THE Flat turf season is about to undergo a radical overhaul but it is already clear that not everyone will be backing the change.

Restructuring has been on the agenda for some time and, just two weeks before it is due to begin, plans for a new-look jockeys' championship have been announced.

Instead of running from March to November the season will now commence on Guineas weekend at Newmarket in May and finish on Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot in October with the champion jockey receiving £25,000 and a prize for the leading apprentice.

The move has been welcomed by the Professional Jockeys Association however, the trainers' championship will still run from November to November because the trainers do not wish to play a part in the new venture.

Great British Racing, the marketing department of the sport, has been considering changes for some time but must now brace themselves for the fallout.

Their decision means that a number of high-profile races - including all the Guineas trial races - have effectively been accorded second-class status because they will be run before the elite season starts. It also means that the Racing Post Trophy, staged at Doncaster in late October, will play no part in the new championship despite being one of the foremost juvenile races in the calendar.

Rod Street, chief executive of Great British Racing, said: "We believe the new Flat championships will provide a better opportunity to promote racing and generate greater interest in their outcomes."

Just what will be the outcome for those courses whose sponsors might now wonder how much their races are valued by the sport is another matter.

Betway, an online betting company, have become a more prominent sponsor of late. Their brand was seen at Cheltenham last week where they sponsored the Queen Mother Champion Chase and they have also stepped in to take over as the backer of the Lincoln at Doncaster on March 28.

A spokesman for the company said: "We are making enquires and there's nothing to say at the moment. We didn't know about the plans when we decided to take the race."

Much has been made of the attritional nature of the season compared with previous eras. During last year's championship period, there were in the region of 700 Flat meetings, including nearly 200 evening fixtures, over 100 all-weather dates and 37 Sunday Flat meetings.

Surely the first move should have been to remove those all-weather fixtures from the reckoning and place them where they belong, within the all-weather jockeys' championship? Equally, moving the Lincoln closer to the Craven meeting - even if it meant switching the race from Doncaster to Newmarket - would have avoided the annual lull of run-of-the-mill racing in that period. And a nudge to Channel 4 to cover the Newmarket meeting, as they once did, would help boost the early part of the season.

Another option would have been to add the November handicap to the Racing Post Trophy card, thus shaving a fortnight off the end of the season.

Mark Johnston, the trainer, was less than impressed with the new order and said: "So you can now brace yourself for the departure of our top jockeys, to sunnier, more lucrative, climes in early October. They may, or may not, return for the Craven meeting but you can take it that the majority will only ride in Britain for six months of the year. Another great idea from the folks at Racing For No Change."

Change yes, but whether that equates to progress remains to be seen.