Future of British Horseracing
Debate between Lincoln Jopp and Lee Pitcher(3 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Lincoln Jopp
The hon. Member reminds me that I, too, should declare that I am a member of the APPG, and that he is my chair. I received the following email from Kerry Lee:
“I am writing to express my full support for your opposition to the proposed redevelopment of Kempton Park Racecourse and to thank you for securing Tuesday's debate.
Kempton is far more than a racecourse. Since opening in 1878, it has become part of Britain’s sporting and cultural heritage. It is one of the country’s few truly year-round racecourses, staging over 70 fixtures annually through its all-weather track while also hosting the prestigious King George VI Chase and some of the finest jump racing in the world. It is nationally significant sporting infrastructure”.
She goes on to say, to the point made by the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton (Dan Carden), that it is
“an internationally recognised venue and a major economic asset that, once lost, can never be replaced.
Locally, it supports jobs and generates substantial spending for hospitality, retail, transport and many other businesses, while providing valuable green space. Nationally, it underpins an industry supporting tens of thousands of jobs”,
as my hon. Friend the Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew) pointed out,
“across racing, agriculture, veterinary services, transport, media, tourism, hospitality and countless rural businesses. Internationally, it strengthens Britain’s reputation as a global leader in horse racing, attracting overseas owners, investment and visitors…This debate is about far more than one racecourse. It is about protecting jobs, heritage, tourism, green space and one of the most successful global industries. Once Kempton is lost, it is lost forever”—
I will continue with these quotations until Members get bored or intervene.
Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)
I am also a member of the APPG chaired by my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Walton (Dan Carden), and I have a couple of points to make. The first is about the cherished memories horseracing gives us, which I have had since I was a young lad. My mum’s cousin had the Prince of Wales pub at Newmarket, which was amazing, and we used to go and visit her. I have seen Desert Orchid finally get his head in front up that Cheltenham hill—the four-time winner of the King George, split by The Fellow one year, I think; Nicky Henderson, and Kauto Star and Denman fighting it out; Red Rum; and Frankel’s scintillating form in the Newmarket Guineas. Horseracing just brings so much wonderful passion and pride. It is also about patriotism and our country, because it goes back generations.
I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central (Sally Jameson) will talk about Doncaster racecourse in a second, but I have the National Horseracing College in my area. We talk a lot about young adults going into new industries and about young adults with special educational needs and disabilities, as well as about the importance of 18 to 24-year-olds being able to find jobs that are not necessarily behind a desk or that do not require lots of theory. The National Horseracing College employs about 40 people and has 130 apprenticeships a year, and it is absolutely marvellous. This is also about the jobs and the industry, and what it can do to inspire young adults to get into a profession that is amazing as a career.
Carolyn Harris (in the Chair)
Order. I ask Members to be brief with interventions.