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They will want to keep in around London so it will almost certainly be Ascot or Sandown. London these days doesn’t sleep regardless of the occasion so I can’t see it causing many issues.
The more I know the less I understand.
In terms of losing an all weather track I really wouldn’t mind. I like the AW winter season, it keeps me on my toes, but 5-7 runner class 5/6 handicaps have been far too frequent this time around and that does absolutely nothing for me.
Would be a shame though, we’ve just recently had a Guineas winner learn his trade there and the course clearly attracts the big guns prepping for group 1 races e.g. Enable and Kalpana.I’d have thought Ascot could accommodate the King George meeting.
Maybe by putting the best of Long Walk day, King George day and Desert Orchid day into two days. Either one day on the Saturday before and one Boxing Day. Or 26th and 27th.Keeps it around London. Ascot is a bit more of a stamina track than Kempton, but not imo as much as the alternative Sandown or the other 3m Grade 1 at Haydock… And keeps it right-handed. So still very different to the Betfair.
Maybe also combining Clarence House and Ascot Chase days in January. Latter seldom attracts a top class field as it is thought too close to Cheltenham these days.
Value Is EverythingAscot, Doncaster, Windsor?
Would it really be transferred to a non-Jockey Club course? I doubt it.
Anyway, why does it have to be transferred? If it’s not run at Kempton, then it’s not really the King George. Just have a final running and consign it to history.
Yes, there probably should be a two day meeting to focus on over the Christmas period, but that could be achieved with some fixture reorganisations and include a new Grade 1 ~ 3 mile chase.
Have a think and come up with a new name.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
If they do can whole meeting , will Constitution Hill drop down to Fighting Fifth , Champion Hurdle each season or just egg spoon race Cheltenham into Champion Hurdle . With his public gallops added it’s a very large part of his racing life at Kempton .
“Would it really be transferred to a non-Jockey Club course? I doubt it.”
Agree. They are not going to give away one of their big races. That is why I have speculated about Aintree. It keeps it in-house.
Sandown Park is the only plausible alternative.
Dec Sandown 2 days , Xmas 2 days and a day first weekend Jan , track will be right mess in wet winter after that . Some meeting might have to be juggled . I spent a lot of time back in day at Sandown in 80s and 90s , i never recall it riding so soft so often . Hurdles must pay a bit for Summer watering i guess .
Bend out of straight gets a hammering through the card as they all use it .The podcast also speculated on the future of Leicester. I don’t want to see any more courses close down but if there has to be one, I would raise the least objection about Leicester.
It provides poor quality racing on the Flat and over jumps. There is only one half decent quality meeting, at the end of April.
It used to feature the Leicestershire Stakes, which was renamed the Richard III Stakes after the medieval king’s remains were discovered in one of the city’s car parks. It was a Listed race, then briefly held Group 3 status, then reverted to Listed until being discontinued in 2023. I believe there is now a handicap bearing the old king’s name instead.
The course is some way out from the city centre. Given the demographic of modern Leicester, it would be no great surprise if the course closed from lack of local support.
CAS,
This year it is the ‘Carling King Richard III Cup’ – a 0-105 handicap over 6F.
A lager, a lager, my kingdom for a lager …..
Leicester racecourse is a nightmare to get to. Miles from the station and difficult to find if driving there. Having said that, it’s a quirky little track with wonderful old buildings and I’d be sorry to see it go. NTD seems to start some of his good horses ( we saw Bristol de Mai there as a novice and realised they knew they’d got something special on their hands) off there in the way that flat trainers use Nottingham ( also difficult to get to). Find it heartbreaking to think of all of the history contained within Kempton Park. Whatever if becomes it will be full of the ghosts of great horses: Arkle, Kauto and Dessie to name just a few.
Mention of the demographic of Leicester,that could of course explain the poor attendance levels at Kempton and indeed most Sandown.a lot of once regular visitors have now moved far away.
“Whatever if becomes it will be full of the ghosts of great horses: Arkle, Kauto and Dessie to name just a few.”
I will be saddened if Kempton closes. I used to enjoy going there when I lived in London. It might not be the prettiest course but it does its job well. And those three names alone show its importance within racing’s history. If the Jockey Club do sell up, it will be a classic case of knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing.
I don’t particularly want Leicester to close either but I agree it is not easy to reach and in terms of its quality it must be a candidate for the worst course in the country. The Carling King Richard III Cup seems to sum up its decline – and I am by no means an admirer of the man!
Whenever we drive past what was once Derby racecourse ( the stands are now part of the cricket club I believe) I think of The Tetrarch racing there. I used to stay with a friend who lived in Old Bricket Wood near St Albans where Arkle used to go out for hacks when he was stabled nearby. I swear I could feel his presence. To me, the beauty of racing is the history and the connection to the past. And how great horses achieve immortality.
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