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Apparently ATR were very disappointed with today’s decision, on hearing that racing was abandoned they pulled their advertising TV crew out of Cheltenham, they were due to do a bumper selection of TV adverts, about accidents on race courses, "Have you been hit by a flying horse on the racecourse?. Call the Accident Helpline….."
Seriously, I am very disappointed, however it is the correct decision, and as AP stated, Cheltenham would have their insurance invalidated. I think Flash should grow up, sounds like a five year old.
John.
Apparently ATR were very disappointed with today’s decision, on hearing that racing was abandoned they pulled their advertising TV crew out of Cheltenham, they were due to do a bumper selection of TV adverts, about accidents on race courses, "Have you been hit by a flying horse on the racecourse?. Call the Accident Helpline….."
Seriously, I am very disappointed, however it is the correct decision, and as AP stated, Cheltenham would have their insurance invalidated. I think Flash should grow up, sounds like a five year old.
John.
Fortunately mate I don’t care what you think.
People are capable of looking after themselves and making their own decisions regarding their safety
Does that include the staff? It’s all very well giving the paying customers the right to weigh up the risks themselves, but they still need people working there to serve the food and drink, dole out the racecards etc. Why should they be expected to risk their necks because a day’s entertainment is considered paramount?
Anyway, the reality of your quote is an increasing number of people who choose to ‘make their own decision’ and then employ an ambulance-chasing lawyer to sue whoever they can lay their hands on when it all goes wrong. They are the people you should be venting your wrath at, not the Cheltenham management team.
Temporary tented villages are part and parcel of every major annual sporting event these days.
Indeed they are, and it should be remembered that there is a recent precedent for the safety issues surrounding them being one of the contributory factors to a big-race abandonment – the 2004 Midlands National, anyone?
Come to think of it, that race was lost in the same week of the year as today’s meeting, and that just four years ago. If it is accepted that;
– the corporate hospitality facet of racing is becoming increasingly conspicuous on the racecourse,
– we live in an increasingly litigious society,
– our weather is becoming increasingly volatile,then there may well be an inevitability of abandonments of the likes of Uttoxeter on that occasion, Cheltenham today, Catterick last week etc becoming more commonplace.
Tomorrow looks better weatherwise and there’s always Huntingdon for today.
Well, for the time being at least!
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.
People are capable of looking after themselves and making their own decisions regarding their safety
Does that include the staff? It’s all very well giving the paying customers the right to weigh up the risks themselves, but they still need people working there to serve the food and drink, dole out the racecards etc. Why should they be expected to risk their necks because a day’s entertainment is considered paramount?
Anyway, the reality of your quote is an increasing number of people who choose to ‘make their own decision’ and then employ an ambulance-chasing lawyer to sue whoever they can lay their hands on when it all goes wrong. They are the people you should be venting your wrath at, not the Cheltenham management team.
To be honest Cruella Cheltenham are at fault for not providing more secure areas. Come on, its not really on is it there isn’t any excuse. Its all to make more money from corporates. I don’t suppose all the houses in Cheltenham are losing their rooves Cheltenham have temporary facilities that simply aren’t good enough.
I feel for the people who have missed out today, but great news for me, I get to see 3 days rolled into 2 now when I go down tomorrow morning for the Thurs and Friday!
This cannot EVER be allowed to happen again.
Excluding foot and mouth, it’s been 30 years since the last time Cheltenham lost a day of its Festival, and in this instance the races won’t even be lost.
That’s the sort of run of unbroken action that the organisers of any racing fixture, at any time of year, would give their eye teeth for, never mind one hosted in what’s still winter when all is said and and done. Consider how many Racing Post Chases, King Georges, Welsh Nationals, Eiders, etc. have been lost in that time-frame.
Arguably a little more perspective is required.
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.
Apparently ATR were very disappointed with today’s decision, on hearing that racing was abandoned they pulled their advertising TV crew out of Cheltenham, they were due to do a bumper selection of TV adverts, about accidents on race courses, "Have you been hit by a flying horse on the racecourse?. Call the Accident Helpline….."
Seriously, I am very disappointed, however it is the correct decision, and as AP stated, Cheltenham would have their insurance invalidated. I think Flash should grow up, sounds like a five year old.
John.
Fortunately mate I don’t care what you think.
Judging by your infantile posts, I don’t think you care what anyone thinks matey.
JohnJ.
Apparently ATR were very disappointed with today’s decision, on hearing that racing was abandoned they pulled their advertising TV crew out of Cheltenham, they were due to do a bumper selection of TV adverts, about accidents on race courses, "Have you been hit by a flying horse on the racecourse?. Call the Accident Helpline….."
Seriously, I am very disappointed, however it is the correct decision, and as AP stated, Cheltenham would have their insurance invalidated. I think Flash should grow up, sounds like a five year old.
John.
Fortunately mate I don’t care what you think.
Judging by your infantile posts, I don’t think you care what anyone thinks matey.
JohnJ.
I will have whatever opinion I like mate I really don’t care whether you like it or not. One thing for certain I will always express my opinion and I won’t be silenced by your or anyone elses attempts at put downs.
Personally I find signing every post JohnJ infantile but you have as much right to do it as I do to voice my opinion.
Do you think Flash? Should I change my signature, or may be just take a photo of myself with ridiculous baseball cap and leave that on the side… that might work, thanks for the advice.
JohnJ
Can’t we all just get along? Three day festival. Like in the "good old days". Jumpers for goalposts. My old man’s a dustman.
Do you think Flash? Should I change my signature, or may be just take a photo of myself with ridiculous baseball cap and leave that on the side… that might work, thanks for the advice.
JohnJ
And you call me infantile.
No offense mate (honestly) but I can’t be bothered by the likes of you.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but there is a difference between voicing an opinion and banging on like a stuck record!
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but there is a difference between voicing an opinion and banging on like a stuck record!
A childrens record to boot…
JohnJ
If they went with racing today and people died at Cheltenham as well as horses being hit with missiles, then everyone would be saying what a ridiculous decision it was to go ahead with the meeting and it would be bad for racings image.
And therein lies one of the biggest points of the whole thing, if not the biggest.
Yesterday was a terrific advertisement for racing, both for us hard-bitten daily partakers and for those looking from the outside with little or only nascent interest. We had six races, safe ground, no fallers, many terrific finishes, no fatalities as far as I am aware, the eminently promotable Katchit and Nina Carberry coming to the fore in two races, packed stands, orderly crowds and a feel-good factor that practically radiated from the TV screen.
Put short, there was not a single blow that racing’s detractors – including but not limited to Animal Aid – could land on the day yesterday. It was the sort of perfect afternoon that the sport hopes to have every day, but accepts it cannot. It was the sort of day where the reputation of a sport thought tarnished by some (with or without good reason) was rehabilitated mightily.
So why in the hell risk undoing any of that good work by letting racing – and not just racing, as high profile a meeting as the outside world cares about other than Epsom, Aintree and Royal Ascot – take place in potentially dangerous conditions?
Reputations take weeks, months and years to build up, mere seconds and minutes to knock down. An abandonment due to winds two minutes before the "off", with the jockeys at the start for the first insisting the wind is too strong, would probably have featured on the news in mocking terms. A stand blown over with people in it would definitely have been headline news with all the attendant "racing’s image dealt another blow" talk that gets wheeled out too readily.
Ultimately the sport we love is too precious to risk courting that level of self-harm, particularly in an era where it possesses fewer friends in the mainstream media than previously.
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.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but there is a difference between voicing an opinion and banging on like a stuck record!
I do apologise I didn’t realise there were restrictions to numbers of posts.
This forum is getting ridiculous of late everybody moaning at other peoples posts.
Show me where any of my posts have been racist, sexist, insulting to any member or threatening then I’ll happilly admit to being out of order. Unless you can I’ll post what I like regardless of forum bullying (for want of a better phrase).
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