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drop the Ballymore / Sun Alliance hurdle,, surely no Corm,, look at the list of winners of that,, since ive been following racing its almost a whos who of racing certainly in the late 1990s . 00s -tho some had bad luck with injuries and would have undoubtedly been top class – don’t think ever after the race it is a poor one that wins this one
Istabraq
Barton
French Holly
Hardy Eusatace
Monsignor
Simonsig
Faugheen
just of top of my headnow Samcro
I like the Ryanair aswell – big stretch from 2m to 3m 2f,, whilst I can see the arguments to beef up QM and GC
Mares Novice is waste of time, Fred Winter aslo, Cross Country entertaining but not championship racing,, would have these 3 gone first long before the ones mentioned
As much as i understand the promotion of the mares races for the breeding industry etc. Wouldn’t it be better if they were put into the Mares race day that has been announced at Cheltenham?
This would mean they wouldn’t be involved in the festival which would help cure the heavily diluted festival.
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!For the love of god no……just no.
We already have enough races for a lot of the best horses to have options to actively avoid each other – whilst I do like the Ryanair Chase there is no doubt (this year being a prime example) that it does give potential QMCC & Gold Cup runners a slightly easier alternative with the JLT similarly taking away from the Arkle & RSA.
If we are not careful, it could very well end up with us having races for every category of horse to run in and the Festival being 7 days. No doubt the bookies are all in favour but then quantity over quality will always be better for their bottom line.
As a side note, the idea that the Albert Bartlett is a rubbish race in this thread has been rubbished by the 2017 winner Penhill winning the Stayers Hurdle.
It’s not that the Albert Bartlett winners are rubbish, MOM; it’s that it’s too similar to the Ballymore. There’s no strength in depth as competitiveness falls as a consequence of having two staying novice races, enabling connections of the best horses to avoid each other. First three home of the 2017 Albert Bartlett – Penhill, Monalee and Wholestone should’ve run against Willoughby Court, Neon Wolf and Messire Des Obeaux. ie There wasn’t much of note in either race outside the first three home. Ditto 2018; Kilbricken Storm, OK Corral and Santini racing against Samcro, Black Op and Next Destination would’ve made a far better race. Penhill would still have gone on to the Stayers Hurdle, even if he’d run in a “Ballyalbert” in 2017.
Value Is EverythingNo doubt the bookies are all in favour but then quantity over quality will always be better for their bottom line.
It’s not so straightforward, LD. Yes, in theory the more races the more money bookmakers make.
However, on the other hand a five day Festival reduces competitiveness which in turn produces shorter prices and yet more odds-on favourites… reducing money staked. The Cheltenham Festival is so good exactly because the top horses run against each other in competitive (higher odds) races. Reducing that competitiveness too much in the end will make the Cheltenham Festival like any other festival… All of which is not to the bookmakers advantage.
Value Is EverythingTake your point but the additional races we have because of the extra day seems to have had a greater impact on the competitiveness of the championship races more than anything else (as you pointed out in your first post), the big field handicaps are always oversubscribed and seem more competitive than ever each year.
Whilst bookies may not take as much on some races because of further dilution if we get a 5 or 6 day festival it is still another 7-14 races that they have to take more bets on and that will more than likely offset any drop in turnover felt from the other races especially if some of those additional races are handicaps (haven’t a clue what type they would be though).
Bottom line is I just don’t ever see them saying we don’t want a 5 or 6 day festival if they were asked.
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