Gordon Elliott is bemused by reports the BHA are considering limiting the number of horses a trainer can run in a major handicap to four.
The Racing Post ran the story on Monday evening and the Irish handler would be massively impact in races such as the Randox Grand National.
He told Tuesday's Nick Luck Daily Podcast: “It’s a massive worry for the owners more than anyone. These are people who are investing a lot of money into the game, and I think it will be a massive worry."
Elliott made headlines earlier this season when he saddled 14 runners in the Troytown Chase but he added: “There was only going to be about seven runners in the race if I didn’t run them in it. I didn’t keep any horse out of the race and every one of my horses in the race were in the handicap proper. I didn’t do anything wrong by running them and the field didn’t fill.
“I think for sponsors and racegoers it’s massive to support these races. You see the problems in the UK with small fields and I wouldn’t want to see it happen in Ireland.
“This hasn’t happened overnight. If you go back to the 60s Tom Dreaper was winning Irish Nationals – I think from 1960 he won seven in a row. In those days I think they were only about ten or 12 runners in the field but he had half of them.
“In 1983 Michael Dickinson had five of the ten in the Gold Cup and 20 years ago Martin Pipe had eight or nine of the field in two races at Cheltenham in 2003. It hasn’t happened overnight and I don’t see what the big problem is."
Elliott admits the firepower in the bigger yards continues to grow but that only reflects what is happening elsewhere.
“Unfortunately that’s the way the world is going in every aspect of sport. The big stables are getting bigger but the bigger football teams are getting bigger and it’s the same in hurling. They’re very hard to beat," he added.
“If you got back to the Galway Plate this year I had six runners for six different owners. It’s very hard for me to tell someone they can’t run. In the Thyestes Chase this year I had nine runners for seven different owners. The Munster National eight runners for four owners.
“But if I didn’t run a horse in that race there would have been five runners in a £100,000 race. I’m a big believer in supporting racing and keeping it going for the racecourses, owners and sponsors and I think it would be lunacy if they bring a rule like this out.”
When asked to comment on the potential move, a BHA spokesperson said: “From time to time, the BHA will contact stakeholders for views on various issues. We would not comment on speculation around private discussions.”
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