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I was listening to Hoiles today regarding the large attendances at racecourses over the Christmas and New Year break, a number had even sold out.
Got me thinking being told by MSM over the months that we will all be poorer than we were, the evidence certainly for the last week at racecourses contradicts MSM thinking, and is a positive one.
I wonder what others views are on the good turnout for racing, and if they have seen other areas of ‘life’ where numbers are better than expected in the current ‘circumstances’.
People always overspend at Xmas.
I was at Cheltenham today and bar the admission fee spent absolutely zip on food and drink. My mrs bought herself a gin and tonic and shat her knickers at the price so that was the end of the spending from there on!
The weather was fine, tomorrows a bank holiday and there was no Saturday racing for two weeks (including a Cheltenham abandonment) prior to todays meeting. Field sizes were good across all meetings.
I’d imagine this was an outlier as opposed to a more positive sign things are going to take a noticeable turn for the better.
Chezza enjoys a Day Not At The Races.
Today, Chezza wasn’t at Cheltenham and tomorrow Chezza won’t be at Plumpton.
Always nice to be £40-£50 up on the day in saved expenses before you’ve even had a bet.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Plenty of people doing just fine thank you very much. Always has been, always will be.
Has the media been saying we’ll ‘all’ be poorer? It’s pretty much an impossibility.
“Field sizes were good across all meetings”
Owners wanting a festive period day out you’d imagine
This was the first Christmas since 2019 when crowds could attend freely and without restrictions.
A few meetings in December 2020 were allowed limited crowds under the Tier system – but a complete ban on crowds was back in place by Boxing Day. Several of the traditional festive fixtures were cancelled because there was no point in racing without crowds.
In December 2021, crowds were still not permitted in Scotland and Wales. I expect the attendances in England were down, thanks to the media and certain sections of the government over exaggerating the risk posed by the omicron wave.
In the circumstances, it is not at all surprising to see crowds want to return to the racecourse. The same thing has happened with the hospitality industry, with pubs and restaurants all having their first proper Christmas since 2019 as well.
Musselburgh looked to have a decent crowd yesterday , today is old firm day , gladly I’ll be at work so will be going against the flow of police cars/ambulances etc once the fighting starts as I head home , money does not matter on old firm day , nor the football , we want a fight , we demand a fight …. and I’ll be God damn drunk when I do it
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
On a side note, is today the worst racing programme in the history of Bank Holidays?
Did the BHA even realise this was a Bank Holiday when compiling the fixture list?
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"“Is today the worst racing programme in the history of Bank Holidays?”
No, last year was even worse.
New Year’s Day was a Saturday, which meant Monday 3rd January was a Bank Holiday. The racing was dismal.
Maybe people have had enough after Christmas and New Year and the BHA reckon not enough people want to go racing to justify putting on the usual amount of Bank Holiday meetings.
Here is the thread from last year:
TRF dog’s breakfast zone – please swerve to avoid this puddle!
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Thanks, CAS, I’d forgotten about that – at least I’m consistent, year on year, in the things I moan about!
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"The BHA reckon? With not much else on it could a missed opportunity after seeing all those numbers attend over the period.
I can imagine the presenters on ITV racing will welcome a break though after their stint over Christmas and the New Year.
Two points – first, based on attendance figures for previous years when this Monday was a BH, the crowd numbers wouldn’t justify more or bigger fixtures. Cheltenham used to have a two day meeting over New Year and hardly anybody ever came to the second day – nor was the racing of good quality, as the top horses had all had suitable races in the previous week.
Second, which courses should be racing today? Just about every NH track in the country has either already raced since Xmas, or has a fixture scheduled for the coming week. Blaming the BHA is a stock response, but they can’t force any track to stage a meeting. If the racecourses don’t think it’s worthwhile, there’s nothing the BHA can do.
Wake up and smell the horses.
Screen life is one thing but to feel sometimes connected physically is not a bad thing. Experiencing all the hullabaloo that goes with a day out at a racecourse cannot be replicated on a 6 inch square screen or even on the bigger menace screen. No better time to go than Xmas time when there is an atmosphere of joy and love and people are less likely to step on your toes. Just think about this all you nerds and clicksters.
I may go for the fun of it, but possibly, as the second most popular bloke on the forum recommends, at a quieter time when the horses outnumber the ‘goers and you are more likely to see a shy ghost.* Xmas goodwill…
Sorry to trump you Alan – we must have been writing together but my post was longer than yours in time not substance
“Just about every NH track in the country has either already raced since Xmas, or has a fixture scheduled for the coming week.”
I’m not sure the relevance of this entirely stands up to scrutiny.
Some courses still race on consecutive days this time of year, never mind twice or more over a two-week period.
And there are AW Flat tracks too.
The world of football delivers seven Championship fixtures today and games in the Leagues below too.
No racecourse can be forced to race, but I think the racing industry as a whole is missing a trick with what’s on offer today.
The BHA is often a soft target, agreed, but the lack of leadership is palpable – would Julie Harrington even know without checking which tracks race today?
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"“Just about every NH track in the country has either already raced since Xmas, or has a fixture scheduled for the coming week.”
I am sure Newton Abbot and Stratford both used to have meetings over the Christmas period but both have now moved to being summer tracks.
About the only track that has not had racing is Aintree – and that has a meeting scheduled on Boxing Day this year.
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