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I see Fran Ferris is going Flapping, but what is it? And why is it called flapping?
Anyway, must flap…
I’m no fan of Ferris but it’s sad to see any man fall so low that they’re reduced to riding at Kempton Park.
Perhaps this link will help Librettist.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pony_racing/ptc.htm
Yes it did and I found this interesting:
"The PTC regulated the sport in the same way as the Jockey Club regulated flat racing. By 1929 Lord Derby had helped to give the pony racing world respectability and class. The Stewards of the PTC for that year were The Earl of Carnarvon, Major-General C L Gregory, Major F B Stapleton-Bretherton, Major R J Alexander, Sir William Bass Bart., and Viscount Lascelles K.G., the King’s son-in-law"
<br>Not much change from ‘real’ racing then!
As far as I was aware Flapping was greyhound racing not licensed by the NGRC ie. random dogs racing against each other with owners trying to land coups. Could be wrong but I suppose horse flapping would be the same :)
I was going to go with ‘watch Hughesy in a finish and you’ll see what flapping is’, but clearly I’m wrong :biggrin:
Flapping is horse racing not run under Jockey Club rules. It’s quite popular in the Scottish Borders and meetings take place every couple of weeks or so in the syummer. It provides a career for a number of ex-racehorses and jockeys. Tyrone Williams was riding at the last meeting I was at. I believe that once a horse or jockey takes part in a flapping meeting they are no longer eligible to take part in any ‘proper’ racing.
Stories that current racecorses may occassionally masquerade as ‘flappers’ under different names are completely without foundation. :biggrin:
<br>I’m fairly sure there was a case about ten years ago where a couple owned a horse that won a race up North in the wifes name and it was discovered that the same horse had been running at the Scottish flapping tracks in the husbands name.
They were warned off for a long period, so it was definitely not the done thing back then.
There was an article in the Post a couple of years ago about Hawick – if you do a search in their cuttings libray, it should be easy enough to find.
AP
Brilliant Glen! :biggrin:
Flapping takes place for dogs as well as horses, Martin. It’s pretty much the same practice under both codes – unlicensed and not really legal!
There’s a big flapping culture [horses] in Wales as well – quite a few years ago I knew a guy who was a big flapping jockey there. He also held a licence to ride in Arab racing and the "powers that be" threatened more than once to strip him of that licence due to the strong rumours about him riding flapping. I know of an Arab trainer [horses that is, not a middle-easter trainer!] also who used to run the odd horse flapping and clean up too by all accounts running them as something else before going back to Arab races.
An ex-colleague of mine used to train a load of dogs for flapping from his back garden – they didn’t like him as he used to clean up and land major gambles – something which tends to get you chased from the track by a bloodthirsty crowd!
A dog I owned a leg of went flapping once and an interesting evening out it was.
All the dogs were re-named – our one was just called Mickey – and rumours kept circulating that XX was a well known dog that ran in televised races at the time.
To be honest it was hard to distinguish between the racing there and at some smaller NGRC tracks except for the big question marks over their form.
I’m fascinated that flapping horseracing still goes on. With pony racing becoming main stream I didn’t know about it on this isle. I expect it gets the same sort of crowd that go trotting racing in Wales and Herefordshire.
I’d be interested to know from Jane if having well known jockeys like Williams and Ferris in the saddle will make those horses short priced favourites or something to avoid at all costs!<br>
Flapping is still pretty big in Ireland, Donegal and Kerry. The highlight of the year is the Dingle Derby. A lot of jockeys started off flapping when they were kids as you cannot ride in racing until you are 16. Adrian Maguire and others.
are there many caravans at these events ?
are car engines started and cars pointed at the gates at the start of each race ?
sounds dodgy as ****
to me :oMy brother had pitches at a few of the flapping meetings up here years ago. Great fun and an education on how to make a book when all runners were owned, trained and ridden by a bunch of conmen.
One day we worked at the Merrymas at Irvine in Ayrshire close to the old Bogside racecourse. A grey horse won the first race by a mile and then turned out for a later race but this time it was almost black! It started raining when the runners were parading and the dye washed off!
For some more info and pictures here is the website the Langholm Horse Racing Association which runs some of the flapping meetings in the Borders.
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