Should private equity or sovereign wealth be offered a slice of racing’s crown jewels? We won’t know until we take a look

There has been much knotting of brows and wringing of hands in the week since my colleague Lee Mottershead revealed British racing’s powerful commercial committee has given the go-ahead to a feasibility study into packaging up the sport’s crown jewels on the Flat, and inviting large-scale investment from either foreign sovereign wealth or the world of private equity. 

The phrase ‘selling the family silver’ is inextricably linked with notions of desperation and, in a sport in which tradition may even trump political infighting in terms of the passions which drive its stakeholders, ceding some control over events like the Derby and Royal Ascot is bound to be viewed as a radical or even reckless step, depending on your point of view. 

The early signs from the premierisation project are that any financial benefits to the sport will tend towards the incremental, rather than a step-change which will put Britain on a path that could rival the Middle East, Australia or Asia.