BBC axe long-running horse racing tradition days after Royal Ascot

The BBC has controversially decided to end one of its longest-running horse racing traditions.

The broadcaster has been offering daily racing tips as part of the sports bulletin on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme for almost half a century, but has now decided to axe the practice. Today host Amol Rajan revealed this week that tips would reserved only for the biggest race days moving forward, such as the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

A BBC source claimed the move was motivated by a desire to cover a broad range of sports in the bulletin. The decision, which was made just days after the conclusion of Royal Ascot, came as The Sun revealed how just one in five of the BBC’s selections in 2022 turned out to be a winner. And their picks across both 2021 and 2020 weren’t much better either.

Announcing the move on the Today programme, Rajan said: “No racing tips from [BBC sports reporter Mike Williams] today. That is because we have decided to break the tradition of having racing tips every day of the year. Instead we’re going to reserve the tips for the biggest days in the racing calendar.

“We will very much continue to cover horse racing, as we do so many other sports, not least through interviews with leading lights in the racing world, and we will sometimes continue to broadcast from the big ticket events like the Grand National festival, or Cheltenham Gold Cup week.”

It follows previous controversy after the BBC axed the classified football results from Radio 5 Live on Saturdays, a tradition which dated back to the 1950s.

Long-term BBC horse racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght, who left the broadcaster back in 2020, described the decision to axe daily tips as a “kick in the teeth” after news broke that his former employers were considering the move last year.

“At a time when racing’s media profile has been eroded and racecourse attendances have been falling this is another kick in the teeth for the sport,” he told the Daily Mail. “It is massively disappointing news, but probably not a complete surprise.

“Any publicity racing can secure is valuable and the Today programme audience is huge. Anything related to gambling clearly prompts debate at the moment and rightly so, but the tips are just a bit of fun rather than serious advice to bet and to suggest otherwise would be to misunderstand them.”

After the decision was made official this week, Lysaght posted on X: “A pity BBC Radio 4 Today dropping (without real explanation) the tips that have been enjoyable part of the prog since 1977; say that just as much (maybe more) as a fan of Today than horse racing.”

He added that the tips had “provided smiles and priceless moments of levity”.

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