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From the RP:
The wife of Henderson’s vet James Main, trainer Helen Main, is understood to be preparing a statement clarifying his role in the affair.
Helen or Heather? RP or GC correct?
Or are they sisters-in-law?
The BHA Trainers’ directory has trainer Mrs H S Main down as a "Heather". If there is a Helen Main training as well, I’m not aware of her.
"Nicholas Henderson" is present and correct in the list also.
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.
And just to show the stupidity of some individuals:
‘It was gutting and galling to find that coverage on the day…was decimated because of information disseminated by the governing body’ (Simon Clare, Coral)
Diddums!
Apparently the poor chap’s organisation felt ‘eclipsed’ on Saturday.
Why is it stupid? To me, it is just another example of why Horse Racing plc has a lot to learn in terms of marketing the sport.
Simon made it quite clear he was disappointed from a sponsor’s perspective, but he also made the wider point about the sport in general.
Why would racing want this story plastered all over pages 1-7 of the RP on the same day as one of one of the best races of the season (when there would be many first time or once a year racegoers buying the RP)? Surely the punishment could have been released on a quiet Monday?
And just to show the stupidity of some individuals:
‘It was gutting and galling to find that coverage on the day…was decimated because of information disseminated by the governing body’ (Simon Clare, Coral)
Diddums!
Apparently the poor chap’s organisation felt ‘eclipsed’ on Saturday.
Why is it stupid? To me, it is just another example of why Horse Racing plc has a lot to learn in terms of marketing the sport.
Simon made it quite clear he was disappointed from a sponsor’s perspective, but he also made the wider point about the sport in general.
Why would racing want this story plastered all over pages 1-7 of the RP on the same day as one of one of the best races of the season (when there would be many first time or once a year racegoers buying the RP)? Surely the punishment could have been released on a quiet Monday?
I that the best you can do James?
So you are saying the BHA should manipulate its timings just so it does not pi$$ on your parade?
Your response typifies the inflated self-important view bookmakers have of their role.
Simon’s comments were poathetic and, in this instance, your response just compounds the matter.
Also are you seriously suggesting the Eclipse is a race that lights the fire of once a year racegoers and punters? Talk about talking up an event you have sponsored.
Maybe I was too harsh. Surely Mr Clare would have been just as concerned if the Henderson report was delivered prior to the …
Betfred Gold Cup
William Hill Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
Betfair King George
Victor Chandler ChaseWhat?????
I mean, he would wouldn’t he?
For the promotion of racing…. surely?
A bizarre response…
Also are you seriously suggesting the Eclipse is a race that lights the fire of once a year racegoers and punters
I’m suggesting that the appearance of Sea The Stars against the older horses made it, without any question, one of the best races of the season on paper.
However, the Coral-Eclipse, like any other race, is only as good as the horses that turn up in any given year. This year it looked very strong and lived up to its billing, last year it was instantly forgettable.
So you are saying the BHA should manipulate its timings just so it does not pi$$ on your parade
?
No – read my post again. I’m suggesting the BHA should choose its timing so it doesn’t pi$$ on its
own
parade.
Forget who sponsors what and answer this. Is it good for racing to have pages 1-7 of the RP covering a drugs related incident on a big race day?
Maybe I was too harsh. Surely Mr Clare would have been just as concerned if the Henderson report was delivered prior to the …
Betfred Gold Cup
William Hill Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
Betfair King George
Victor Chandler ChaseWhat?????
I mean, he would wouldn’t he?
For the promotion of racing…. surely?
It would be equally stupid to release it on any of those days.
A bizarre response…
Also are you seriously suggesting the Eclipse is a race that lights the fire of once a year racegoers and punters
I’m suggesting that the appearance of Sea The Stars against the older horses made it, without any question, one of the best races of the season on paper.
However, the Coral-Eclipse, like any other race, is only as good as the horses that turn up in any given year. This year it looked very strong and lived up to its billing, last year it was instantly forgettable.
So you are saying the BHA should manipulate its timings just so it does not pi$$ on your parade
?
No – read my post again. I’m suggesting the BHA should choose its timing so it doesn’t pi$$ on its
own
parade.
Forget who sponsors what and answer this. Is it good for racing to have pages 1-7 of the RP covering a drugs related incident on a big race day?
Not disputing Sea The Stars participation is significant but you specifically referred to first time and once a year punters – most of whom would have no ide the Eclipse was taking place.
Serious racegoers would have been aware of the Eclipse as well as teh Henderson affair.
Once again I reiterate it is sour grapes on the part of Coral because your sponsorship of the race,and therefore publicity, has been overshadowed.
Also sour grapes because on this occasion the bookmakers have not been able to manipulate the RP coverage to suit their own ends.
As has already been suggested Simon would not have uttered a word had this coincided with a race sponsored by another bookmaker.
Your response is typical of why racing remains in the dark ages – it always has to be about petty, factional, infighting and not about what is best for the sport.
It is
obviously
in the sponsor’s interests to get as much positive coverage for their race as possible – that goes without saying. If a similar thing had happened on Betfair King George day then Tony Calvin or whoever would be doing a very poor job if he didn’t make a similar point to Simon Clare.
You seem to be failing to grasp the bigger point here though – it isn’t in
racing’s
interests to have a story such as this released on a showcase day.
It shouldn’t need any manipulation by anyone for the sport to be portraying itself in a positive light when we have such exceptional animals on show.
I think Coral have a reasonable point here- it smacks of carelessness to divert media attention from an event like the Eclipse to a non-time sensitive one like the Henderson enquiry: would it have made any difference had the report been released in time for Monday’s papers instead? The vehemence of the responses to this surprises me a bit too, TBH.
I think Coral have a reasonable point here- it smacks of carelessness to divert media attention from an event like the Eclipse to a non-time sensitive one like the Henderson enquiry: would it have made any difference had the report been released in time for Monday’s papers instead? The vehemence of the responses to this surprises me a bit too, TBH.
I too have a fair degree of sympathy with Simon Clare’s position.
Also, I listen to Simon or Dave (who’s a top bloke) most mornings on the radio and again to be fair his position here is consistent with his usual upbeat promoting of the sport, regardless of self-interest.
You seem to be failing to grasp the bigger point here though – it isn’t in
racing’s
interests to have a story such as this released on a showcase day.
It is not in racings interest to have such a story released on
any
day.
However news happens and can you imagine the outcry if it came to light that the BHA was manipulating releasing news of such enquiries to avoid the news clashing with a major race that happens to be sponsored by some bookmaker. Or are you expecting racing to follow the same example of our corrupt government and release bad news when it is most convenient for them.
Anyway there was plenty of coverage of the Eclipse in Saaturday’s Racing Post – again I suggest the whinging comes from the fact Corals name was not emblazened acroos the first seven pages themselves.
If trainers/vets did not drug horses then manipulating or delaying bad news would not be necessary.
Racing has a few options to limit damaging headlines reference drugs:
Effective drug testing increased to deter the cheats. Testing
every winning
horse would be a start plus the latest accurate technology.
Harsher punishment if caught.
Status quo; some winners getting away with it; not too many caught; fewer distasteful news headlines.
Review the drug rules.I know which option I’d go for. It’s the horses I feel sorry for. I couldn’t care less about the abusers, cheats, and parasites
- Total Posts 170
I agree – the timing of the release was poor.
If you spend money sponsoring an event – you are not going to be pleased when the event would normally cover the first 10 pages of the industry paper and gain a large spot in National papers – only to be minimalised by the release of this story which, in all honesty, could have come out just afterwards.
Its simple really – its business sense. You look after your sponsors – the fact if its a bookmakers, drinks company, insuramce compant etc is irrelevant.
Can someone who knows about these things tell me if i’m wrong in what i’m gonnae say….
Is it not the case that tranexamic acid is indeed not illegal to use, and that it’s only illegal if it’s in the horses system during a race. Further to this there is no conclusive evidence that can prove that it was in the horses system during the race itself, and there’s been no definitive research been carried out to suggest otherwise ?
In my opinion also, i’d say that the horse wasn’t giving a performance enhancing drug, but rather a performing drug.
If tranexamic acid isn’t used in anything more sinister, and can’t be confused with anything more sinister than merely to reduce the bleeding of a cut, then i think it should be ok to use.
In football and other sports they use sprays and creams to keep players on the park in the event of a cut or knock etc..
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