Bill Bridge: Pointing the way forward is only small start

Dale Tempest, media relations manager for Harrogate-based SkyBet, welcomed the key proposals. "The move to decimalising starting prices is long overdue," he said. "Sometimes, when I am trying to explain to some the difference between 11-8 and 13-8, I might as well be speaking a foreign language.

"So my view is that this is positive move, simple and straightforward; anything which makes racing more appealing to the under-40s has to be good.

"It's about giving the people what they want. We had a crowd of 36,000 for our SkyBet meeting at York last summer when we had the Stars of X-Factor performing after racing. People want that sort of thing and you have to give credit to York for being ahead of the curve.

"They do so much in little ways to make a day at the races simple yet enjoyable for all their customers and the result is obvious – their crowds are going up."

He also supports moves to encourage jockeys to be more media friendly and make more impact on the public but he is aware of the problems.

"You can't make people good at this by just telling them to do it," he said. "Ryan Moore, the champion Flat jockey, might not be as reluctant to talk to the media as he is had he been given media training when he started out at 16.

"These proposals will have an impact but we might not see the benefits for five or 10 years because it will take that long for the skills to become engrained in the jockeys' mindset."

There was also support for the proposals from Graham Orange on behalf of Go Racing in Yorkshire, the marketing group representing the region's nine racecourses.

"Racing for Change was launched last summer aimed at extending the appeal of racing, particularly to a younger audience," he said. "Anything which does this and makes the 'race-going experience' more accessible, relevant and – most importantly – more enjoyable, has my support. We in Yorkshire have been trying to do this for a number of years.

"The decimalisation of odds is inevitable; most people are more comfortable with this system; after all, our currency was decimalised in 1971. The weekend trial for this will be illuminating, but I think it will become reality in British racing. The younger generation do not deal with fractions any more and racing, like any other sport, has to be fully aware of this.

"Indeed, race distances in France are given in metres, not miles, furlongs and yards as in the UK. Is this something else to look at? I would be sad to see the imperial distances go, but we have to acknowledge changing trends.

"I've always been an advocate of making the saddle-cloth numbers larger, so the public – both on and off-course – can identify the runners more easily. Watch any American racing and you will see my point.

"Giving full names of trainers and jockeys in race-cards, newspapers and websites are a good thing and making the stars of the sport more accessible to the media is to be applauded. Perhaps making it a one of the conditions of a jockey having a licence for would be a step in the right direction. Also, displaying the result of photo-finishes on the big screen as a matter of course should be mandatory."

So far, so good, then from 'Racing for Change' but the feeling lingers that their proposals do little to alter the fundamental problems facing racing.

Prize money, or the paucity of it, is undoubtedly the most important. It is followed – in no particular order of importance – by coming to an arrangement with the bookmaking industry which sees them pay a realistic figure, based on a fixed percentage of their profits, from their betting on horse-racing; making sure racing profits from the use of its copyright material by bookmakers operating off-shore, be it Gibraltar or Hong Kong; ensuring that major races like the Guineas and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes are properly marketed and no do not – as is the case at the moment – attract much lower crowds than gather at less eye-catching meetings on the same day; lower entrance charges; monitor levels of alcohol consumption to prevent a day at the races becoming an excuse for binge drinking; ensure better value-for-money in catering areas.

There are many major and minor changes which are yet to be discussed – a personal touch, which at the very least would promote good will, would be to give every race-goer a card, rather than hand one to those in the premier enclosures but ask those in the cheaper rings to pay 2.50 for exactly the same information.

'Racing for Change' has made a start but that is all.

Racing still appears too divided, with too many factions pursuing their own agenda, for change to come at the pace Chris McFadden, the project's chairman, and his colleagues would like.

RACING FOR CHANGE PLANS

Trial decimal odds at meetings over one weekend in Spring 2010.

Funded media training sessions for jockeys and trainers with appearance fees payable for engagements outside racing.

Jockeys' and trainers' first names to be added to race-cards.

Photo-finish stills to be displayed to public as judge's decision is announced.

Saddle cloth numbers to be made larger to improve visibility.

Race names to be simplified.

On-course bookmakers to offer standard each-way terms and better customer service.

Racecourses to improve their customers' understanding of spending a day at the races and take part in an independent quality assessment scheme.

Discounted admission and shares in racehorses for younger adults.

Central PR campaign to promote racing to a wider audience including the use of a new website to promote racing to new and novice customers.