From the Rails: Forty-Five Years in Racing, Six Months in the Making
Why Inside Horse Racing UK is about more than building a business
Ruby Walsh raised a question in the Racing Post this weekend that I suspect will have struck a chord with plenty of people who have spent their lives around British racing. Each generation is merely a custodian of the sport, but are those responsible for it today doing enough to ensure there’s something worthwhile to hand on to the next?
It’s a question worth asking, particularly at a time when the great autumn meetings and extraordinary sums changing hands in the bloodstock sales can make everything appear rather healthier than it really is.
British racing still has an enormous amount going for it. We have wonderful racecourses, outstanding horsemen, some of the finest thoroughbreds in the world and a history that few other sports can match. Yet we also have an industry wrestling with financial pressures, concerns about its future audience and increasingly difficult questions about how it should move forward.
I don’t believe anybody has a simple answer to those problems, and after 45 years involved with racing, I certainly wouldn’t pretend that I have. But I do believe that those of us who have enjoyed so much from the sport have a responsibility to contribute something towards its future, rather than simply stand on the sidelines pointing out where everything is going wrong.
And that brings me to something rather personal this week.
For the past six months, I’ve been building a small specialist business called Inside Horse Racing UK. On the face of it, six months might not sound particularly long, but the truth is that the foundations were laid over the previous 45 years. Every racecourse visited, every conversation, every lesson learned and every change witnessed along the way has played some part in shaping what I’ve been trying to achieve.
Those six months have also been among the most demanding I’ve experienced. There have been plenty of 14- and 15-hour days researching companies, developing the website, establishing relationships and exploring partnerships, often with little more than the belief that there must be a better way of connecting worthwhile businesses and ideas with the British racing industry.
It hasn’t all been plain sailing. Some approaches have produced encouraging conversations, others have led nowhere, and there have been occasions when I’ve wondered whether I’ve taken on rather more than I bargained for. Building a business from the ground up is a rather different proposition from having a good idea over a cup of coffee.
But the more I’ve worked on it, the more convinced I’ve become that there is a genuine opportunity here.
Around the world, businesses are developing racing technology, equine services and commercial ideas that could be of real value to British racing. At the same time, our own industry has publishers, organisations and businesses looking for new opportunities, better communication and ways to strengthen what they already do.
The difficulty is often bringing the right people, knowledge and opportunities together.
That’s what Inside Horse Racing UK has been built to do.
I’m not suggesting that one small business is going to rescue British racing, and I wouldn’t insult anybody’s intelligence by making such a claim. But I do believe that progress comes from people being prepared to act, however modest their contribution might appear alongside the industry’s larger challenges.
In many respects, this is a lifetime’s experience condensed into a small website and a business that has taken six months of extraordinarily hard work to establish.
And if it helps bring new investment, useful technology, stronger media opportunities or worthwhile commercial relationships into British racing, then I believe that effort will have been justified.
So what exactly is Inside Horse Racing UK?
Regular readers will be familiar with Pro Racing Edge and the editorial work we do here. Inside Horse Racing UK is connected with those wider racing activities, but its purpose is rather different.
Put simply, it’s a specialist business designed to help companies, publishers and organisations develop opportunities within British racing, drawing on experience of the sport and an understanding of how the industry operates.
The work falls into three areas, although in practice they often overlap.
The first is UK Market Development, particularly for international racing and equine businesses considering Britain.
There are some remarkably interesting companies around the world developing technology, services and ideas that could have genuine value to British racing. The difficulty is that having a good product and knowing how to introduce it into an unfamiliar market are two very different things.
British racing has its own structures, traditions, organisations and ways of doing business. What works successfully in Australia, America or elsewhere doesn’t automatically translate into commercial success here.
Our role is to help those businesses understand the market, assess whether a worthwhile opportunity exists and identify a sensible route forward. That might involve researching competitors, understanding potential customers, identifying suitable organisations or helping a company adapt its approach to British racing.
Importantly, it isn’t about promising introductions to everybody with a telephone number. It’s about doing the groundwork properly and understanding whether there is a credible commercial opportunity in the first place.
Racing media deserves its place
The second area is Racing Media and Content, and this is one I feel particularly strongly about.
Through Pro Racing Edge and our wider publishing activities, we’ve spent considerable time developing racing journalism, features, analysis and content intended for people who actually follow the sport.
There is still a tremendous appetite for knowledgeable racing coverage, although the way people consume it has changed beyond recognition. Traditional publications now compete with digital platforms, newsletters, video, social media and specialist services, all trying to attract an audience whose attention is increasingly difficult to hold.
I believe there is an opportunity here for informed, properly researched racing content that serves both readers and the organisations commissioning it.
Inside Horse Racing UK can provide commissioned editorial, features, specialist analysis and commercial content for publishers, businesses and industry organisations. That might involve helping an established publisher strengthen its racing coverage, developing content around a specialist product or working with a business that understands its own technology but needs help communicating its value to a British racing audience.
For me, this isn’t simply another service added to a website. It’s a natural extension of the work we’ve already been doing.
Turning opportunities into relationships
The third area is UK Commercial Support.
Once a company has established that Britain represents a worthwhile market, somebody still has to help turn that opportunity into something tangible.
That might mean developing relationships with potential customers, exploring partnerships with racing organisations or helping a business establish a presence within the industry.
We’re particularly interested in the possibilities offered by useful racing technology, whether that’s improving communication with racehorse owners and syndicate members, supporting trainers and yards, or introducing services that make parts of the industry more efficient.
Not every product will be suitable, and not every conversation will lead to business. That’s why assessment comes before any promise of ongoing commercial support.
The ambition isn’t to build a large agency employing dozens of people. I’d much rather see Inside Horse Racing UK working closely with a small number of worthwhile businesses, developing relationships that last and producing results that justify the effort on both sides.
A contribution, however small
I don’t imagine for one moment that Inside Horse Racing UK is going to solve all the industry’s problems. That would be a ridiculous claim.
British racing faces difficult questions about its finances, its relationship with betting, the cost of ownership, the future of its racecourses and how it attracts another generation of supporters. Those issues won’t disappear because somebody has launched a new business.
But I do believe progress can come from smaller initiatives as well as decisions made in boardrooms.
If we can help worthwhile businesses find their place in British racing, encourage the adoption of useful technology, support racing media and create commercial opportunities that might otherwise never materialise, then perhaps we can make a contribution.
And right now, I think British racing needs every worthwhile contribution it can get.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the Racehorse Syndicates Association (RSA) for the encouragement and support they’ve shown us while we’ve been putting Inside Horse Racing UK together.
When you’re building something from the ground up, particularly in an industry as established and sometimes difficult to navigate as British racing, it makes a considerable difference when people are prepared to listen, exchange ideas and recognise what you’re trying to achieve.
The RSA has been one of those organisations, and their willingness to engage with us has been genuinely appreciated. It’s exactly the sort of constructive relationship I hope we can continue to develop as Inside Horse Racing UK moves forward.
Where do we go from here?
Well, the website is now in place, relationships are developing and we’re beginning to see where the opportunities might lie.
There is still an enormous amount of work ahead, and I’m under no illusions about the difficulties of turning a promising conversation into a lasting commercial relationship. But after six months of putting this together, I feel we’ve established a foundation worth building upon.
The website may be small, and the business may be new, but the experience behind it has taken the best part of a lifetime to acquire.
For anyone involved in racing technology, equine services, publishing, media or the wider commercial side of the sport who thinks there might be an opportunity to work together, I’d be delighted to hear from you.
You can find out more about what we’re doing at www.insidehorseracinguk.com.
And for those who simply enjoy reading From the Rails, don’t worry. We’ll be back to the horses soon enough.
After all, 45 years is a long time to spend following racing, and I haven’t quite finished yet.
Happy days racing. Speak soon.
— John Mills
