2015 is drawing to a close and the New Year is virtually upon us. Let’s look ahead to the 2016 racing calendar and see if the sport can go from strength to strength within sporting circles and also as part of the mainstream consciousness. What is the most famous young jockey and can they become someone people know about?

Fans of the sport will be aware of the smaller event such as ‘The Craven Meeting’ and the ‘Boodles May Festival’ but the large events in the calendar year are as follows:

  • Scottish Coral Grand National Meeting
  • Glorious Goodwood
  • The Open at Cheltenham
  • The Crabbie’s Grand National

The first event is at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day at midday so this gives punters the chance to clear their head from any potential headache from the night before. In 2015 the jockey with most wins was Silvestre de Sousa while from 2011-2014 this record has been held by Richard Hughes. Not household names, can any new jockeys become mainstream like Lester Piggott or Willie Carson? Horse racing is ever more within betting circles and as a founding principle of the game it has grown in new markets. Betway is one such business which has modernised its approach from dark and dingy betting shops to online active play.

A busy horse racing calendar for 2016 lies ahead and it remains to be seen if any new young stars can break through. Tom Marquand has been nominated in the Young Sports Personality of the Year award with the award to be given on the 20th December. Tom is the Champion Apprentice and in a recent BBC interview he gave an insight into his day to life and ambitions for the future. He confidently wants to be seen as the Champion Jockey in ten years time, the position currently held by the Brazilian De Sousa – he stands a good chance despite horse racing now being a global sport. The riders competing come from all corners of the globe so finding a British homegrown household name are still rather unlikely.

Despite this hopefully he can further modernise and attract more young jockeys in to the game. The winnings they can earn in their career make the hard work, dedication and early starts seem worthwhile and the partnership with firms like Betway will maintain this financial incentive to not only be a horse racing champion but also cross over into the mainstream.