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Golfing great Gary Player has called on the horse racing industry to unite more than ever before to help combat the effects of the global economic downturn.

Player, a nine-times Major winner as a golfer and a renowned horse breeder in his native South Africa, believes self-interest has to be set aside for the sake of the common good.

"The horse racing industry is having a problem like all businesses are today," said 74-year-old Player.

"So this is the time when we have all got to get together and contribute to help it be sustainable.

"We go through phases in life but I believe what the horse racing industry needs right now is a convention of people -- the media, breeders and businessmen - all with one purpose in mind.

"What do we do to improve the horse industry? I've got ideas and there are so many other ideas out there. Above all, I firmly believe we've got to bring the youth in."

Betting on horse racing has traditionally been considered recession-proof but that is no longer the case in the United States, mainly because of the proliferation of casinos.

In the last year, there has been a steep decline in betting while auction prices have plummeted. Many of the best known race tracks in the US are up for sale, including California's venerable Santa Anita Park, venue for last week's Breeders' Cup.

Player attended the 26th Breeders' Cup world championships and was critical of two notable absentees from the two-day programme, a sharp reminder in his mind of what not to do in tough economic times.

Preakness Stakes winner Rachel Alexandra did not run because of her owner's dislike of Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface and Europe's wonder horse, Sea The Stars, also skipped the event ahead of a lucrative stud career.

"I come to a world event like this and I don't see Rachel Alexandra competing," Player said. "I hear the owner (Jess Jackson) saying that it's a plastic track but they've had no horses break down here.

"And yet Zenyatta's owner (Jerry Moss) put their filly against all these other great colts. She'd won 13 consecutive races but he obviously loves the game.

"Even if his filly had lost on Saturday, it ain't serious," Player added, referring to the spectacular victory by Zenyatta in the Classic where she became the first female to win North America's richest race.

"Every athlete loses in his career many times and so does every businessman. That's just part of life," added Player, whose stud farm in South Africa is renowned internationally for its high percentage of stakes winners.

"I feel the same way about Sea the Stars. If he had come here and Rachel Alexandra had come here, it would have given this industry a boost like you've never seen.

"And let's say that Sea the Stars got beat. It's not going to detract. Am I not going to send a mare to him because he got beat? I'm still sending my mare there. He's still a super star."

Player cited an example from his own golfing career when he and fellow greats Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer vied for supremacy as the so-called 'Big Three' in the 1960s.

"It's like me saying: 'I'm not going to play against Palmer at the Open," he said. "At St Andrews the fairways are wide so I'm going to Carnoustie where the fairways are narrow.

"I wanted to beat Arnie everywhere. The three of us were not just concerned about making money.

"We loved the game and we wanted to beat the hell out of each other all around the world," added Player, who became the first South African to breed a Group One winner in the US.

Reuters