‘Ridiculous’ rule change which would have impacted Grand National dropped by racing bosses

RACING chiefs have decided to scrap proposals that could have had a major impact on the Grand National.

Last month it was revealed the BHA was considering introducing a cap on the number of runners a trainer could have in major handicaps.

The Times

The Grand National field has been reduced to 34 from 40[/caption]

The leaked plans were labelled “ridiculous” by Gordon Elliott, who earlier this season saddled 14 of 20 runners in the Troytown Chase in Ireland.

With the number of runners in the Grand National set to be reduced to 34 from 40 this year, the BHA expressed concerns about the impact a reduction in field size would have on smaller yards.

They were considering a change to the rules that would mean a trainer would be limited to a maximum of four runners in any Class 1 or Class 2 handicap race.

The decision not to go ahead with the proposals was made following a meeting of the BHA board this week – but the issue will be kept under review in future.

BHA chief operating officer Richard Wayman said: “As we said at the time, on occasion the BHA will seek views of industry participants on a range of issues.

“In this case, prompted in part by the situation where one trainer saddled 14 of the 20 runners in the Troytown Chase in Ireland, we gathered opinions on a topic which is sometimes debated across the sport, regarding potentially imposing a limit on the number of runners one trainer can run in a major handicap.

“The issue was discussed in the context of sustaining the sport’s ongoing appeal to customers.

“Having considered the feedback and discussed the matter with the sport’s commercial committee and BHA board, it has been agreed not to take any immediate action in regards to this matter, but to keep the issue under review.”

Three-time Grand National winner Elliott will be happy to see the plans shelved, and last month he said: “It’s a massive worry for the owners more than anyone.

“These are people who are investing a lot of money into the game, and I think it will be a massive worry.

“There was only going to be about seven runners in the Troytown if I didn’t run them in it. I didn’t keep any horse out of the race and every one of my horses in the race were in the handicap proper. I didn’t do anything wrong by running them and the field didn’t fill.

“I think for sponsors and racegoers it’s massive to support these races. You see the problems in the UK with small fields and I wouldn’t want to see it happen in Ireland.

“This hasn’t happened overnight. If you go back to the 60s Tom Dreaper was winning Irish Nationals – I think from 1960 he won seven in a row. In those days I think they were only about ten or 12 runners in the field but he had half of them.

“In 1983 Michael Dickinson had five of the ten in the Gold Cup and 20 years ago Martin Pipe had eight or nine of the field in two races at Cheltenham in 2003. It hasn’t happened overnight and I don’t see what the big problem is.

 “I think it’s ridiculous. How can you tell a trainer he can only run four horses if he is training for six different owners? I think there are bigger problems in the world than opening a can of worms like this.”

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