LIV Golf's Lee Westwood rips into the state of British Horse Racing

Ryder Cup legend Lee Westwood has fired a brutal warning shot at British horse racing, accusing the sport of pricing out loyal owners like him.

Westwood, 52, who competes on LIV Golf, took to X this week to vent his frustrations over spiralling costs and dwindling prize money.

"When owners feel like they are being taken the p*** out of with higher fees and lower prize money it’s simply time to get out," Westwood raged.

"You can’t have a horse winning 3-4 times in a season and not breaking even. 

"As for affordability checks…"

Westwood has been a passionate racehorse owner for more than 20 years, investing in syndicates and enjoying success at the highest level. 

The Englishman's standout runner to date has been a Willie Mullins-trained horse called Augusta Kate, which won a a Grade 1 at the famous Cheltenham Festival.

But despite those highs, Westwood claims the maths simply doesn’t work anymore. 

Even victorious horses often fail to cover all the costs, leaving owners questioning whether it’s worth staying involved.

LIV Golf duo Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka were also involved in horse racing until earlier this month.

McDowell and Koepka, who recently formed Smash Racing, took ownership of a horse called Givemefive in December 2023. 

But ownership of that horse has now switched to Irvin Naylor. 

Westwood’s social media blast comes at a time when UK racing is under huge pressure.

According to multiple reports, prize money for horse racing in Britain now lags behind Ireland, France and the Middle East. 

On top of that, affordability checks have slashed betting revenue, the sport's financial lifeline, across the nation. 

A proposed tax hike is also expected to drain between £66m and £160m.

Currently, sports betting is taxed at 15%, but if racing is grouped with online casinos (21%), the impact could be devastating.

A decision from the UK Treasury will be made ahead of the budget in October.

While the former World No.1 golfer is currently frustrated with the sport of horse racing, Westwood has been grinding to keep his status on the LIV Golf League. 

Armed with his former long-time caddie Billy Foster back on his bag last month, Westwood narrowly avoided the drop zone on LIV Golf. 

Westwood will now enjoy his off-season and return to the fairways for a fifth LIV Golf campaign in 2026. 

He will no doubt be sticking his feet up to watch a bit of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black from 26-28 September.

Westwood has played in a joint record 11 Ryder Cups, which is only matched by Sir Nick Faldo. 

His Ryder Cup record stands at 21-20-6, which equates to 24 total points.

That is second on the all-time points list behind his fellow LIV Golf rival Sergio Garcia, who has 28.5 points.

Garcia revealed his disappointment at missing out on a joint record 11th appearance on Luke Donald's European team this month in an exclusive interview with GolfMagic earlier this week.

Donald names his six captain's picks on Monday but there was no place for Garcia, whose form unfortunately dipped off after his second career LIV Golf win in March.

Garcia told GolfMagic that he was mentally not in the right frame of mind with which to compete on the DP World Tour this week after learning his fate, and so he pulled out of the Irish Open at The K Club.