Thursday 14 January 2016 14:38, UK
Tom Dascombe hailed Chester's new appearance money initiative as a "great idea", with owners to receive a £400 payment each time a horse runs at the venue in 2016.
The scheme will work as a minimum payment contribution with owners whose runners fail to win prize-money receiving a payment of £400, while those who win prize-money of less than £400 will have the amount topped up to the requisite level.
Dascombe trains in nearby Malpas and usually has plenty of runners at a track he holds in high regard.
He said: "Any money that goes to the owners is good news.
"Chester is about the best racecourse in the country with wonderful facilities and they look after owners very well.
"I think it sounds like a great idea."
Fellow trainer David Evans is another who enjoys plenty of runners on the Roodee and he feels more tracks should aim to implement similar rewards.
He said: "I think all tracks should be doing something like this, if they can, and I suppose Chester can afford to do this.
"I have as many runners as I can there as it's a good track and a good day out for the owners as they are well looked after.
"The owners like going there and Chester possibly doesn't get as many runners as it should for whatever reason. I think this sounds like a good idea."
Officials at Chester are hoping the new scheme will encourage more owners to bring their horses to the track.
"We are delighted to launch this scheme', said Richard Thomas, Chester's chief executive.
"As a racecourse that has been voted best large course at the Racehorse Owners Association Horseracing Awards, this scheme is crucial for us to look after a very important group of stakeholders: our owners.
"These payments aim to significantly contribute to those operating at the grassroots level of our sport, particularly when often, efforts of runners aren't always rewarded on the track.'
ROA president Rachel Hood believes the initiative could have a positive impact on numbers of runners at the course this term.
She said: "Owners often incur significant costs when they have a runner, so offering a meaningful payment to offset those charges provides another reason to target races at Chester.
"The fact is that racecourses are competing with each other for runners, and we believe this innovation is the exactly the type of thing that will influence owners when making their running plans."
Owner Dr Marwan Koukash is famed for his love of the track and has plenty of runners each season, landing the feature Chester Cup on more than one occasion in recent years.
He said: "For some time, Chester Racecourse has led the way by providing owners with first class facilities and hospitality.
"This new fantastic initiative does go a long way towards covering the costs of racing and I congratulate them for introducing it to British racing.
"I will have to start sending more horses to Chester!"
Chester also announced a total increase of eight per cent in prize-money for the Boodles May Festival, with the Arkle Finance Cheshire Oaks receiving a significant boost with a total prize fund of #60,000 increased from £40,000.
