- This topic has 77 replies, 32 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 3 months ago by
.
- Posts
As the racing today does not interest me much and I had some spare time, I decided to go back to Jan 2006 and compare the number of runners then to those in January 2008 ( yes, I know – I must get a life ) –
Jan 2006
Number of races 247
Number of runners 2760
Average runners per race = 11.17Jan 2008
Number of races 364
Number of runners 2939
Average runners per race = 8.07It therefore appears that the reason for the reduction of about 28% in the average number of runners per race over a 2 year period is simply because of the increase in the number of race meetings as suggested by somebody earlier. I assume that this will not change when…….sorry I mean if Great Leighs opens as their proposed meetings this winter were taken on by the other AW tracks.
An average number of runners of just 8 runners a race is poor in my opinion ( don’t the bookies want 14? ) and creating more AW tracks and races has not increased the amount of horses running on them by much in the winter so maybe the demand isn’t there. I do not see the need for more AW tracks unless perhaps they are sited further up north where there may be a demand for them?
Pete
An average number of runners of just 8 runners a race is poor in my opinion ( don’t the bookies want 14? ) and creating more AW tracks and races has not increased the amount of horses running on them by much in the winter so maybe the demand isn’t there.
Further, if the proposals outlined in the Alan Lee article linked to in another thread (q.v.) to exclude animals rated below 45 come to fruition, then that would likely reduce that pool of horses yet further.
Increasing the number of AW fixtures in the calendar, whilst at the same time placing greater strictures on what actually lines up in them, looks a recipe for even thinner-contested cards than this winter’s from where I’m standing.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Funny how nobody ever refers to Nad Al Sheba as an AW track – or slags off the Dubai World Cup as just another low grade AW race.
Happy to help, Alan.
Nad Al Sheba is just another A/W track, and the Dubai World Cup is sh*ite.
Kind regards
Grass
Hi
The problem with curtailed fixtures is that they now have little control over them which I suspect will bring an increase in AW early and late on the flat and an even greater compression mid season for the grass.Two AW flat meetings tomorrow at Lingfield (7 races, 56 declared) and down the road at Kempton in the evening (7 races, 53 declared).
I think that the basic problem is that there is a surfeit of racing in general , most of which is low class dross set up as a bookies benefit. Some newspapers drop the cards to certain meetings.
Much of this happens to be on the AW, which gets the surface a bad name.I concur that there are plenty of bad races for peanuts at Brighton, Bath and Catterick- it just happens that they are on turf, the sun may be out and some of the better known jockeys will be riding.
The AW racing at the moment is particularly soulless. In the main bad horses, ridden by fair to middling jockeys while the big boys are on holiday. Those making hay had better do so before the battalions of Stoute, Channon, Hannon, Tregoning, Hills, Gosden etc are unleashed.The lack of atmosphere at the likes of Lingfield and Kempton is exacerbated by the AW being laid inside turf tracks and further away from racegoers.
I accept the point made by AP that horses train on AW and it doesn’t jar them up as much as firm turf going. However Wolves has had its fair share of equine casualties- didn’t Hugh Collingridge recently complain about the state of the track?
OK – I was at Southwell today and am pleased to say there was a good crowd and a good atmosphere.
Certainly a hell of a lot better than the souless Wolverhampton last week.
It is just a shame I could not have been as enthused about the racing itself.
The only decent race as a spectacle was the 4:10 – even though my only bet of the day was touched off – that’s racing though!!
Perhaps we should remember that it is not only the AW that may be in trouble.
According to a newspaper article, Newbury Racecourse may be under threat of a takeover bid from potential developers. Very hard to believe, and, I’d say id that one falls, then it really is the beginning of the end.Not sure what can be done about it. Revenue from the levy is said to be down by millions of pounds.
I’m glad you had a nice day at Lingfield, btw, Paul.
According to a newspaper article, Newbury Racecourse may be under threat of a takeover bid from potential developers. Very hard to believe, and, I’d say id that one falls, then it really is the beginning of the end.
Not sure what can be done about it. Revenue from the levy is said to be down by millions of pounds.
How about "Urban Racing"? Or a lower-quality and slightly more rural version "Sub-Urban Racing"?
Simply keep the original racecourse and build the houses around it. Traditional fences and hurdles could be replaced with cars, bikes, bushes, small children, shopping trolleys, the elderly, mini-roundabouts, burst water mains, small picket fences and the like. Jumping traffic lights would actually be a positive for once, and the local traffic police could be gainfully employed to provide top-notch sectional timings using their speed-gun equipment…
There’s always talk about the need to bring racing back to the masses and this would seem to be an ideal opportunity! For me, it’s a winner…
Given that Hugh Collingridges reputation for breaking horses down,its a bad joke him bitching about tracks….
Tell that to Stormont who was hughs best horse in recent in years ( wining a grop two in germany), who was once a collinridge inmate and arrived with shoes on two sizes too small for him which lamed him so badly he could not bee trained for several months.
We need less clashes of meetings in one area of the country, better prizemoney, better class races and less meetings.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.