Like nearly every other walk of life at present, the problems facing racing boil down to numbers. Fixtures are down. Hardly surprisingly, owing to same, numbers of horses in training are down. The Guvnor is aware of a few trainers that have seen their numbers up to and including halved. Those that are still in training are competing for vastly decreased prize money. Numbers of horses being bred and brought to the sales have also plummeted. That in itself may not be a bad thing. The situation had gone into overkill in that particular sector.

Yet, the one inescapable truth lies in the quality of what Irish racing has to offer. The heroics of our jockeys like the Carberry, Walsh and Geraghty families, Johnny Murtagh, Pat Smullen, Mick Kinane, Kieren Fallon and Fran Berry – to name but a few – have been well heralded through the years. So too those of the top trainers like Noel Meade, Willie Mullins, his later father Paddy before him, Tony Martin, Gordon Elliot, and, other dynasties that began in a different generation like the Moores and the Dreapers.

And that’s without even mentioning the trainers who have long excelled on the Flat scene. The late, great Dr M.V. O’Brien will always top any such list, though the Prendergast, Oxx and Weld families as well as Jim Bolger and, of course, Aidan O’Brien, have more Classics to their names than Ford or Rover ever produced in a motor factory. Let it not be forgotten either that handlers who would not have the same profile as some of the others mentioned on the level, Eddie Lynam and Gordon Elliot enjoyed notable successes during 2010.

Then, of course, there are the horses themselves. It is seemingly universally accepted that Arkle was the greatest National Hunt horse there has been to date. Another animal of great repute, Golden Miller, was bred by the grandfather of Barry, Ross and Jill Geraghty. As has often been said, the first memory I have of Irish racing – or racing from anywhere for that matter – was the mighty mare Dawn Run winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1986.

Since then there have been a multiplicity of extremely talented horses whose exploits did wonders for the profile of the sport. Horses like Danoli, Dorans Pride, Moscow Flyer, Istabraq, SpotThedifference, Imperial Call, Kicking King, War Of Attrition, Hardy Eustace and Brave Inca are just some of those who have captured the public’s imagination to a degree that to many might seem strange for an animal to do. Such is the love for and interest in horses in this country that it is quite common for them to be elevated to such status.

So, while there is no problem with the quality of Irish racing, quantities in the sport are a massive concern for the future - numbers of fixtures, the amount of horses competing in the said contests and the prize money on offer to the owners of the animals who are doing so.

That such is the situation given the current economic climate wouldn’t be that big a shock. However, things are compounded still further by a necessitated mass cancellation of fixtures for the second winter in a row due to the arctic like climatic conditions that have befallen both Ireland and across the water.

Make no mistake about it, the unfavourable weather only adds to what is a mounting struggle in certain areas. Take Fairyhouse for example. 2010 marks the third consecutive year that their Winter Festival – featuring three Grade One Races – has been disrupted by weather and, as a knock on effect revenue lost due to the re-arrangement of those fixtures.

In 2008 and 2009, the opening day of the venue’s second biggest fixture of the year – superseded only by the Irish Grand National meeting – was quite literally shrouded in fog. Punters had to rely on commentary by James Griffin, following things out on the course in a car, to have any idea what was going on. Last year, the situation was even worse in that the second day of the card – featuring the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, the Hattons Grace Hurdle and the Drinmore Novice Chase – was lost on the Sunday and ran midweek. That would be similar to playing an All Ireland Final between Monday and Friday.

2010 has been even worse though. Both days of the flagship Winter Festival were lost to snow on their original intended date, as was the initial intended re-fixture. They are now due to place on December 8th. It is important to point out however that this is not solely a Fairyhouse problem – though that grand old place seems to have been jinxed given some of the other problems they have been faced with of late.

Navan, Punchestown, Wexford, Clonmel and even the polytrack in Dundalk – one refrained from using the term ‘all weather’ – have seen their seasons crazily disrupted. The uncertainty regarding fixtures that goes along with such climatic volatility makes marketing what is a very attractive product. Put simply, there’s very little point in advertising something if you’re going to have to change the dates etc – sometimes repeatedly.

That is something which applies across the sporting spectrum. Fundraising for anything is a perilous enough task in the times we currently find ourselves, but the uncertainty which the enforced cancellation of events causes makes things even more difficult. One such funding event is known to have been deferred twice at the time of typing. With Christmas now nigh, it is unclear when, or indeed if, it will be afforded a third chance.
Recently, a column was encountered which advocated the addition of Gaelic Games to the school curriculum. A noble idea indeed and one which should definitely be pursued. What the Guvnor would love to know, however is: is there any way youngsters could be enticed towards racing at a young age?

Yes, there is the RACE Academy – a tremendous innovation which thankfully has been saved after looking to be on dodgy ground for a while – but what about those even younger than that? How about school tours to trainer’s yards or days at the races? It is known that the schools around Punchestown close during their big festival. Initiatives like that are what are needed. The days of the ‘glam’ jobs may be gone, but, it is at a time like this when racing and similar industries may in fact benefit. Yours truly remembers being brought on a class tour to a local farmyard when in fourth class as work like that was still a big draw then (1992) before the boom that has now very dramatically busted.

Racing has a huge amount to offer but in its own way it is struggling too. As a sport, it misses out on some of the mass promotion that, say, the field sports get in schools and the like. What racing needs is mass marketing and all the support it can get. Some meetings and venues are extremely well marketed, others are sadly lacking therein and are losing out accordingly. We have already seen Tralee Racecourse for development, will more follow?

One of the biggest assets racing has to its name at present is the financial backing that is spread across the industry by certain people and in them doing so they are keeping many an establishment afloat. Most people will know who is being referred to. That’s why it was so galling to have these ears sullied while trying to enjoy a pint recently with a diatribe to the effect that these people – who do so much to help out the racing industry – were actually only helping out their fellow wealthy with racehorses. And that it is they who should be baling out the country, not the ECB, the IMF and the EU.

While there is a degree of fulltime employment to be had within GAA and Soccer and Rugby, it is likely that none of them come near to the 22,000 it was estimated were employed within the racing industry in 2009. It goes without saying that if the likes of the business people in question – one of whom supports many other things besides those involving horses – were to draw stumps it would have a domino like destructive effect on the racing industry.

If horses are removed from yards