Departing trainer Ed Vaughan says racing must do more to protect owners if they are to avoid a potential exodus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Vaughan confirmed in July that he intended to hand in his license at the end of this season, citing economic concerns for closing up shop, despite saddling multiple Group and Listed winners in a 16-year career.
The Newmarket handler bemoaned the prize money on offer to British racing competitors when confirming he would be walking away and has reiterated calls for an improvement in the financial rewards on offer.
Vaughan says if the sport wants to keep trainers and, in particular, owners then they need to do more to retain their services.
“No-one could see the pandemic coming but I think it has made people look and realise that it's a lot of money for very little sport and, even when you're winning, you're not actually winning,” he told the Racing Post.
“It's an easy product to sell if, like you can in Australia, you can win a £100,000 or £50,000 race. People will look at that as taking a bit of a punt or like buying a lottery ticket because if they win two races the year is all paid for. But when the money is constantly going out of their accounts, even when they are winning, it just doesn't make sense. I've had plenty of owners emphasise that of late.”
He added: “We're taking owners for granted. For years it's been a poor effort. We're at a stage now where we need to be more focused on keeping our existing owners and looking after them.”
