Latest news with #DarrenOwen
The Independent
31-03-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
The Grand National is the biggest horse race in the world – but its future is in serious doubt
The FA Cup final, a Lord's Test match, The Open, Wimbledon, the Grand National – all iconic British sporting events, revered and treasured by the viewing public. For some of a certain vintage, all of the above, plus the likes of the British Grand Prix and World Snooker Championships are intrinsically linked with our childhoods and formed the very fabric of our sporting obsession with terrestrial television transporting us to Wembley, Silverstone or Aintree to witness acts of brilliance and unstinting bravery. That was certainly the correct description for the jockeys that tackled the National's formidable obstacles – 40 horses galloping at high speed, attacking fences like Becher's Brook and The Chair. There was a jeopardy, an unavoidable feeling of anxiousness and suspense; would the horse we had drawn in the office sweepstake, been tipped by grandma or picked on trends and statistics, navigate both the 5ft ditch and most imposing fence on the course at 5ft 2in? To echo an Australian description of the Melbourne Cup, the National was a race that stopped a nation on that one Saturday afternoon in April. Those days are arguably now behind us as recent alterations to the make-up of the National have been made to ensure its longevity and placate a minority with increasingly louder voices pushing for a complete ban on horse racing and to let every horse in training run free. A reduction in the maximum field from 40 runners to 34 has not been universally welcomed by the industry who wonder, with some justification, where these modifications will end, while the examination of a horse's jumping ability is barely recognisable from the days of Red Rum. The transformation of the National is of huge concern to Darren Owen, who has commentated on the marquee event for more than 20 years in his role both for BBC Television and 5Live. 'The Grand National has been a victim of its own success. During its peak there were 12 million people watching one of the world's greatest spectacles,' said Owen. 'Sadly, it is now in danger, thanks to the reduced field and other alterations, of becoming a borefest. The 'Aintree factor' simply isn't there anymore, the sanitisation of the race has gone too far. 'Yes, there have been some good welfare work done with the structure of the fences being modernised, but I feel the authorities have boarded up the shop window when they really needed to brighten up the shop window. 'The Grand National is the flagship of our great sport and I am really concerned for its future. Fifty years ago, the course was on the verge of extinction and was set to be sold for development. Thanks to a public campaign, Aintree was saved and the National is now a race which belongs to Liverpool and the country. If we lose the National, there is no other race that will replace it.' A passionate Owen continued: 'For many of us, our passion for racing hailed from watching the National on television as kids. I was very lucky as my first exposure of the great race was seeing the incredible 1973 renewal where Red Rum chased down Crisp. 'I'm a big advocate of a 'win and you're in' incentive, like they do with another iconic race; the Melbourne Cup. I want to see good, in-form horses running in the National not a collection of has-beens. 'The National must never loses its lustre. Some people compare it to watching Formula One for the thrills and spills and we must ensure it never loses its identity. 'We must do everything in our power to preserve the prestige and history of an iconic national sporting event. Jump racing is under threat from outside forces and we must fight to retain it's place in the sporting calendar.' Of course, it could simply be a case of looking back at those 19th century Nationals with rose-tinted spectacles, what's the saying; nostalgia ain't what it used to be. It is a delicate balancing act providing enough drama and excitement to keep the public entertained, while minimising risk so the race's critics gain little traction. Jon Pullin, the Jockey Club's head of racing and clerk of the course at Aintree, issued a robust defence of the changes: 'We review all aspects of the race every year, with the welfare of everyone involved our number one priority, but we also work hard to preserve the unique characteristics and challenges which make the Grand National the iconic race it is. 'Over the years we've made numerous changes, including modifying every fence in 2012 from timber frames to more forgiving plastic and investing hundreds of thousands of pounds in an enhanced watering system and a state-of-the-art cooling and washdown area for horses post-race. 'Then in 2023 we conducted an extensive review which resulted in several changes ranging from reducing the maximum number of runners to 34 to adding rubber toe boards to every fence. We've also introduced a standing start to the race and moved the first fence 60 yards closer to the start to help reduce speed on approach to that first fence.' Peter Scudamore, who along with partner Lucinda Russell won the 2023 National with Corach Rambler, also believes horse welfare has improved immeasurably in recent times and that the sport is doing everything in its power to ensure its equine athletes are well catered for and risk is minimalised to an acceptable level. Scudamore said: 'Aintree and those in the industry are trying to do everything we can to lower risk, but as much as it is unpalatable, risk will always play a part in sport. 'Our first Grand National winner One For Arthur (2017) was retired before suffering colic in a field and we couldn't save him. We took the decision not to run our Cheltenham winner Brindisi Breeze at Aintree after he had won at the Festival and he killed himself in a field later that summer. 'We, as an industry, are passionate about our horses and because of their value these days, veterinary care is now on a different level to back in the day and is continuing to improve year on year.' The former Champion Jockey believes the future of Liverpool's iconic showpiece is under threat due to a change in thinking within society. He continued: 'I do worry for the future of the National as I think as a country we are becoming alienated from the countryside. I'm aware I was brought up in a rural community with people practicing rural ideas and nowadays those rules are at odds with the urban ideas which appear to be more prevalent. 'The Grand National is still a great spectacle, it is still 30 plus horses jumping over fences at speed and it still presents a fair question for horses. 'We retired Corach Rambler because we thought he had nothing left to prove and I ride him most days and firmly believe he loved being a racehorse and still believes he is one. The wellbeing of our horses is paramount to us and the moral question we should perhaps be asking is this; are humans looked after as well as our horses? 'I'd suggest not in a huge number of cases.'
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
GFL founder reacts to draft results leak, Rashad Evans situation; likes Tony Ferguson vs. Dillon Danis idea
For better or worse, the Global Fight League is already making plenty of noise. MMA's newest promotion hopes to break through with a team-based format featuring six global GFL teams consisting of 120 total fighters. To organize the groups, GFL held its first-ever "draft" this past Friday. Unfortunately, the operation didn't go as smoothly as planned — a production mishap revealed the entire draft board of teams and their fighters mere minutes before the GFL's livestream launched. Although that wasn't the plan, GFL founder Darren Owen explained Tuesday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" that he believes the mistake may have actually been better for viewership. "It's hard to know exactly what happened and why, and what it was," Owen said. "Obviously we had a lot going on right before we were about to go live. So I guess one of the streams went live early, about five minutes earlier than they should have, and they were still kind of testing and kind of going through some different things. So yeah, one of the graphics that got showed was, theoretically, the draft board. "I don't know ultimately if it was a bad thing, because based on that we were trending on X, the No. 1 topic in the United States that evening. We trended on Google over the weekend. So was it a blessing in disguise that maybe, hey, this got leaked. It wasn't the plan, but it happened. You just deal with it and move forward." The most telling thing about the unintentional board leak was that the draft wasn't actually a draft at all. Teams were already established, and this was just the promotion's way of sharing them. This was further evidenced when the pick announcements were dropped after the fourth round as the stream approached its three-hour mark. "Absolutely, it was," Owen acknowledged when asked if the draft was predetermined. "There's a lot that went into that production of it. So the reality is I consulted with the coaches, the managers, who they wanted on their team, what made sense based on — we're stacking the deck. That's the reality of this thing. You said it, everyone said it — we all want to make sure we get the fights we want to see. So due to the fact, too, we also own and operate all the teams ourselves — so making trades, doing the logical thing to create the matchups that people want to see, we'll get creative with it. "So any of the fighters who are upset about, 'Oh, why didn't you pick me, coach or manager,' you can blame me. Ultimately, I kind of had final say. We did get all the feedback and we had planned on going live picks one through 120, [but] the duration that would have taken was significantly longer than I think anyone wanted to kind of tune in for, so we kind of accelerated things. But yeah, ultimately, we wanted to put the right fighters on the right teams to also create the logical matchups." At a glance, the roster appears perfectly customized to best suit fighters from the regions where specific teams are based. For example, Team Dubai, led by AKA's Javier Mendez and Cain Velasquez, consists of several fighters from Dagestan, countries nearby, or the AKA gym itself. Likewise, Owen said American Top Team fighters in Florida sought to be on Team Miami and Brazilians pushed for Team Sao Paulo. Upon its public unveiling in December, GFL immediately stood out, promising a roster that featured several notable UFC veterans and former champions. Friday's draft stream proved that several of those names are indeed involved, but some question marks still follow others. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans was one in particular who spoke out after the draft, claiming he isn't part of GFL and is planning to rematch Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in boxing. Despite the confusion, Owen believes Evans could still enter the GFL when it launches in April. "We'll see," Owen said. "[Evans' manager] Ali [Abdelaziz] was like — literally the day before the draft, I'm like, 'Ali, we're good to put him in?' He's like, 'Yes, brother; yes, brother. We're good to put him in.' So we put him in, and Rashad obviously came out afterward and said, 'Hey, I didn't sign.' But I think if you look at the history of drafts, are any of those athletes signed before they get drafted to the team? No. "There's a lot of examples of things that happen post-draft, and this is just a similar format to that." After setting up its six team rosters, broadcast deals appear to be GFL's next order of business. Owen is confident a deal will be pinned down before April. Owen's approach is to "fill the NFL void," he said, and he expects GFL to offer a combination of pay-per-view and free-to-watch events, potentially even holding three events in two days on some weekends. "Obviously these athletes we have are proven pay-per-view draws and have a giant fan base," Owen said. "I'll say this, if someone really comes to the table with a deal that makes all the sense for us that we don't need to do pay-per-view, then we won't do pay-per-view. They also kind of like the idea of pay-per-view based on the metrics, the volume of talent we have, their following that is involved in this. "We aren't getting so much pushback on, 'Hey, we don't like the pay-per-view model.' They're like, 'Hey, we kind of like this model, let's put it behind a paywall. Let's price it accordingly based on our countries around the world.' "It'll probably be a bit of a hybrid based on where we go and who with, and who has what rights and what territory," he concluded. The age of GFL's roster is one glaring concern, with an average age of 36. However, Owen insists that most MMA legends will fight other legends or veterans, while prospects will largely fight prospects to keep a fine balance. Specifically in the lightweight or welterweight divisions, Owen already has some matchups in mind. The unexpected arrival of one-time UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson brings a matchmaking challenge after Ferguson's eight straight UFC losses. Online provocateur Dillon Danis was floated as an option for Ferguson during the GFL draft, and Owen is a fan of the pairing. "The nice thing is, they don't have the ability to decline," Owen said. "We can make the fights that people want to see, and we're listening to everybody, right? Like Tony Ferguson, Dillon Danis — that may be something that will come to fruition. So we're down to make the fights. I'm a diehard MMA fan, I love the sport more than anything. I've always kind of prided myself on making exciting matchups, but also making matchups that people actually want to see. That's first and foremost what we're going to do, is deliver the real fights that people want. "[Danis] was one of the harder ones to get over the finish line. There were a few [fighters] that took a little bit more effort. It wasn't like he was asking for anything weird or wild or anything like that — overall, good to deal with. So no real hiccups or issues there. Some people, you just sent the agreement over, and within an hour it's signed and returned back to you. Others have, 'Hey, we just want to make sure the language on this or that.' Obviously, he rides the line pretty hard in his promoting and the things he does and says, so we had to take out some language that allowed him to be who he is. And we're fine with doing that. There's obviously a line we don't want crossed and we're not expecting him to cross any lines. But some of the language in the contracts makes it very respectable, and his promoting style maybe isn't that exact way. "We want Dillon to be Dillon and do his thing and work with him and give him the support he needs to blow this up," Owen continued. "So yeah, everyone's been pretty phenomenal, man — the behind-the-scenes, the vibe, the feel, the energy of the managers and the fighters and their coaches and everything. It's been a very inspiring time to see everyone coming together and having the same mindset, the same attitude, and just getting on the same page together."
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
GFL founder reacts to draft results leak, Rashad Evans situation; likes the idea of Tony Ferguson vs. Dillon Danis
For better or worse, the Global Fight League (GFL) is already making plenty of noise. MMA's newest promotion hopes to break through with a team-based format featuring six global GFL teams consisting of 120 total fighters. To organize the groups, GFL held its first-ever "draft" this past Friday. Unfortunately, the operation didn't go as smoothly as planned — a production mishap revealed the entire draft board of teams and their fighters mere minutes before the GFL's live stream launched. Although that wasn't the plan, GFL founder Darren Owen explained Tuesday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" that he believes the mistake may have actually been better for viewership. "It's hard to know exactly what happened and why, and what it was," Owen said. "Obviously we had a lot going on right before we were about to go live. So I guess one of the streams went live early, about five minutes earlier than they should have, and they were still kind of testing and kind of going through some different things. So yeah, one of the graphics that got showed was, theoretically, the draft board. "I don't know ultimately if it was a bad thing, because based on that we were trending on X, the No. 1 topic in the United States that evening. We trended on Google over the weekend. So was it a blessing in disguise that maybe, hey, this got leaked. It wasn't the plan, but it happened. You just deal with it and move forward." The most telling thing about the unintentional board leak was that the draft wasn't actually draft at all. Teams were already established, and this was just the promotion's way of sharing them. This was further evidenced when the pick announcements were dropped after the fourth round as the stream approached its three-hour mark. "Absolutely, it was," Owen acknowledged when asked if the draft was predetermined. "There's a lot that went into that production of it. So the reality is I consulted with the coaches, the managers, who they wanted on their team, what made sense based on — we're stacking the deck. That's the reality of this thing. You said it, everyone said it — we all want to make sure we get the fights we want to see. So due to the fact, too, we also own and operate all the teams ourselves — so making trades, doing the logical thing to create the matchups that people want to see, we'll get creative with it. "So any of the fighters who are upset about, 'Oh, why didn't you pick me, coach or manager,' you can blame me. Ultimately, I kind of had final say. We did get all the feedback and we had planned on going live picks one through 120, [but] the duration that would have taken was significantly longer than I think anyone wanted to kind of tune in for, so we kind of accelerated things. But yeah, ultimately, we wanted to put the right fighters on the right teams to also create the logical matchups." At a glance, the roster appears perfectly customized to best suit fighters from the regions where specific teams are based. For example, Team Dubai, led by AKA's Javier Mendez and Cain Velasquez, consists of several fighters from Dagestan, countries nearby, or the AKA gym itself. Likewise, Owen said ATT fighters in south Florida sought to be on Team Miami and Brazilians pushed for Team Sao Paulo. Upon its public unveiling in December, GFL immediately stood out, promising a roster that featured several notable UFC veterans and former champions. Friday's draft stream proved that several of those names are indeed involved, but some question marks still follow others. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans was one in particular who spoke out after the draft, claiming he isn't part of GFL and is planning to rematch Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in boxing. Despite the confusion, Owen believes Evans could still enter the GFL when it launches in April. "We'll see," Owen said. "[Evans' manager] Ali [Abdelaziz] was like — literally the day before the draft, I'm like, 'Ali, we're good to put him in?' He's like, 'Yes, brother; yes, brother. We're good to put him in.' So we put him in, and Rashad obviously came out afterward and said, 'Hey, I didn't sign.' But I think if you look at the history of drafts, are any of those athletes signed before they get drafted to the team? No. "There's a lot of examples of things that happen post-draft, and this is just a similar format to that." After setting up its six team rosters, broadcast deals appear to be GFL's next order of business. Owen is confident a deal will be pinned down before April. Owen's approach is to "fill the NFL void," he said, and he expects GFL to offer a combination of pay-per-view and free-to-watch events, potentially even holding three events in two days on some weekends. "Obviously these athletes we have are proven pay-per-view draws and have a giant fan base," Owen said. "I'll say this, if someone really comes to the table with a deal that makes all the sense for us that we don't need to do pay-per-view, then we won't do pay-per-view. They also kind of like the idea of pay-per-view based on the metrics, the volume of talent we have, their following that is involved in this. "We aren't getting so much pushback on, 'Hey, we don't like the pay-per-view model.' They're like, 'Hey, we kind of like this model, let's put it behind a paywall. Let's price it accordingly based on our countries around the world.' "It'll probably be a bit of a hybrid based on where we go and who with, and who has what rights and what territory," he concluded. The age of GFL's roster is one glaring concern, with an average age of 36. However, Owen insists that most MMA legends will fight other legends or veterans, while prospects will largely fight prospects to keep a fine balance. Specifically in the lightweight or welterweight divisions, Owen already has some matchups in mind. The unexpected arrival of one-time UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson brings a matchmaking challenge after Ferguson's eight straight UFC losses. Online provocateur Dillon Danis was floated as an option for Ferguson during the GFL draft, and Owen is a fan of the pairing. "The nice thing is, they don't have the ability to decline," Owen said. "We can make the fights that people want to see, and we're listening to everybody, right? Like Tony Ferguson, Dillon Danis — that may be something that will come to fruition. So we're down to make the fights. I'm a diehard MMA fan, I love the sport more than anything. I've always kind of prided myself on making exciting matchups, but also making matchups that people actually want to see. That's first and foremost what we're going to do, is deliver the real fights that people want. "[Danis] was one of the harder ones to get over the finish line. There were a few [fighters] that took a little bit more effort. It wasn't like he was asking for anything weird or wild or anything like that — overall, good to deal with. So no real hiccups or issues there. Some people, you just sent the agreement over, and within an hour it's signed and returned back to you. Others have, 'Hey, we just want to make sure the language on this or that.' Obviously, he rides the line pretty hard in his promoting and the things he does and says, so we had to take out some language that allowed him to be who he is. And we're fine with doing that. There's obviously a line we don't want crossed and we're not expecting him to cross any lines. But some of the language in the contracts makes it very respectable, and his promoting style maybe isn't that exact way. "We want Dillon to be Dillon and do his thing and work with him and give him the support he needs to blow this up," Owen continued. "So yeah, everyone's been pretty phenomenal, man — the behind-the-scenes, the vibe, the feel, the energy of the managers and the fighters and their coaches and everything. It's been a very inspiring time to see everyone coming together and having the same mindset, the same attitude, and just getting on the same page together."
