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When Football Is Not Enough – Gift The Sport of Kings

Football attracts the most talented and ambitious people in the world. Not just players but football managers, owners, and investors; people off the pitch who thrive on winning, and use their drive and determination to demolish obstacles and overcome setbacks. But when football isn’t enough, and a new challenge is needed, is there another sport out there that’s just as good? There might be and it already has footballers on its side.

 

 The First Choice for Footballers

 

People who love football, who play it, watch it and support it thrive on the highs and lows of the sport. Fans and players swing from ecstatic celebration to crushing defeat and back again in dramatic 90-minute matches. It’s about the pre-match build-up, the game and finger-biting final moments that football is loved for.

 

But now there’s another sport that’s gaining ground in the hearts of football fans and professionals: horse racing.

 

It’s no secret that footballers love horse racing. Photographs of the football fraternity enjoying their time off at the races, socialising with friends and family are not uncommon. Wayne Rooney and Sergio Ramos are just two of many footballers who’ve discovered the enjoyment a day at the races can bring. No doubt enticed by a sport that is equally as exhilarating, competitive and unpredictable as football.

 

Getting in Deeper

 

Sir Alex Ferguson and Michael Owen have gone a step further, joining the sport as established horse racing owners outside of their footballing careers and with significant success, Michael even rode to finish second in a charity race at Ascot in November. Footballer-turned-owner, Arsenal and England legend, Ian Wright holds a share in five-time winning race horse Born To Finish owned by Crowd Racing, a leading racehorse syndication company.

 

“It’s my first go at ownership,” Wright says, “I’m in the group with people and it’s really nice when you’re with everybody; they’re all so excited about it because all have a little piece of him. It’s been such good fun. Ex-players such as Mick Channon, Micky Quinn and Francis Lee swapped football to become race horse trainers once their playing careers were over. Their choice to plant themselves permanently in the horse racing world, along with the number of players who get involved in ownership, demonstrates how alluring horse racing is to individuals who thrive on a challenge and are driven by ambition.

 

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