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what is going on with managment thinking at sandown? i went there last saturday for the tingle creek chase and was amazed to find in the betting hall a santas grotto,a snowmachine in a tent, father christmas with his mates mr snowman and mr penquin ,and a big stage with a christmas tree on it blocking the route through the hall from the paddock to the course.
i thought it was a top class race meeting i was ment to be going to… not a kids playground!.
why not put all this crap downstairs in the esher hall out the way?
i havent noticed cheltenham doing anything like this to attract the dullards so why are sandown? no wonder their attendances are falling.I’m afraid it seems that racecourses are caring less and less about the people who come to see the racing. We went to Warwick yesterday and saw that the £2m development was seemingly all spent on a new restaurant – corporate entertainment and all that wins the day again. Perhaps some sort of proper car parking would have been more useful – we were up to our wheel trims in mud as usual. I’d be interested in other people’s views on racecourses that are lacking in care for the people who like to see the horses and those that perhaps are still punter friendly?
oh please dont get me started………….newcastle racecourse last season saw fit to give the kiddywinkles (little brats) inflatable hammers to run wild with, totally spoilt my day screaming and running around with no supervision. i know we have to encourage youngsters to take an interest in our sport but it seemed to me the parents simply sent them to play whilst they watched the racing much to the annoyance of almost everyone else,chipmunk
Hmmm, I’ve never been entirely convinced that the equation is always as simple as childrens’ entertainment = moronic, intrusive behaviour.
After all, venues from Cartmel to Hackwood Park routinely put on a whole funfair for the youngsters (replete with stalls selling tat such as rubber hammers) without there being any bother, likewise the similar (if slightly smaller scale) entertainments laid on by Fontwell when I went to its September Sunday meeting.
Maybe the location of the fairs, entertainments, etc on the course is crucial – in all three examples above they were situated in the centre of the course, away from the more grown-up matters. Maybe, equally, you’ve just been unlucky enough to encounter children whose annoying conduct at the track was merely an extension of how they behave (or have been conditioned to behave) at home. Quite a few facets to this one, I think.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
I was at Sandown too and didnt think it was that bad, but suprised it wasnt stuck in the Esher hall as before
Must admit I find society’s current obsession with children a bit tiresome. Its almost a capital offence to even suggest that they might just once in a while be a bit of a nuisance….
It was my first trip to Sandown so couldn’t comment on what it was like before, but I must admit to being a bit of a sit on the fence type concerning kids, one half thinks that a race course is not a playground, But by not involving kids are we not excluding the future racing fans?
Saying that though it didn’t stop me having a laugh at the two 6/7 yrs olds that ran past me at the bottom of the stands in the prem enclosure, hit the grass slope & went arse over tit on it leaving them caked with mud
Must admit I find society’s current obsession with children a bit tiresome. Its almost a capital offence to even suggest that they might just once in a while be a bit of a nuisance….
Wonderful to hear Clivex – I thought it was just me.
I remember being particularly annoyed at the Epsom Spring meeting when I was trying to watch a race and this child thought it amusing to keep jumping in front of me and waving his hands in front of my binoculars, watched by his Mother who thought it "so charming" – she doesn’t realise just how close I came to telling her child to eff off.
If people want to take children racing to get them interested in racing then fine, however what really gets my rag is when they bring them racing and then let them run around out of control.
I have to confess I have "accidentally" tripped a child as it has been running round out of control.
I have to confess I have "accidentally" tripped a child as it has been running round out of control
me too
was thinking about this late last night, and have to say that one of the reasons why I love racing so much comes from the fact that I have happy memories of watching the racing on the telly with my dad when I was a child, and most of my other interests [reading, theatre film etc] were introduced to me when I was young. So maybe a child that goes to a racecourse and has a really good day out will will think to go back and try it out when they get older. If racing depended on just those of us that are interested purely in the racing it wouldn’t be able to finance itself. I personally can’t understand people who just stay in the bars and get bladdered or those who stay in the stands and don’t go out on the course to get up close to the jumping….also a lot of people who enjoy their racing would stay away once they have families if their children weren’t made welcome……
I’ve just returned from a great week in Hong Kong where, like Singapore, children under 18 are not allowed to go racing.
I think if we didn’t pander to them some what we would lose their interest to other activities and I remember the thrill of being taken racing for the first time by my dad on my birthday.
My 4yo daughter has gone racing since she was in a pram but we are careful to take her to meetings where she won’t annoy anybody.
She goes to point to points every week where there is usually a funfair to occupy her and plenty of room to run around.
When she goes to smarter meetings we only take her on quieter days and control her carefully so she doesn’t annoy other racegoers. She particularly likes Countryside Day at Newmarket, where this year (despite the dreadful rain) she liked seeing the hounds, the ferrets etc and encouraged me to bid at the silent auction.
As Jeremy says it is the location of activities at the courses that is of prime importance and it seems that Sandown may have made an error with their Santa experience although having not been there I can’t really comment.
I think the most positive thing we can do with children is to get them to take an interest in the racing itself. Our daughter loves Frankie Dettori and Micky Fenton on the flat and Ruby Walsh over jumps and we get her to concentrate on them. They watch them mounting in the paddock and then she follows them in the race (she is well aware that Frankie usually wears blue…) which gives her a thrill. We encourage her to cheer for them but not to the annoyance of others.
At Newton Abbot this August we went for a busman’s holiday and it was great to enjoy a family day out. Our daughter loved the bouncy castle stuff in the middle of the course but also enjoyed the intimate paddock and especially liked standing near the bell they ring for "jockeys up".
Hopefully courses will continue to offer things for the kids but in an appropriate location and hopefully, like at the Shergar Cup, they will also offer interactive activities like autographs sessions etc to really capture the kids imagination.
My 4yo daughter has gone racing since she was in a pram but we are careful to take her to meetings where she won’t annoy anybody.
You’re being a touch modest here, Adrian – if my recollections of her at Dingley last year are any judge, it would take a hard heart to get annoyed at this delightful, well-behaved young lady at any venue. Also, in common with Happy Jack’s nipper, I seem to remember her being a better tipster than me over the course of the afternoon…
Our daughter loves Frankie Dettori and Micky Fenton on the flat and Ruby Walsh over jumps and we get her to concentrate on them. They watch them mounting in the paddock and then she follows them in the race (she is well aware that Frankie usually wears blue…) which gives her a thrill.
That Dingley meeting was the one that prompted the now-famous "Millington drinking from polystyrene cup, examining threads" etc. comments in the Mackenzie and Harris annual. Does your daughter similarly therefore already know that Millington usually wears orange and has a style all his own?
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Adrian – I only wish more parents were as responsible as you when they take their children racing.
What you are doing is absolutely spot on, it looks as though you are definitely rasing a future racegoer.
Sadly too many parents take the view the racecourse is a great big, enclosed, playground where they can allow their sproglets to run free without any supervision.
I think a global under 18 ban is, perhaps, pusing things too far. However I think there should be some strong enforcement to ensure parents keep their children in order.
Jeremy, I hadn’t thought of that. The fact that Patrick Milliington always wears orange should appeal because she gets to see him in most races every week and she won’t ever been confused by him having an outside ride!
She actually likes Countess Cathcart’s runners because she loves her pink and primrose halved colours. She even made me take a photo of her next to one of her runners at Fakenham. She also loves Julie Read’s runners because she comes from our village.
She loved Dingley because they have great ice creams and she liked going down the hill to watch the last fence close up. Sadly her biggest fascination was with the horse ambulance – children can be very ghoulish.
She has already started riding her pony "like Frankie" (ie toes in the irons and bottom in the air)!
I’ve just returned from a great week in Hong Kong where, like Singapore, children under 18 are not allowed to go racing.
Must be a new thing, certainly as regards Singapore. I went to Bukit Timah a couple of times when I was 15 (probably looked younger) and had no trouble either getting in or placing bets.
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