sport news The Queen was owner, breeder and No 1 fan - racing hopeful Royal Family will ... trends now
In our social media-driven world, celebrity endorsements are the fuel that power the engines of companies and organisations, promoting their products and messages. The sport of racing had the ultimate endorser in the late Queen, both as a participant breeding and owning racehorses and, arguably with even more significance, as its No 1 fan.
The Queen attended other sporting events. She presented England captain Bobby Moore with the World Cup at Wembley in 1966 and Virginia Wade with the Venus Rosewater dish after she won the Wimbledon singles title in 1977, the Silver Jubilee year.
She memorably also made sure the 2012 London Olympics started with the perfect tone, taking part in a show-stopping Games opening ceremony and playing her part to perfection in a spoof sketch with Daniel Craig’s James Bond.
The Queen, pictured meeting lady amateur jockeys at Beverley, ultimate endorser for racing
But we all knew that racing was the sport that was truly in the heart of the Queen, someone who loved being immersed in it and a human magnet drawing the sort of interest to it beyond even the wildest global marketing budget.
Some feel, with justification, that the sport will never be able to replace its greatest benefactor.
Ed Chamberlin, who will present ITV’s coverage of today’s rescheduled Doncaster St Leger meeting, which will be opened with a 20-minute tribute to the Queen and be heavily interspersed with tributes and films of her best-known winners, agrees.
He said: ‘She was absolutely the single most important person in our sport. The influence I see from her as an owner and breeder, at the Royal Ascot meeting and Derby day is there to see but her impact on the sport goes far beyond that.
2019: Her Majesty with Frankie Dettori — who rode for her for 30 years — at Royal Ascot after his Gold Cup win on Stradivarius
‘You only have to look at the tributes from all around the world to see that and the horse and racing is linked to that.
‘Her devotion to the horse and encyclopaedic knowledge shone through. You can’t replace her. Only now in the next few years will we start to see the influence which she had for our sport.’
After the formalities and ceremonies have all played out over the next few days, the question many in racing will be pondering, not without trepidation, is what will be the effect of losing its greatest ambassador.
No formal announcements have been made but it is anticipated the royal string and colours will now pass to King Charles III. He has a racing connection and rode in races as an amateur jockey when younger, but his passion for racing falls way short of that of his mother.
1993: It’s a family affair at Epsom as the Queen is joined by her mother (left) and Prince Charles (right) for the Derby
And while the younger royals, headed by the new Prince and Princess of Wales, enjoy the occasional day at the races, there is no evidence they have inherited the late monarch’s passion for the sport.
More encouragingly, Camilla, the Queen Consort, enjoys racing. She and the King
