Famous horse racing fans including Dame Jilly Cooper, Floella Benjamin, Michael Owen and Harry Redknapp have criticised the BBC for its decision to end the 50-year tradition of race tips on the Today programme.
The BBC announced last month that it was ditching the daily segment from Radio 4’s flagship show and would only offer tips on the biggest racing days.
The move prompted a letter signed by a number of high profile names, such as Labour peer Lord Donoughue and former defence secretary Ben Wallace, to urge the corporation to rethink its decision.
It argues the racing tips are an integral part of British radio culture and that the time freed up by their removal will only make space for football, adding: “We love football – of course we do – but do we need more?”
The letter reads: “It seems unnecessarily puritanical for the BBC to drop the racing tips from the Today programme after almost half a century.
“A part of the nation’s heart and history goes with them. If the Today programme is a national conversation, the BBC is choosing no longer to talk about an activity in which the UK excels, one that has brought us friends and investors from France, Ireland, the Middle East, Australia, Asia and the United States.
“Just as the shipping forecast provides emotional resonance in an age of digital data, so those racing tips remind us of our nation, taking us for a moment to Musselburgh, Bangor, Down Royal, Beverley and other unexpected acres of green turf and local passion.”
“The BBC allowed a reprieve for the BBC Singers, which it also regarded as an ‘irrelevance’ until it encountered the strength of national warmth towards classical music. We ask that the Today programme thinks again about the racing tips.”
After the tips segment was cancelled, it was reported producers viewed the tips as dated, given the show now covers a wider variety of sports.
Full list of famous faces who signed open letter to BBC
Group accuse corporation of ‘puritanical’ move to scrap Today programme racing tips
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Dame Jilly Cooper
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Michael Owen
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Harry Redknapp
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Sir Francis Brooke
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Lord Donoughue
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Ben Wallace
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John Gosden
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Cornelius Lysaght
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Sarah Sands
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Paul Nicholls
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Rebecca Philipps
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Francesca Cumani
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William Woodhams
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Mark Pougatch
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Lydia Hislop
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Nevin Truesdale
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Tom Kerr
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Floella Benjamin
The Racing Post also slammed the decision, describing it as a “significant blow for the profile of the sport as it battles to maintain relevance with the wider public.”
The change was announced on the programme itself – the tips were previously broadcast at 6.30 am, 7.30 am and 8.30 am every day – on Monday 24 June.
Presenter Amol Rajan told sports reporter Mike Williams: “No racing tips from you today, Mike. 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.”
A spokesperson for the BBC told The Independent: “The Today programme remains committed to covering racing news and this will continue on the programme’s sports bulletins, including interviews with jockeys and trainers, and outside broadcasts from some major racing events.
“We are not stopping the tips altogether; they will just be focused on the high-profile races of the year. The range of sports covered on Today is much broader than when the racing tips first started so we will cover racing in line with other sports.”