Select Racing Club proves horseracing punters know best!

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Select Racing Club off to flying start

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The Select Racing Club is the first club of its kind to give members real involvement in all aspects of racehorse ownership, at a price affordable for most racing enthusiasts.

Mirroring the successful myfootballclub 's original idea, members of the new racing club select the horses, races and jockeys by voting online from a selection of viable options chosen by the Club's trainer.

So far the SRC seems to have proven that racing enthusiasts can be successful owners, after their punters got the Club off to a flying start by picking the winning combination of race and jockey to amazingly make it three wins from three starts.

The Club's first win came after members voted for Rupestrian to run at Stratford and chose leading jockey Richard Johnson to ride him to victory in the first Juvenile Novices Hurdle of 2009 on May 31. Rupestrian then strolled to his second victory in another Juvenile Novices Hurdle win at Hexham on June 6 before completing his hattrick at Sedgefield last Monday.

Picked up for just £4,000 at the Doncaster sales by Tim Vaughan, regarded as one of the top trainers in Britain, Rupestrian looks to have been a very shrewd buy, even though members didn't actually take that decision, with the horse being bought to kick-start the Club.

The Select Racing Club website states that their members will vote on which horse the Club takes on next once 750 people have joined up. According to the Racing Post, the Club had 40 members in their first week. But judging by the number of failed horseracing clubs (admittedly not with novel concepts), it will be interesting to see how quickly they grow in the coming months.

But in times of economic crisis the SRC may win punters over with the fact that they may just make some money, if not get back their membership fee.

The Club is among the top 20 jumps owners this year with two wins from two and a total prize money of £9,420. For the initial outlay of the small price of £59 for a year's membership, cheaper than any other racing club, members have already won back over a quarter of their membership fee in prize money in under just three weeks since the launch.

If that continues, along with money made from insider tips, members may be quids in. But can the Club go the distance?

The Club also states the lofty ambition of hoping to attract a younger crowd of racing enthusiasts and bringing new people into horseracing. With the typical age of racing club members usually above 50, that seems to be a rather optimistic challenge.

But with a website clearly aimed at the younger internet generation, and with a presence on Facebook and Twitter, they may have a chance. Undoubtedly it is something that the Sport of Kings badly needs, unless it is to slowly be swallowed by sports where the big money is.