Horse racing may well be the sport of kings but in one of the last remaining monarchies on the planet it appears only the sovereigns and their offspring, as well as the bookies and their punters, are the only ones passionate about the sport.
Not even Lester Piggott got the nod
Since 1954 there has not been a single jockey honoured by the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and this is the same era in which the indefatigable Lester Piggott, a name familiar in households throughout the world, dominated on the race tracks of the kingdom.
Oddly enough, virtually every sporting code known to man has been given the nod by the BBC in the past including snooker, figure skating, athletics, boxing and show jumping – none of which can arguably be called one of Britain’s leading spectator sports, bar perhaps boxing.
Even when star equine performer, Denman, who claimed the Cognac Cup in 2007, went on to make racing history by winning the coveted Cheltenham Gold Cup last year, it hardly caused a ripple on traditional TV sports channels, with the vast majority of Brits choosing to watch the mainstream offerings of football, rugby and cricket instead.
Jockeys largely ignored
The fabulous Frankie Dettori, jockey extraordinaire, who effectively rewrote horse racing history by winning all seven races on a single day at Ascot, as well as claiming double derby success in 2007, hasn’t been lauded by the British Broadcasting Company, not in the same way as David Beckham, Andrew Flintoff or Chris Hoy, last year’s recipient of the big BBC bash.
Both the Queen’s women, Zara Phillips and her mum, HRH Princess Anne, were earmarked for show jumping greatness by the national broadcaster but is show jumping really more popular than a day at the races!
Is there an overexposure of horse racing in the UK?
Detractors are clamouring about the quality of horse racing in the UK believing it is effectively being diluted by overexposure. Inferior local and international horse racing seem to be hogging local TV channels and the overwhelming majority of sports spectators, including ardent race fans are, quite frankly, finding it rather boring!
Simply saturating TV with low quality events, regardless of the sporting code, will not lead to sustainable viewership. In fact, it will arguably lead to the loss of pundits over time, something all sports can ill afford.
Will AP McCoy break the popularity logjam in 2009?
This year, however, there is a single jockey campaigning for the coveted title – Northern Ireland’s AP Mc Coy. Regarded as the finest jump jockey to date, McCoy has dominated at Cheltenham, claiming the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the King George VI Chase. His only glaring omission is a win at the Grand National but he may well be satisfied with his incomparable record of becoming the first man to ride 3 000 winners over jumps in the UK!
It’s going to be fascinating to see whether this seasoned horse racing professional is eclipsed by some of the other sports personalities that include Formula One’s Jenson Button, emerging tennis superstar Andy Murray and the immature golfing guru from Holywood, Rory McIlroy.
