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No, I’m not having a go at Ferdy (this time) but it was very interesting to hear him spouting off about how racecourse stables are so unclean. He really put the boot in and well done to him.
Murphy blasts BHA after fine
by Andrew Scutts
FERDY MURPHY on Saturday labelled the BHA “the biggest bunch of headless chickens ever to come into racingâ€
dirty, stinking, wet old stables
..Good on Ferdy for refusing to allow his horses into the said stables for treatment……I would’nt put my horse in them either …I admire Ferdy’s stance on this. So much so that I’m prepared to pay a part of this outrageous fine – if nine other like-minded TRF members are also prepared to send £100.
I suggest that we send our cheques’ to HQ of BHA in London with covering letters.
Hopefully it will raise the profile of rules for some and rules for others – and the welfare of the animals.
I haven’t been in many racecourse stables but the few I saw while adequate but no palaces.
The BHA wouldn’t have a clue what they should be like as not one of them has ever worked in a yard in their lives.
The old boys cub are for the best part pompous a**es who are very stuck in their ways.The description bestowed upon them of headless chickens fits them well in many cases.
Ferdy Murphy is a bit of a character and how much of his outburst is down to sour grapes I don’t know for sure. I doubt any of it was.
The first thing that springs to mind is that if they are as bad as he says why are other trainers not commenting ?. Ask yourselves that….either Ferdy is off his head and is a total madman or the others have good reason to sit back and say nothing
Hard to imagine Paul Nicholls, Nicky Henderson, Alan King etc., putting up with them if they were that bad? Horses arrive there around 3 hours before racing and if they are in such a mess as Ferdy claims why are all the other trainers accepting it?
No sense in us writing to the BHA as we are not supposed to be allowed near them. Jockeys can’t go near them never mind the public. Your comments would fall on deaf ears and your letters filed in the bin.
What racing need is a committee made up of a few current members of the BHA along with ex racing people:- a head lad, a trainer, a vet, a farrier, a groundsman etc.with someone like John Francome heading the whole thing then racing would be run by people who actually know something about the game……..how they can control the likes of the standard of racecourse stables, when they haven’t mucked one out in their lives beats the hell out of me.
Francome has been going on about Stewards etc for years but no one listened to him or backed him up……..he hated them with a vengeance for the fact they know next to nothing about race riding and have no respect for anyone outside their clique which is much larger than you might think…..he had so much contempt for them he even took his you know what out and shoved it in Bill Smith’s hand when they were all pulled up for taking the wrong course one day and Smithy was the one doing the talking. Perhaps not the behaviour you would expect from someone who would love to see racing change at the top but I think doing thing like that came from being frustrated at others within racing doing bog all.
The only people who can change all that is the trainers owners and jockeys who should be the ones demanding change but they just go on accepting it. When people like Francome and Murphy have the balls to get up and complain and everyone else runs for cover they deserve everything they get. I would be glad to stick in 100 quid but not to help people who won’t back up a man bold enough to speak while they hide in fear of falling foul to the BHA at a later date or are simply in the old boys club themselves.
I’m a new member. As I was a new member of The Rotary Club, many years ago.
A collection was taken now and again for local charities or organisations that needed a little support – sometimes financial.
This lunch-time ( attended by some 30 local businessmen ) we were collecting for the local old peoples home Christmas lunch. Unfortunately, Leith in Edinburgh was not the YUPPIE village it is now and there was real poverty. Another good cause, I thought – I’ll throw £100 into the collection box, which was passed around the table ( Round Table !!!! ).
On the closing remarks of the lunch, it was announced that the total collected was £137 – a big thanks was given by the Chairman for this generosity. I never attended another meetings of The Rotary Club !!!!!!!
I don’t think I quite understand.
Why didn’t they treat the cut on board their lorry?
Many outfits wash their runners down outside before setting off for home. I can’t see the need to go back into a "dirty, wet" stable at the course.
What were the chemicals in the bag, btw? Perhaps someone thought they were drugs.
You are not allowed to carry any sort of horse medical supplies into the course…….If you read his quote he says he has refused to allow his to be treated in the horse boxes since Novemeber………that would not go unnoticed ,,,,,,,,,,Wouldn’t surprise me if Earnshaw was waiting for them to arrive
I’d have had more respect for his viewpoint if he hadn’t have used it subsequently to justify him breaching the rules.
This lunch-time ( attended by some 30 local businessmen ) we were collecting for the local old peoples home Christmas lunch. Unfortunately, Leith in Edinburgh was not the YUPPIE village it is now and there was real poverty.
Lambs House was it, quadrilla?
PS. They are somewhat on the wane, it has to be said, but there are still some streets in the Port, where yuppies fear to tread. You wouldn’t find them cutting through the Banana Flats to get from Giles Street to Bonnington Road anyway.
am I right in thinking that Martin Pipe made a similar complaint a few years ago, something about the barn that the horses go to after a race where they have to give a urine sample?
Fof,
You should have offered that eloquent opinion here!!
https://theracingforum.co.uk/forum/v … hp?t=71217
Like most governing bodies in our glorious country these days, rules and laws are not there to ensure the right outcomes for the masses. Instead they are there to ensure fine income for that authority..
Glorified traffic wardens…
Yes, I read the quote, Fist Fantasy.
The question remains, why didn’t they treat the cut in their lorry – off racecourse premises, if needs be?
It seems strange to risk and incur a £1000 fine for breaking the rules by bringing in illegal substances, just to treat a cut.
Regarding urine samples, I think these are only taken from the winner and/or any horse that has orders to be routinely tested. Most of the "dope pens" are kept reasonably clean, imo.
Racing people, like farmers, are not usually afraid of a bit of piss and **** or even blood, in my experience. This is especially true of NH, where many are quite used to hunting across rough country with all that that entails.
When the foot and mouth restrictions were on, the disinfecting measures seemed way over the top to me, and it’s not as though horses can get F&M.
I would agree with Ferdy when he complains of his charges picking up respiratory infections from the racecourse. Trouble is, there’s not much that can be done about the passing of airborne disease when animals are in close proximity.
Sean you can’t have read this bit "The cleanliness of racecourse stabling up and down Britain is appalling, and since November I’ve not allowed any of mine to be treated in the boxes,â€
Lambs House was it, quadrilla?
Indeed Grassy, I think it was – just behind The Shore.
My reason for posting this story and the moral:-
I’m willing to help, but not to fight on my own.
The chances of our cheques being cashed will be nil. It’s the issues that need challenged – from a body that the BHA have no control over. A challenging body like TRF, that is independent and free from any BHA reprisals.
Just perhaps, we can make a difference and change horse racing for the better. Making posts on this Forum will have zero effect – direct action and a little support, just might.
At Musselburgh there are two stables blocks. The one located close to the track and adjoining the school property is a shambles. The last time I had a runner is was in one of these scruffy brick built boxes. The yard was full of puddles and the whole place look a mess. I don’t know if the main stable block is any better.
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