On the outskirts of London last week, a sporting event with big ambitions launched amid a storm of questioning as to the origins and purpose of its gargantuan financial resource. This week, it will be racing in the spotlight, as Royal Ascot gets underway.
Where the petrodollar has been a newly-disruptive influence in football, boxing and most recently golf, following Saudi Arabia’s arrival and the advent of the LIV circus, British Flat racing has been in thrall to Middle Eastern wealth for decades.
