Legendary jockey Frankie Dettori has been a mainstay in Horse Racing for 36 years, and is one of the biggest names not just in the racing industry – he’s become a household name with his likeable personality and countless Group 1 winners.
Having announced his retirement at the end of the season, it remains to be seen how his decision will impact the racing industry. Finance expert Rob Wilson spoke to BoyleSports, who offer the latest Goodwood odds, to outline the impact he feels it could have on Horse Racing.
Looking For The Next Big-Name Jockey
Dettori is an iconic athlete who’s had a following that made people interested in the sport, we’ve had successive retirements from him and he’s kept coming back. Horse racing as a sport has increased in popularity over the last 20 to 25 years, and it’s become increasingly popular over the last 10 years with the major tournaments and race meetings around the UK.
The interesting comparison with Tiger Woods and Roger Federer is that in both those cases, there was an upcoming athlete or group of athletes coming through to pick up the mantle. In tennis you had Djokovic, Nadal and to a lesser extent Andy Murray. With Woods, you go down the list and see Mickleson and Rory McIlroy. The wave of change is not significant.
I’m not an expert in horse racing, but there isn’t a jockey I see that has the same profile and global appeal that he does. So the horse racing industry will be searching for one.
But I think given the scale of popularity in the last decade or so, I don’t think there will be an economic impact of him leaving other than his own wages and prize money.
Balancing The Benefits He Brought To The Sport Vs Negatives Of Him Leaving
With Frankie Dettori, you also have to balance out the benefits he brought to the sport against and the downsides of him leaving too. People always become personalities, and they become interesting to watch and interview but ultimately people are there to make money through gambling.
Levelling Up The Playing Field
Your regular horse goers who follow the horses he rides on may change their behaviour, but generally speaking horse race goers will be going for the thrill of the race and looking to back winners.
It may even level up the playing field a bit. Historically, the best horse trainers want the best jockeys, although it has been a mixed picture in the last few years.
Racing Will Recover From Losing Frankie
Usain Bolt leaving athletics is an example of a retirement having an economic impact on the sport. Michael Phelps in swimming is another. We’re talking about athletes who become big media personalities, and that is the driver. But that benefits them and the knock-on impact is the sport.
Ultimately, the sports tend to recover. So even in lesser sports, you think of Martin Johnson and Jonny Wilkinson retiring from rugby. It’s carried on, similar with cricket. All these sports tend to continue without these individual superstars.
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