- This topic has 14 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 2 months ago by
.
- Posts
Good idea or not? Don’t know the track at all, but sounds as if it would be quite tight to race around.
A bad idea. There is already too much racing especially on the Flat, the Chelmsford MD admits the track will be tight. Were the BHA to approve the extra 2019 fixtures Chelmsford has applied for it will mean RUK has even more to fit into what will be a crowded schedule. Perhaps it would be better if Chelmsford is forced to switch 14-16 existing AW meetings.
The idea of racing under lights on grass in the UK is novel but Chelmsford’s ultimate plan is that the bulk of the extra fixtures will be either before or after the traditional turf season, when the evenings are dark, which will upset purists. Reading the article carefully it seems that some of these hoped for fixtures will be day-night affairs and in a bid to mimic the Breeders Cup there would be a mixture of grass and dirt races on some/many cards.
Would a tight track attract the calibre of horse Chelmsford is hoping to attract, especially when at the times of the year management is talking about there are well established similar international meetings? Chelmsford might hope the showpiece meeting it’s planning will build in quality over the years, however, there is every chance it will not and we will be left with additional substandard fare to add to the dross that most of the Flat already is!
I like the idea. I like the thought of a big breeders cup style meeting under lights. Chelmsford is a decent track with good facilities too so that’s another plus. I really think they could be onto a winning formula.
HOWEVER.. the turf track being inside of the all weather is a big worry. That’s going to be an awfully tight track and last years breeders cup shambles at Del Mar has just come flooding back to me.
Hmm…
You guys know I love AW and think there needs to be more racing in general, but I agree with Middle Of March here. The Chelmsford AW course is already pretty tight, as shown by the strong pace bias we have seen so far. I don’t see how you could possibly have another round course INSIDE of that. It would indeed be like Del Mar and it would be silly – you’d get a rash of self-cert non-runners with wide draws as you do at Chester.
I think it would only work if they created a turf straight on the infield. Then at least you could have a card of exclusively 5f or 6f sprints under floodlights every now and again. There are plenty of low-grade sprinters to sustain one of those meetings every month and a half or so.
They could call it the Half-Breeders Cup!
Decent track with good facilities, MOM? I thought the stands are in the middle of the course.
As I said, LS, unnecessary extra fixtures of more dross. Anyway, their plans are much bigger than that – a casino, etc, etc. That nasty capitalist Fred Done is behind it. He only cares what’s best for himself not British racing.
It sounds like it is going to happen whether they get the extra fixtures or not as they can (?) transfer some of their AW meeting allowance to the turf. Here’s a snippet:
Were the BHA to refuse Chelmsford additional fixtures, Siers said the course would look to transfer some of its meetings from the all-weather to turf.
“The turf track will launch in 2019 irrespective of any additional fixtures,” he claimed.
He being course managing director, Phil Siers.
Have Chelmsford any plans to move the stand to the outside of the track so that spectators can actually watch the racing?
I have never been there but I assume that Chelmsford has the worst viewing of any racecourse in the country.
Can a turf surface on a tight track be safe? I suppose it depends a bit on the soil type and drainage under the grass cover. Just remembering that shambles at Downpatrick last year where horses came down like skittles on the first bend before they’d even reached the first obstacle- and that was at NH pace not Flat pace. I was amazed horses and jockeys weren’t badly injured.
There are enough tracks where horses can be sent to lose, Chelmsford seems to attract non triers.
I only live about 25 minutes drive from Chelmsford racecourse and since it opened I have been twice and that is twice too often.
There is no atmosphere, the viewing of races is appalling, you just stand by the window in the Grandstand or out on the terrace and catch the end of each race as they come round the bend you can’t watch a race from start to finish you have to rely on the screen. I can’t see how they can improve the viewing of the racing unless they build a roof terrace on top of the Grandstand but upstairs is set aside for Members only and corporate events with their own extremely expensive restaurant and with all this expensive infrastructure in place I doubt they will move it from the middle of the track to the side when the turf course is added.
Getting a decent price on your fancied horse is virtually impossible ..
If you want to bet with a course bookmaker there is a choice of FOUR who stand outside in the Summer but tuck themselves inside the main building on cold winter days, so no chance of getting a decent price on a horse, the majority of the betting takes place at Betfreds main office inside the Grandstand.The Parade Ring is uninspiring and on a cold windy winters night nobody bothers to even leave the main building to look at the horses as the paddock is so bleak and the wind blows right through you. Everyone stays inside and I remember thinking I might as well be at home watching on the TV.
If you want to eat there is just one burger and chips outlet inside serving mediocre snacks and coffee, the restaurant is very expensive and uninviting with awful views of the racing.
Fred Done has tried staging music nights after racing which from what I have heard have been ill managed and rowdy events. My friend who is a Member says that if he wants to attend he would be asked to pay extra for these events on top of his Membership unlike Newmarket where Newmarket Nights are included, needless to say he goes home after racing.
I won’t be rushing to go to Chelmsford City when turf racing makes an appearance, I would rather drive the extra 30 miles to Newmarket where last season I visited at least twice every meeting, there really is no comparison and if Newmarket goes ahead with its plans to stage All Weather racing on its third racecourse then the writing could be on the wall for Chelmsford City.
I wish I could be more positive about the place as I love my flat racing but just feel that racegoers needs are bottom of the list here.
Jac
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...It’s just like being at a glorified greyhound track with the appalling viewing.
Lots of courses have bad viewing. Cartmel, Leicester, Stratford and even Southwell with its bad angles spring to mind but Chelmsford takes the biscuit. It’s unforgivable that the main building (you can’t say grandstand) is where it is.
Lessons should have been learned from the Great Leighs temporary grandstand fiasco but no, they had to put a dog racing-style building slap in the wrong place so that you can hardly see anything apart from the closing stages.
It’s fine if all you are interested in is betting inside the hall and watching on TV. The atmosphere is good but anyone who actually wants to watch the races is in for a very frustrating time constantly trying to find somewhere with an uninterrupted view.
You can hardly hear the commentary most of the time.
Even to get to the winner’s circle needs a bit of effort as it’s quite a way from the building. When I went, Essex boy Dave Smith, the ex-racecourse commentator and ex-judge, was interviewing winning connections after races watched by, er, nobody.
The course should get its priorities right and improve the poor viewing before trying to expand its racing programme further.
Whoever thought a hall in the middle of the track was a good idea, even with limited space available, has got a lot to answer for. Mind you, when have the interests of the viewing public ever counted for anything when there’s money to be made?
Hope you didn’t get beaten up trying to get a bet on with the 4 bookmakers in attendance Crusty.
The second day that I visited (and the last) was the day that storm Doris hit and racing was delayed for an hour while they decided if racing would go ahead or not, the commentary box had already sustained a broken window but they still went ahead and then had another rethink after the first race before they went ahead again, but further mishap occurred in the 3rd race on the card when a flag person stepped out in error and raised her recall flag, none of the jockeys saw it and the race was run and won by a Kevin Ryan horse Nautical Haven, then the race was declared void…what a shambles.
I didn’t think the atmosphere inside the Grandstand building was good either as I like to be outside most of the time round the paddock and watching the horses go to post but standing round the paddock at night isn’t the same as when the sun is blazing down and reflecting off the backs of the horses showing an array of colours in their coats, spotlights just don’t have the same effect.
Looks like it’s a thumbs down for the track in it’s present state. work still in progress and could do so much better before going down the Turf route..Jac
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.