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Newbury racecourse is entering into the Christmas spirit:
https://greatchristmascarnivalnewbury.com/getting-here
The event starts the day after the Hennessy (I still call it that). There is also one meeting at Newbury during the event, although I believe all the Christmas attractions will be closed until 4pm on that day.
I don’t think anyone can object to Newbury making some money but it will be a problem if it obscures the view of the racing.
Historic Newbury is just half an hour from me, I was once an annual member, I’ve seen Frankel win the Lockinge there, the Hennessy and I even met Jilly Cooper (one of the very few people in the public eye I’ve ever liked).
But I NEVER go any more.
Because although it always looked tremendous on television, it has seen horses as great as Arkle race there, the Chase course is stupendous as the straight mile on the Flat that hosts the Lockinge, it’s been a disappointment to me in the flesh ever since my first visit in 1983.
Even back then, situated on the back of an industrial estate, it was soulless.
Now, surrounded by yuppified high-rise apartments and houses, it is arguably even worse.
Good luck to them making cash between meetings (where their prize-money is often so lousy even Tory Boy trainers went on strike and boycotted a race last year) but you can attend safe in the knowledge you won’t be bumping into Chezza there.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"“It’s been a disappointment to me in the flesh ever since my first visit in 1983.
Even back then, situated on the back of an industrial estate, it was soulless.”
I agree with that. I visited Newbury quite a lot when I lived in London but I never really warmed to it. For a Group 1 track, it just lacks something.
They also have an annoying habit of ruining old race names; the Voidbet Stakes (registered as the Aston Freer Stakes).
Absolute sacrilege, Andy.
As stated it’s great to watch on TV, the Chase circuit is almost as burned into my memory from childhood as the Aintree Grand National circuit: the Hennessy start, the first open ditch (second), the cross fence five out, the ditch three out, the water jump in front of the stands, but they don’t respect their own heritage.
The Mandarin Chase isn’t the race it was, ditto The Challow Hurdle, the old Schweppes lacks its former controversial cache, and on the Flat middle-distance races like The John Porter, the Aston, the Geoffrey Freer and the St Simon no longer get the respect they are due.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"A great place to watch racing, not a great place to go racing.
And spot on Ian about their program of Group races, all of which manage to seem second division whatever their official status.
You could exclude the Lockinge from that as it does produce genuine Group 1 horses as winners, but it’s an anomaly in the overall Pattern as it’s the only Group 1 race for older horses run in this country before Epsom. Quite why the milers need this preferential treatment I’ve never understood. The sprinters, 10F horses and stayers have to wait for Royal Ascot to get their first chance at a Group 1.
Newbury is a two hour drive for us and we usually had prawn sandwiches in the car park before racing, lovely!
We were last at Newbury for racing in 1991 I believe.There we saw Miinehoma win the final of a mares 2 miles 5 furlongs race and had good entertainment from the owner Freddie Starr in the paddock when the bell was rung and he started sparring.
About 5 or so years ago we were on a steam train day out and the train stopped at the racecourse to take on more water. Couldn’t believe what we saw compared to 91 with the new hotels where it was car park and nothing beforehand.
Can imagine it’s a different experience there nowadays!
Yeah- he outstayed Remittance Man in the Philip Cornes Saddle of Gold Final in March 1990.
He was actually sidelined throughout the 1990-1 season.
Never mind Christmas at Newbury. On checking next year’s fixture list, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Aintree is staging a fixture on Boxing Day 2023. The long established meeting at Huntingdon is being transferred to the North West venue.
I wonder how well it will be supported? On the one hand it makes sense to move the fixture to a region with a large population. On the other hand, if either Liverpool or Everton are at home it would reduce the attendance.
There is also the issue of public transport. Merseyrail services on Boxing Day are sparse at best and sometimes there is no service at all.
That’s another gripe of mine; moving fixtures/ races from one racecourse to another. Why? Aintree on Boxing Day isn’t my idea of fun…and the public transport doesn’t fill me with confidence.
To be fair, back in the day I lost count of the number of people who used to say: “they’re starved of racing in Lancashire.”
“Go Racing In Yorkshire” was a big thing the other side of the Pennines at the time.
There will come a point where there’s too much racing at Aintree, but not so long ago it was just three days a year there (the Grand National meeting) and my guess is the track is still trying to find its saturation level commercially.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"“My guess is the track is still trying to find its saturation level commercially.”
That is quite likely.
The first time I ever visited Aintree was in 1990 on the Thursday and Friday of the National meeting. That was the year when an autumn fixture was reintroduced. It was heavily promoted at the National meeting and half price tickets for it could be purchased.
The three autumn meetings are reasonably well supported now, especially Becher Chase day. I remember going to one of the spring evening meetings which was very sparsely attended but they have attracted larger crowds since concerts have been put on afterwards.
I believe Aintree used to have meetings over the festive period on a few occasions in the 1950s and 60s but next year will be the first time it has staged racing on Boxing Day.
It is an interesting experiment and one I was not expecting. Looking at the calendar, it is not as though the North West is short of Christmas racing. Haydock has meetings scheduled on the 23rd and 30th December.
I wonder what Wetherby makes of it? I doubt it will affect their attendance but another prominent northern track staging racing on the same day might take some runners and jockeys away. Although the Wetherby Christmas meeting has been in a long decline. It is not that long ago when the Rowland Meyrick and Castleford Chase attracted Gold Cup and Champion Chase horses, especially in the days when the North of England was a powerhouse in the winter game.
“It is not that long ago when the Rowland Meyrick and Castleford Chase attracted Gold Cup and Champion Chase horses, especially in the days when the North of England was a powerhouse in the winter game.”
So true.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Looking at the history of the Rowland Meyrick, both Forgive and Forget and The Thinker won it before going on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
It was an unlucky race in the 1960s. It was abandoned due to frost five times in a row from 1961 to 1965 (that included the infamous harsh winter of 1962/63 when almost no racing took place from Christmas until early March). And in 1967 it had to be abandoned because of foot and mouth.
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