There are four groups of riders as far as the Ben Fund goes. Firstly there are riders good enough to bring in fans who are regularly committed to the event. This group includes Ben Barker, Steve Worrall, Chris Harris, Rory Schlein.
Secondly there is an equally committed group of not-so-good riders who will always ride but really just make up the numbers. They deserve equal applause.
Then there are those who will do it if pushed and if they have nothing better to do. They will then pull out without any feeling of guilt if a paid booking crops up. A substantial number of riders did that on this occasion. They don't realise that this is the LAST meeting you should pull out of, not the first.
And finally there are those who won’t even consider doing it. They get asked and don’t even return calls.
Support from the promoters comes from just one or two who are prepared to offer tracks to stage the meeting or to push their riders into competing. But generally they are not supportive, individually or as a group.
Because I am involved I do know a lot of scare stories about riders and promoters who don’t give a damn about the Ben Fund. I consider it truly shocking. But I can’t name names unfortunately because that has to be Paul Ackroyd’s call. Fortunately Paul is a strong character otherwise the whole business would bring him down.