over a mile in the UK & Ireland.
Weight: Horses carrying 8-7 or less are – 0 winners from 63 runners, 8 places.
Trends Verdict
The Irish Cambridgeshire has been a good trends race in recent year in my opinion. I was going to use the draw trend to shortlist contenders but with just 15 runners I’m not sure how important it will be this year. That said it could favour lower drawn horses even more. If you leave the drawn trends I’m left with the runs at the distance, and the weight carried trends to concentrate on.
Ralph Beckett Juvenile Debutants in September
On Wednesday I mentioned a new month offers new opportunities. I’ve always thought Ralph Beckett does well with his juvenile debutants at Salisbury in September, so I decided to dig into horseracebase to see if I was right.
A near 16%-win strike rate overall for the Beckett juvenile debutants on turf in September is decent. However, you can improve on that if you concentrate on certain tracks and I was right about Salisbury. Beckett has had 6 winners from 29 runners 21% +9.8 with newcomers at Salisbury. He does even better at three other tracks: Haydock, Chepstow and Ffos Las.
There won’t be many qualifiers probably 3 or 4 at most during the month but still worth looking out for, nonetheless.
Friday Racing
It’s not often Thirsk takes top billing over Sandown, but today it does. The card features a couple of competitive handicaps that are worth attention.
Thirsk
3:38 – Handicap (Class 3) – 6f
Dark Cloud Rising bounced back to form when scoring at Leicester 19 days ago. He’s up 3lb for that but still looks on a fair mark. A C&D winner, he handles most ground and represents a yard that has landed this race twice before (2015 & 2018).
Sir Garfield is thriving and arrives after a Hamilton win 17 days ago. A 2lb rise and a step up in class don’t look insurmountable and he should give a good account of himself.
Eternal Sunshine was beaten a short head by Sir Garfield at Hamilton and then finished a short head second in better race at York (5f), Can have a line put through her effort a day later over 7f. Back over a C&D she’s won over in the past. Handicapped to go close.
Tinto won this very race last year from a 2lb higher mark. Admittedly, he’s not been in any form lately, but he was only denied a nose here over 5f in May. At nine he may be on the wane, but his handicap mark is tempting, and he can’t be ruled out.
Verdict: The trio I like are all drawn low, and I’m banking on that not being a major disadvantage. Eternal Sunshine is the one I’m hoping can bounce back, with little to separate her from Sir Garfield on their Hamilton form. And then there’s Tinto — last year’s winner, a three-time C&D scorer, and well treated and he's hard to ignore. Of those drawn higher. Last time out winner Dark Cloud Rising can go well for a yard with a good record in the race.
4:08 – Handicap (Class 2) – 7f
Northern Express has claims after finishing a 1¾-length 5th of 17 in the Clipper Handicap at York eight days ago. That was his best run of the season, and he now sits 4lb below last year’s winning mark. A course winner over a mile, this looks a good opportunity to return to the winner’s enclosure.
Fine Interview ran a solid race when 5th of 20 in a Goodwood handicap last month. He shaped as if worth a try at a mile last time, but cheekpieces are added here to sharpen him up staying at 7f. Easier ground will suit and with Jack Nicholls taking off a handy 5lb he makes plenty of appeal.
Rhythm Master ended a 24 long losing run when winning over C&D two starts back, then backed that up with a close third at Newmarket last time. He runs off the same mark here and looks to have good claims.
Persuasion is a standing dish in this race – he won it in 2023 and was a good third last year. He disappointed at Galway last time, but his earlier Epsom fourth was a solid effort. Back to his ideal trip and 2lb lower than last year, he’s a danger to all if bouncing back.
Verdict: Northern Express could be poised to strike. Persuasion, a past winner of this very race can’t be overlooked. With the cheekpieces on for the first time, Fine Interview was the one I was going to side with but he's now a non runner.
Friday Free Tip
Thirsk
Northern Express – £2 win – 9/2
Running Total – £90
Good luck with your Friday bets.
John