Dettori and Moore among superstar signings for new jockeys’ league

Frankie Dettori is “super excited” to be amongst 12 riders set to take part in a global jockeys’ league that could start next year.

The now American-based Italian, along with well-known British riders Ryan Moore and William Buick are all set to be involved, with Dettori hoping it can grow racing’s popularity around the world.

Dettori told the PA news agency: “It’s a project they have been working on for a few months and I am super excited.

“It will appeal to a worldwide audience – especially after the Race For The Crown Netflix series – and I can’t wait to get started.”

The project is co-founded by former Godolphin chief executive John Ferguson and Lachlan Fitt, who served as chief financial officer of Entain Australia from 2018 until earlier this year, with organisers believing it will bring a fresh audience to the sport.

James McDonald, Joao Moreira and Christophe Lemaire are among the other elite riders to have signed up for a venture that will see the 12 jockeys compete for points under their own individual team branding in up to 10 events at some of the sport’s most prestigious racecourses around the world.

Fitt said: “We have watched the success of other sports take the power of their athletes and build them into global icons, with the outcome being a whole new generation of fans that now feel a deeper human connection with the athletes.

“The concept we have developed with our foundation jockeys is designed around following a similar model to other sports and we’re delighted that the world’s best jockeys have come together to drive this change in the way our sport is marketed to the next generation fan.”

It is understood the jockeys will also own equity in their own team and be shareholders in the league, with organisers of the franchise seeking to secure commercial partners with the aim of securing a total prize fund of $15 million within two years.

Fitt added: “One of the guiding principles we have developed with our foundation jockeys is to ensure this league compliments the existing global racing calendar and with that principle in mind, we will be looking to align the timing of our league events to be in close proximity to the major racing carnivals across the world.

“It is still early days in our conversations with potential host venues and we are a number of months away from finalising plans in relation to what a launch season could look like.

“We’re hopeful there will be a number of opportunities for the league to be racing in the UK in the first 12 months.”

Mickael Barzalona, Yutaka Take, Irad Ortiz Jr, Flavien Prat, Zac Purton and Hong Kong superstar Vincent Ho are other names in the frame to take part.

Ho said: “We have been talking about this for months and I would love to be involved and competing against the best jockeys from around the globe. Of course we all know each other, but it’s great to compete together and especially around the world at some of the best racetracks.

“Hopefully by doing this we can promote our sport even better than we do now. NBA has the All-Star in America and hopefully this will be a similar thing for horse racing but will be all around the world and hopefully it will have a big impact.

“Personally it’s great to ride at different racetracks around the world which all require a different racing style, but for horse racing in general, I can only see this as a benefit as it will hopefully attract people and show that this is a really international sport.

“We have 12 jockeys from around the world – Europe, America, Asia and Australia. So it’s a big thing and it’s great that people will get to learn about racing personalities from around the globe.

“It’s going to be fun and of course racing can be an individual sport at times. But hopefully this can attract different sponsors and investors around the world to horse racing, which is very important for the future I think.”