- This topic has 12 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 6 months ago by
.
- Posts
There are 5 meetings in Britain and Ireland this Monday afternoon. It is a public holiday in Ireland today, hence the two meetings at Galway and Wexford. (I have never understood why Ireland has a public holiday at this time of year, just after the clocks have changed and it is darker earlier).
Considering the Irish holiday is known about well in advance, is it sensible to have 3 meetings in Britain this afternoon? Who would miss the Kempton all weather fixture? It is not as if there is a shortage of them.
Throw in Wolverhampton in the evening and there are 6 meetings on what must be a fairly quiet betting day.
Should Monday be a racing-free day, apart from public holidays? I have no idea, but I suspect the betting lobby wouldn’t like it. But who really has a bet in the all-weather at Wolverhampton today?
There’s been rumblings about introducing an October bank holiday here in the UK as the existing gap between the August one and Christmas is ‘too long’
Anyway, found this about the Irish one today:
When is the October Bank Holiday in Ireland?
The October Bank Holiday is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland that is observed on the last Monday in October.
History of the October Bank Holiday
After Ireland joined the EEC in 1973, the number of Irish public holidays was lower than that mandated for workers by the EEC.
As a result. this day became a bank holiday in 1977 and although no particular reason was given for choosing the date, the date was probably chosen as it would fall at the same time as the half-term school break, which traditionally covered All Saints’ Day on 1st November.
It is interesting to note that there were four Gaelic seasonal festivals, marking key times of the year for agricultural communities. Of these, Beltane (the beginning of summer on 1st May) and Samhain (the beginning of winter on 1st November) were the most important and both these now have public holidays very near to their dates with both the modern public holidays being the two most recently adopted
https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/ireland/october-holiday-halloween
It’s these sort of instances that highlight just how badly the BHA badly shoots itself in the foot time and time again.
The bookies have them by the short and curlys and would flip their lid were anyone to suggest a couple of Mondays a month in the autumnal/winter months were left blank.
There’s obviously enough mug punters in bookies up and down the land doing enough place pots and lucky 15’s to justify the existence of the meeting but the longer term harm it does to racing is ignored or kicked into the long grass.
But I really can’t imagine how any rails bookie can make it pay on days like these or when it gets perishingly cold in December-Feb, snow and ice are thick on the ground and Southwell is staging a Tuesday afternoon meeting full of class 5 and 6 dog ****.
Thanks Drone. I could not think of anything in recent Irish history to explain the late October public holiday, so it makes sense to learn it remembers the ancient Gaelic past.
Let’s hope it adds to the crowd at Galway today. The place looked empty on Saturday and Sunday. I once went to a September meeting there and it was fairly quiet then as well. Nothing like the crowds at the festival.
I would have thought it made more sense to have a bank holiday fixture at one of the tracks in the Dublin area, or maybe Cork or Limerick. Counties Galway and Wexford are fairly sparsely populated and both are a long way from the Dublin metropolitan area.
I believe a bank holiday around the date of the Battle of Trafalgar has been suggested but nothing has ever been done.
We can all unilaterally impose a blank day upon ourselves any time we like – no need for nanny State intervention to impose it on everyone.
There’s racing on Christmas Day in France – quite right too!
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I’m absolutely dead against any sort of unnecessary interference from the state as well Ian. But I’m not talking about the government writing it into the statute that thou shall not pass the gates of dunstall park forever more on a Monday!
The BHA should simply grow a set and look at the longer term harm it’s doing to stage hundreds of these type of meetings a year and have the stones to do something about it.
I don’t get it, there’s plenty of tinpot dog racing, virtual, overseas etc for the addicts to punt on but somebody must be making money out of these Mickey Mouse meetings on a Monday or else they wouldn’t exist.
“somebody must be making money out of these Mickey Mouse meetings on a Monday or else they wouldn’t exist.”
THIS.
I keep reading how no one wants all these meetings, but someone must otherwise they wouldn’t be paying racecourses media rights money to stage it.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"‘There’s racing on Christmas Day in France – quite right too!’
That would be great! One or two good races to lighten the boring blank days before Boxing Day when the racing world comes back to life.
Wetherby and Wincanton on Christmas Day? Quite enough going on at Kempton to keep me happy on Boxing Day.
And what about the poor buggers who you’re dragging away from their families on the one day a year that the majority of people in the country look forward to spending with their family the most!
I’d prefer going back to the days of a Xmas week long shutdown than look to extend the hours employers can drag people in or write into contracts they’re expected to work!
France get so many things right, great food, great racecourses, and I’m fairly sure I remember backing a winner at a Cagnes-Sur-Mer Christmas Day Morning Jumps fixture a couple of years ago.
We should take our lead from the nation that brought the world: Coq Au Vin, Zinedine Zidane and seaside Jump Racing on Christmas Day morning!
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"It’s Cagnes-Sur-Mer this year, an all jumping card for just under 240,000 euros in total prize money. The feature is a 2M 5F Listed chase worth 60,000 euros.
The Xmas day card has been at Pau in the past as well, the two tracks seem to switch every few years. This year Pau race on Xmas Eve.
There’s also a seven race afternoon card at the main Paris trotting track, Vincennes, on Xmas Day.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.