3 minute read

A moment of pure jubilation and shock realisation; all captured on video for posterity… and content.

Meet Basher Watts; content creator, syndicate manager and nearly a Classic winning owner, but we're not talking about that.

There's a temptation to extensively cover the win of Shes Perfect in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, her subsequent demotion and unsuccessful appeal, the trials and tribulations of the French stewarding system. An incredible achievement and a captivating narrative, but a distraction from the vast accomplishments of this unassuming thirty-one-year old.

Watt's videos offer a unique insight into all facets of racing life, and more importantly, people like them. In the last four weeks alone, Watts has achieved over 2 million views on his Instagram content, with the Poule d'Essai des Poulains video gaining nearly 50,000 watches. 35% percent of his viewers are in the vital 25-34 year old category and a further 25% percent aged between 18 to 24 – the next generation of racing fans.

The videos are sometimes painfully realistic; stuck in traffic on the A134 en-route to an afternoon's punting at Chelmsford, an agonising neck defeat in the syndicate's first Group race and the unmentionable trip to Longchamp.

Yet, the content is also remarkably informative: an enlightening description by the farrier of shoeing for the races, a detailed explanation of the scoping process by trainer Charlie Fellowes and a comprehensive breakdown of the monthly costs involved in owning a racehorse.

In short, they accurately reflect the ups-and-downs of racehorse ownership.

It is a glimpse into a world that racing fans have previously found inaccessible.

The somewhat impenetrable barrier to the sport is familiar to Watts, who cannot boast illustrious horseracing roots.

"None of my family are remotely interested in horses or horse racing," he explained.

"I went to Newmarket for the Guineas in 2011 and was lucky enough to see Frankel win. The first bet I can ever remember was backing Blue Bunting for the 1000 Guineas. I've always loved the betting side, but I'm not horsey whatsoever."

Content creation was born from a need to find like-minded people.

"Before the Festival in 2022, I thought I'm going to start posting some content out there – why not? I've always struggled to find friends in racing, no one I knew would want to go racing or talk about it. I started off with no expectations, hoping to find like-minded fans and people who enjoyed learning from the content.

"I started doing 'an honest day's punting' videos, where I show all the winners and losers, all my stakes – it's a hard sport, you can go for a major meeting and not back a single winner. People loved it."

Criticism has been levelled at new racing initiatives for avoiding the subject of gambling. Betting is, whether the purists like it or not, the lifeblood of the industry. Yet racing ceases to exist without the horses and the people; the narrative that weaves through the season.

It is imperative, for the future of the sport, to find a way to bring the two sides together.

"I think if you understand it, you're more invested in it. You're not just seeing a horse for ten minutes in a parade ring before they disappear. You're following that journey and I think you begin to understand how hard it is.

"As I'm not from a racing background, it's all new to me as well. So people who are horsey might find it boring, but for the vast majority, they're not horsey and enjoy racing from a betting point of view. I put a mic on the farrier whilst he was putting new shoes on my horse and explaining the different shape of the hooves – I never knew that, and people responded. Documenting what day-to-day life is, what time do they eat their food etc – I didn't understand before."

The inner workings of the bloodstock industry remain shrouded in mystery to the average race-goer – vast amounts of money exchanging hands behind the perceived closed doors of the sales. As part of Watts' journey into syndicate ownership, he has taken followers on a journey to Tattersalls, Arqana and Goffs, producing an unprecedented view of bloodstock reality.

"I found the sales so intimidating. Everyone who is there speaks a certain way, has been there for years and years and it's a little cliquey. If I'm going to film some content of me here, I don't know what I'm doing – but people can come along and let's make an idiot of ourselves together. Hopefully, it's going to encourage more people to go, it's free and people should go spend the day there."

Racing must, however reluctantly, move with the times. Media is changing – in a 2024 Ofcom report, research suggested 52% of UK adults use social media as a source of their news. Nearly nine in ten 16-24 year olds reported using online sources for news and the amount of over-55s using traditional sources, such as newspapers and TV, for news consumption is reducing, with a gradual increase in online access.

Watts understands the challenges facing the industry and wants to assist with positive change.

"I think we're quite behind with all of the schemes that we offer, it's still very cliquey and it's still unavailable to people.

"It's the tough thing. If you weren't an owner, you don't have access to seeing a horse train, speak to the trainers. Any sort of doors I can open and show content of something that people may not have seen before - I'm proud of.

"What I hope never changes is that I'm still a pure horse racing enthuisiast, I enjoy it so much. I don't go out to make content that I think 'that will be popular' – I just do what I find interesting and people love it."

A thirty-one-year old making videos about a sport he loves and achieving a vast reach, in the age category horseracing needs to target.

Maybe it's worth taking note.