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Nothing wrong with all weather racing. Some great opportunities for punters on the sand, I am rubbing my hands with delight at todays card. Most people moan about a/w racing but if all the turf fixtures were cancelled due to weather and there was no a/w cards the same people would then be moaning at there being no a/w racing.
If you dont like it, dont play it. There are some great edges to be had on the sand and I appreciate having a/w racing.
Do people think we should abolish non league football because the standard is not as high as The Premier League????
Some great opportunities for punters on the sand,
I don’t dispute that – it doesn’t mean the genre is not boring and souless.
In terms of excitement and atmosphere I see little difference between AW racing and cartoon racing.
What utter carp
This is a discussion forum where people are entitled to state their views – are you so narrow minded that your only response to someone who disagrees with you is to throw a cheap insult?
To answer your specific points the examples you stated are very much the exception. Most all weather racing is bottom grade where most of the horses are either has beens or never will bes.
How often do you actually attend all weather meetings? They generally have the most sterile atmosphere. The last AW meeting I attended, Wolves last Monday, had at most about 100 spectators. The largest number I counted in the stand at any one time was 53 and round the parade ring was 38. That is not atypical.
In my opinion, and others are more than entitled to disagree, one of the major attractions of racing in this country is the diversity of the courses, which adds to the challenge of betting.
In terms of all weather racing yes it adds to the diversity, however the percentage of meetings staged on the all weather is disproportionately high and we have more than enough boring, oval artificial tracks.
Do people think we should abolish non league football because the standard is not as high as The Premier League????
Nope but non-leage football does not have the same coverage as Premiership football.
AW racing is given the same level of coverage as turf racing.
Therefore I would suggest your analogy is not comparing like with like.
Are you so blinkered Paul that you don’t see the crap racing on the turf??
It is exactly the same as what is held on synthetic surfaces – poor/moderate horses racing for poor Prize money
Paul
You said
"How often do you actually attend all weather meetings? They generally have the most sterile atmosphere. The last AW meeting I attended, Wolves last Monday, had at most about 100 spectators. The largest number I counted in the stand at any one time was 53 and round the parade ring was 38. That is not atypical. "And what a joy that is. Better the sterile atmosphere and being able to move around freely, drink when you want, eat when you want than dodging the p1ss artists shoulder to shoulder at the larger meetings.
I also find the atmosphere greatly improves with a few winners
Horses for courses I think
Aaron, thats about the most depressingly insular comment i’ve heard in ages… We should praying for the masses to get into the game otherwise it will die a slow death…
I much prefer race meets with a proper crowd (Including drunk people) and (i’m not afraid to admit it) attractive young women running round in summer dresses.. If you prefer dark grey days with 50 other blokes betting on sh!te then fair play to you but I know where i’d rather be!!!!
Not enough bad racing has been the problem. It is the 3-y-o races and older horse maidens in the main that are being under subcribed. If you put on a whole host of 0-45 or 0-60 sprint handicaps, I think they’d get bigger fields than they’ve got of late.
Not enough bad racing has been the problem. It is the 3-y-o races and older horse maidens in the main that are being under subcribed. If you put on a whole host of 0-45 or 0-60 sprint handicaps, I think they’d get bigger fields than they’ve got of late.
Could be DJ and hold those same races on turf and you would get the same horses running, but because it’s held on the hallowed turf it’s is not deemed as shite
Signed
of Gods County 
Paul
You said
"How often do you actually attend all weather meetings? They generally have the most sterile atmosphere. The last AW meeting I attended, Wolves last Monday, had at most about 100 spectators. The largest number I counted in the stand at any one time was 53 and round the parade ring was 38. That is not atypical. "And what a joy that is. Better the sterile atmosphere and being able to move around freely, drink when you want, eat when you want than dodging the p1ss artists shoulder to shoulder at the larger meetings.
I also find the atmosphere greatly improves with a few winners
Horses for courses I think
Agree with you about horses for courses.
If you care to read anything I have written on the subject of racecourses either on this forum or elsewhere, you will know there is nobody more vehmently opposed to the drinking culture that pervades far too may racecourses than I am.
However I would suggest that taking, on the one hand, the overcrowded meetings full of drunks and, on the other hand, a mid winter, midweek , all weather meeting is comparing the two extremes.
I would suggest the ideal is somewhere between the two.
I would also, perrhaps, add that I think the biggest dampener on the atmosphere at Wolves last week was having the bookmakers located indoors.
Banded racing hasn’t gone anywhere. However such a stigma was attached to the label ‘banded race’ or ‘banded card’ that they have been rebranded at Class 7 classified stakes. They are definitely still about, as anyone that sees a meeting from Kempton can testify!
Aragorn
It is a depressing statement I agree, might have something to do with turning 40 last year, a switch has been clicked and I’m ready for the pipe and slippers.
I dont enjoy the Cheltenham festival as much nowadays because of the crowds and if it wasn’t for the good racing I don’t think I’d bother and contrary to my statement I understand that racing needs new followers so to speak but the danger is you are going to alienate the regular racegoers who truely enjoy the sport by encouraging every Tom Dick & Harry to go. Some people I know go the races a couple of times a year and never see a horse in the flesh. They went to the festival a couple of years back, disappeared in to a beer tent and most of them never came out till after the last race. They never had a winner after three races and so didn’t bother after that and enjoyed the band in the tent instead. Now I have to say I don’t think they are in a minority here as the beer tents are constantly packed. I know that Cheltenham is slighty different but would you say most big meetings on a Saturday go along the same lines. I don’t comtemplate going on a Saturday any more and stick to the midweek racing at Wolverhampton, Leicester & Towcester (who get good crowds because of their continued free entrance policy). In fact last week at Towcester was great, a decent crowd with must have been twenty bookies and not too difficult to get served refreshments. The difficulty racing has is that it is difficult to have an interest in without having an interest in gambling. Its not like football or cricket where you usually have one team to support. With racing part of the thrill is the chance to win some money but racing can’t be seen to be advertising this fact. Encouraging people to gamble their hard earned would be frowned on by the minority who know whats good for us, unless you are Camelot of course.
I’m all for attractive young women running around in summer dresses at any time during the year but unfortunately they are usually running in the opposite direction.
Yeah, but there were entire banded cards on a regular basis, whereas the classifieds tend to pop up one maybe 2 per card. I know matt chapman loathed them but I think they have a place.
I agree- there is a place for all sand meetings.
Directly above the epicentre of an earthquake would do nicely.
I think there is too much all weather racing but to call it an "aberration and an affront to all that is decent about racing in this country." is extreme.
I spent an afternoon at a midweek flat meeting at Sandown last year and it was certainly as soulless as a mid winter Monday afternoon all weather card at Lingfield I also had the fortune to attend.
It serves a purpose and from a punting point of view certainly has angles if your prepared to put the work in. Its main problem is quality but thats a problem for racing in general at the moment not just all weather.
Anyway with the reduction in field sizes (not just temporary imo), the ease in landing a touch and increasingly savvy all weather punters its not the golden goose for the bookmakers that it used to be. And it is they ( the people who control the sport) that will make sure the all weather fixture list will be reduced in the years ahead.
Did no one think the big bookies signed up to TurfTV with indecent haste one the deadline loomed? Clearly Ladbrokes who lead the charge, are not so sure they do not need UK racing?
This last comment makes no sense as Lingfield and Southwell are SIS tracks Ladbrokes would have had all the coverage of this afternoons races.
of Gods County 
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