PPA Board Meeting concerning the Current Season

The PPA Board formally met on Monday evening to discuss the terrible weather, the mitigating actions that have been taken so far and what else might be done.

It was clear that this has been the worst season on record in terms of weather. So far, 56 fixtures have been run and 32 abandoned; 14 have been postponed of which 5 later had to be abandoned. Further fixtures are likely to be lost. Perhaps most extraordinary is the fact that the rain started at the beginning of the season and there have been only two weekends in 2024 when a fixture has not been lost. Whilst East Anglia and Wessex fixtures have so far been able to run more or less throughout the season (25 of the total so far), everywhere else has struggled, none more so than D&C and Wales. The former has managed one fixture since mid January, whilst the latter has only had one fixture (Easter Monday). The PPA Board recognises that this has been very difficult for everyone. Many fixtures have lost considerable amounts of money, almost all trainers have had major problems in training and owners have had few opportunities to watch their horses run. It has been little consolation that racing under rules has faced similar problems as have most other equestrian sports.

In the face of the above, it is good news that we have not lost a weekend, although it has been touch and go on occasion, and there has been some wonderfully competitive racing with most races having 3 or 4 live contenders. Most fixtures that have wanted to postpone have also been found new slots with fairly limited problems indicating that the PPSA system of checks and balances has worked well. Inevitably there have been a few complaints as a postponed fixture can and will affect an incumbent, particularly now the majority of horses travel much further than in the past, and of course riders and boxes cannot be in two places on the same day. The Board felt that the PPSA had done well to ensure that the fixture list has remained as balanced as is possible given what courses have been available on any given week. The Board would like to thank the many fixtures this season that have made early calls allowing gaps to be identified which can then be filled by those wanting to postpone.

However, what cannot be helped is where there are no courses available in an area or region to accommodate a re-arranged fixture. Contingency work has been done in looking to see if fixtures can relocate if their own course is unusable, and to that end Larkhill has offered itself to help for which the Board is grateful. However, what we cannot do is create a fixture from scratch as it would be financially unviable as well as being generally unwelcome with others unless in an area where there are no courses currently available.

Recognising the above problems, the PPA has also been moving specialist races throughout the season, either as replacements or as additional races on existing cards. Looking at the overall figures, we are very aware than 40% of 4yo’s and over a third of 5yo’s have not run, and this affects small and large yards across the country as well as reducing their availability for owners wanting a progressive pointer moving forward. To that end we have been focused on point to point flat races and Young Horse Maidens but we have also moved a large number of the Veterans’ Series races. The key point here is that the national sponsorship provided makes this commercially possible as most fixtures are understandably not in a position to incur extra costs in this uncertain time.

Looking further ahead, the Board is very aware that this sustained period of appalling weather could quickly stop; indeed the east side of the country has started to dry quite quickly, highs are in the offing, and with longer days and rising temperatures the ground conditions could change relatively swiftly. Recognising that the May programme is pretty full due to the move of May Bank Holiday, and the uncertainty in the number of horses available, after lengthy debate it was concluded that there is little to be gained in trying to develop a new programme at the current time whilst adding considerable risk, particularly in reputational terms with horse welfare paramount.

Sorry that we cannot provide more positive news but do ask that you keep your collective nerves; the weather has got to improve short of building an ark. In the meantime, the best of luck to all those running in the Foxhunters as we seek to lock out the Irish for another year, and of course to Latenightpass connections as they aim for the first pointer success in the Grand National this century.