Racing: Sheikh Mohammed warns courses

Sheikh Mohammed had some harsh words for Britain's racecourses last night as he lined up alongside the British Horseracing Board in the turf war over who controls racing's finances. He also threatened that he and the other members of the Maktoum family would join with other racehorse owners in taking unspecified "action" if racecourses choose confrontation rather than co-operation.

The Sheikh's remarks were delivered on his behalf by one of his team, Michael Osborne, at the Gimcrack dinner, traditionally an opportunity for the owner whose horse wins York's Gimcrack Stakes in August to deliver a keynote speech on the state of the racing industry.

The sheikh, a member of the ruling family of Dubai, long Britain's biggest racehorse owner and now the driving force behind the high-powered, internationally-inclined Godolphin stables, also aligned himself with the poorest paid people in racing, stable staff, claiming that increased prize-money would benefit all those who work in racing.

"It saddens and frustrates me," the sheikh said, "that when I make a statement on behalf of owners it is presented in some quarters as being about wealthy owners seeking to line their pockets. That is a total distortion of the truth. The fact is that those who campaign for more prize-money are doing so for the benefit of the people who are the backbone of the industry – they are the people who matter."

"The truth is that underpaid stable staff are subsidising the sport in exactly the same way as owners are. That is not just unacceptable, it is immoral."

The sheikh had delivered an ultimatum in his last Gimcrack speech five years ago: improve racing's finances or his family's participation in British racing could not be guaranteed. Last night he said that although progress had been made since he raised his concerns, there was still much work to be done.

He warned racecourses that if a confrontational approach is taken then the Maktoum family "stands willing to join with other owners in taking action".

Discussing the progress in racing's finances in the past year, Sheikh Mohammed said: "A significant amount of that extra income is being paid direct to the tracks. It is to be hoped that owners, and all the others who depend so heavily on prize-money, will quickly see a corresponding benefit.

"I say 'it is to be hoped' because it seems by no means certain that all courses will pass on a fair share of the extra income to owners, trainers, jockeys, stable staff, and the many others whose jobs are linked to racing."

Sheikh Mohammed followed the BHB's stance in claiming that courses are acting selfishly. "Like many others, I have been concerned to see the extent to which racecourses appear to have found themselves at odds with the rest of the British Horseracing Board – and therefore the rest of the industry.

"The posturing of some courses leads me to think that they feel they run the sport and can operate in isolation from owners and others. Take it from me, that is not the case. It would be a mistake for racecourses to attempt to put that to the test by going it alone. I sincerely hope they don't end up finding this out the hard way, having done untold damage to themselves and to racing.

"I was dismayed to see the Racecourse Association make a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading about the BHB's decision on minimum prize-money levels. If this is the way courses are going to conduct their business, then there truly is little hope for any of us."