Disappointing turn out at Doncaster

[tbracing]

What are peoples thoughts on the turn out at Doncaster today? Personally I think it was a poor advert for racing. Other than 22 in the Portland and a fair 8 in the Leger, the rest of the races were 5 runners or less with a 3 runner race and even a match race to finish the card.

TB

[LostSoldier3]

It’s all a symptom of the unacknowledged cancer within the sport.

The species is being inbred to death, horses are getting more fragile, more prone to illness, less viable as racing animals. Calyx (4 races, 2 years, 2 injuries) is the latest wonky donkey who’ll be injecting his toxic DNA into a genepool that could well do without him. Average no. of appearances per career and per year statistics are dwindling to quite appalling levels. At this stage of the season a huge amount have fallen by the wayside.

I’d suggest that tracks like Doncaster should accept reality and cater to supply and demand. Low-grade races are still very well subscribed. Let’s have less C2 handicaps and conditions races 1m – 1m 4f and more in the C5 – C7 bracket. It’s not sexy and the class snobs will object, but this is where the field sizes are holding up at the moment.

[Bachelors Hall]

I have no problem with small fields.

Hi LS
In which way are we measuring inbreeding? Obviously, the Darley Arabian dominates the tail-male but isn’t the taproot as constant as it has ever been? Also, if one looks at the pedigree of Phalaris (born 1913, raced 24 times and probably the most influential sire on today’s breed), he’s more inbred than Calyx. Other stallions born between 1913 and 1910 (Teddy, Hurry On, The Tetrarch, Son-in-Law, Bruleur) also have multiple instances of inbreeding.

Moreover, I’m wondering if the breed really is suffering for soundness given that fatalities (as a % of runners) on the flat have broadly been decreasing since 1994. Welfare measures such as watering have been an influence but your metrics of races per year and career only suggest that horses are running less (Best Mate being a notorious example and also a trend replicated within human athletics). The notion of keeping horses “wrapped in cotton wool” is something rather decried by sadists despite the benefits for health and performance. Incidentally, I like the theory that beginning a racing career after the horse turns three might have a more tangible impact on its soundness but I want to research that further. Nevertheless, while there’s obviously a huge bias towards precocity when it comes to fashionable stallions (because owners are impatient), the stallion market tends to be self correcting in any case since those with reputations for producing unsound horses or even foals with poor conformation aren’t financially viable and tend to be withdrawn or shipped off overseas.

I’m not entirely set on the “not enough good horses these days” argument either. Again, would like to see more reliable and thorough stats (maybe TF or OR or some other metric) but having looked at proportion of horses with RPRs over 100 from the few years I just had the energy for;- In 1991, 5.8% of runners recorded RPRs over 99 – not including Zonda who despite winning a race and placing third in a listed race, didn’t record any RPR. The 2000s are a little more reliable though so 2001 = 6.2%, 2005 = 6.1%, 2010 = 6.7%, 2018 = 7.4%. This indicates that the portion of horses in training capable of competing in pattern company is increasing thus the problem likely lies with the connections rather than the breed.

I’m probably wrong on all points and will readily accept this once shown evidence. But as it stands, my ideas (based on a very limited understanding) aren’t particularly consistent with yours!

[Chivers1987]

Prize Money. 6 Ran in Friday’s Mallard handicap over 14f. Why would connections send a horse there for 25k when they could run the week before at Haydock in the old borough over 14f for 65k. 16 ran.

[raymo61]

Bloody awful turnout Friday and Saturday!!

We pretty much have been every year for about the last eight years and did’t go yesterday!!

ENOUGH SAID!!

[Gingertipster]

Excellent points LS and BH.

On the point of horses starting their careers at 3 instead of 2:
I had that view for a long time but changed my mind after talking to a Newbury Racecourse vet. He told me there’d been studies in to it and they came to the conclusion (generally) things like sore shins and leg injuries would still happen in the same horses at 3 and older as they do at 2. However, at 2 horses are developing/growing much more and that actually helps recovery. The older a horse is the more time these things take to recover and National Hunt Flat horses (starting their careers much older) are the worst culprits. The latter may be something to do with those NHF horses having past injuries stopping them from racing before. ie Less sound horses to start with, but that in itself probably does not make up for the disparity.

Value Is Everything

[ham]

So doncasters turnout was down to alleged inbreeding LS? Hmm

[JJMSports]

Thought the week’s racing on the whole was very poor, in terms of both attendance, field sizes and prize-money. Terrible advertisement for ARC, just three weeks after a tremendous four days of racing at York.

[Author]

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