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It remains to be seen how it works but it sounds promising, at least from a racing perspective. This season’s Derby Day was poor. Epsom’s committee deserves credit for recognising it was not good enough and acting on feedback.
Moving the 3 year old Dash to Friday looks like a good idea. Two back to back 5 furlongs handicaps before the Derby was very uninspiring. It meant that in the best part of two hours there was only two minutes of actual racing. That simply wasn’t good enough.
The “new” 7 furlong race sounds like it could work. I don’t suppose Haydock will miss it too much. The boozed and coked up crowds who go there on a Saturday would still pay to cheer on seven selling plates and not know any better.
It is a little sad to see the historic name John Of Gaunt disappear. Perhaps Haydock could rename another race?
Given the current obesity crisis, perhaps they could institute a John Of Lardarse Handicap?
🤔
Speaking as somebody who always attends on Derby Day and not so often on Oaks Day, having the Coronation Cup on the Saturday is very good news. Although I would be a bit disappointed if I was someone who had already bought my ticket for the Friday only.
Also I agree with CAS having two 5f sprints on the same day was never a good idea.
In the days when sensible people ran racing, it was known that punters needed at least one high quality race on each racecard for punters to get their teeth into. Moving the Coronation Cup to Saturday will leave the Friday card threadbare.
Anyone responsible for organising horse racing should follow what happens at York. For the vast majority of racing there is a highlighted race on each card. At Epsom, there is interest in their April trials meeting and on Derby day. As for the rest of their meetings it is mainly dross.
“Also I agree with CAS having two 5f sprints on the same day was never a good idea.”
Just think of the marketing opportunities…
I thought The Oaks, a classic race, was the ‘highlighted race’ on the Friday or Oaks Day as I call it.
If a card containing a Classic is now considered threadbare, it doesn’t really say much for British racing.
Admittedly the fillies classics can be weaker races than the colts versions but as long as there is a decent supporting card of some minor pattern races and some decent handicaps, I don’t see the Friday card being a problem.
The issue was with the Saturday card. Pay on the day tickets were something like £80. What was on offer was nowhere near good enough. The weather made it worse but there is no getting away from the fact that crowds on Derby Day have been in decline for years and that has only accelerated since the lockdown era.
It remains to be seen if these changes spark a revival in Derby Day’s fortunes but the Epsom authorities had to do something to arrest what was beginning to look like a terminal decline. Boosting the quality of the Saturday card and making the day more of an occasion looks like the right thing to do.
They should also be on the phone to Clarence House and ask King Charles III’s diary secretary to reserve the first Saturday in June. Whether anyone likes it or not, he is the head of state. The presence of that individual does underline it is an event of national importance. He might not be invested in racing as much as his mother was but it would still help the race’s standing if he was present.
For me the Derby has lost significant interest due to the usual suspects taking the prize with at times mundane horses. Coolmore have won 50% of the last 20 runnings.
The more I know the less I understand.
Sorry I forgot about the Oaks. But this race does not stir the imagination. I agree that the prices charged on Derby day are much too high given the overall content of the card.
Over the years I have witnessed interest in the Derby going down and down. Forty years ago roads leading to Tattenham Corner would be jammed at 10-00am in the morning. Nowadays you can drive there one hour before the start of the meeting, no problem.
Compare this with the Prix de L’arc de Triomphe where interest has grown over the years. The Derby meeting used to be over 4 days (Wednesday to Saturday), now it is down to 2. To make the Derby special why not abandon Friday and have the three Group 1’s on the Saturday and add 2 group/listed races together with 2 high class handicaps. Then for exitement it would get close to Arc day.
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