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A sort of opposite to Warwick.
Warwick has always staged plenty of decent jump racing but aside from a few mares and fillies events there was nothing very exciting about its flat racing. They now concentrate on what they do best.
As long as I can remember Leicester has had the capacity to attract a decent 2yo or two. No doubt someone will be able dig out the odd one but for the most part the course doesn’t attract quality jumpers. Today’s card is a pretty fair reflection of what is served up meeting after meeting. Unless the crowds have shot up since I used to go then it is difficult to see much point in staging such low quality races on a regular basis. Leicester doesn’t even have the advantage of attracting the odd decent horse in a bumper.
Leicester has a few decent races – I remember Jack The Giant racing there a few years ago. It attracts a few decent novice chasers too.
Besides, quality of racing is not necessarily an indicator of the racecourse quality. Personally I think Ludlow’s configuration is appalling (too sharp, too flat, uninviting and soft fences), but that course does quite well from the fixture list.
Leicester has its charms, particularly the testing fences in the home straight.
I’ve never been to Warwick Stilvi, it does sound a bit grim
The nearest I’ve been to there was Stratford, when we were down
visiting the wife’s sister. I enjoyed the meeting there, some
decent fields. I remember it well, I spent the morning studying
form and managed to bag one winner. Mrs BigG liked one because it
had big ears and others because they had “happy names”. She had
3 winners
That sounds a bit more appealing TYF, I guess racecourses aren’t a one
size fits all when it comes to opinions as to what floats your boat.Oops, I got the wrong handle on that one didn’t I Stilvi. I answered as if
it were Warwick you thought should go flat, instead of Leicester. I
think the heading “LEICESTER – WHY DOESN’T IT GO FLAT ONLY” was a clue.Note to self….READ the bloody thread, before making a complete eejit of
yourselfOi! Leave Leicester jumps alone. There’s more to horse racing than watching processional grade 1’s you know. In the flesh Leicester on a cold December day with an adequate crowd is now a more pleasurable experience than any of the packed out four days of the festival. Obviously the quality isn’t there but there are still 6 or 7 winners on the day and the majority of the crowd are there to watch the races. I shall more than likely be there next Wednesday to enjoy a very pleasant day which will start with breakfast at Kims in Shepshed and finish with a meal and some beers at the George & Dragon in Thringstone
I Like the look of Leicester NH. They seem to have all their fixtures in the grim winter months which has deterred me from making the long trip there but I intend to one day.The racing seems interesting at a moderate level and seems to throw up some promising chasers. I can understand that it would not be a Saturday course, rugby and for the moment football no doubt major local draws.
I would imagine that if they stop having any NH racing they will lose a vital revenue stream through the winter months and that could/may have an effect on their ability to remain a going concern only hosting flat racing
Warwick were pretty much forced to go all NH when they couldn’t seem to solve their issues with the tight home turn on the flat course, it caused a fair few amount of horses slipping and falling (including some fatalities) and the remedial work on it didn’t seem to solve the problem. I assume that for the relative low grade flat racing that they produced (although G1 winner Timepiece and multiple G1 placed Secret Gesture are both on the roll of honour for the Warwickshire Oaks) it just wasn’t cost effective for them to spend the amount of money needed to actually sort the problem out once and for all.
Another course I always wondered about is Lingfield, it may be my own perception but I recall more often than not that they have to abandon NH fixtures on account of a waterlogged course and then the times that they are able to race it is usually on heavy barely raceable ground.
Oi! Leave Leicester jumps alone. There’s more to horse racing than watching processional grade 1’s you know. In the flesh Leicester on a cold December day with an adequate crowd is now a more pleasurable experience than any of the packed out four days of the festival. Obviously the quality isn’t there but there are still 6 or 7 winners on the day and the majority of the crowd are there to watch the races. I shall more than likely be there next Wednesday to enjoy a very pleasant day which will start with breakfast at Kims in Shepshed and finish with a meal and some beers at the George & Dragon in Thringstone
If you want to make a social occasion out of a day watching poor quality racing that’s fine.
It would be interesting to see how many people agree with you. Does anyone know the numbers of paying customers? I suspect outside those connected to the runners the figures wouldn’t look that positive.
‘If you want to make a social occasion out of a day watching poor quality racing that’s fine’…
….if that means watching racing with a small but select group of enthusiastic people[along with pleasant and welcoming racecourse staff] then the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. I love standing down by the last fence watching the horses; there’s always quite a group of people down there doing the same [ie not inside propping up the bar]. Also, if anyones interested in that sort of thing, I’ve been told that there’s a very interesting botanical gardens just across the road; worth a visit if you arrive at the track early.The seven NH meetings staged in 2015 so far have reported attendances of between 509 and 848, the last figure being the number for the Sunday meeting last weekend.
On the flat, they have two big days – the meeting staged on Eclipse Saturday in July, which I assume is marketed as Ladies Day saw 8,500 turn up (or is it a concert?) – the Sunday meeting in early August 4,000. Apart from that there were just over 2,000 present for the Saturday meeting in April, but the rest were under 2,000 and the autumn cards that produce the useful 2-y-old maidens get less than 1,000.
The seven NH meetings staged in 2015 so far have reported attendances of between 509 and 848, the last figure being the number for the Sunday meeting last weekend.
On the flat, they have two big days – the meeting staged on Eclipse Saturday in July, which I assume is marketed as Ladies Day saw 8,500 turn up (or is it a concert?) – the Sunday meeting in early August 4,000. Apart from that there were just over 2,000 present for the Saturday meeting in April, but the rest were under 2,000 and the autumn cards that produce the useful 2-y-old maidens get less than 1,000.
Thanks, it appears from those figures that even the possibility of seeing some quality doesn’t get customers through the gates.
You wonder how low the figures would actually be if you took away those who had a direct interest in the horses running on that day?
Who would benefit from no jump racing at Leicester? The low quality jump races there would only be run at some other track anyway.
I was disappointed they removed the cross fence (ditch) there a few years ago, thought it was a good spectacle just prior to coming into the straight.
You wonder how low the figures would actually be if you took away those who had a direct interest in the horses running on that day?
Those figures do include complimentary badges as well as paying public and members, so yes, you could comfortably shave more off each meeting’s figure.
I presume Leicester, still an independent course if memory serves, must be content enough that the takings from 21 Flat meetings during the year (inclusive of at least one concert meeting each summer) offsets any losses incurred from just 10 jumps fixtures; losses perhaps exacerbated by the fact that there’s still plenty of jumps races there that don’t appear to have any sponsors. At least, none of the six races at the recent Sunday fixture bore a sponsor’s name (not even a betting firm’s), which certainly isn’t the norm nowadays.
Then again, their annual December 27th fixture can often pull in a better crowd – invariably four figures, and over 3,000 as recently as 2011 – so the place isn’t wholly incapable of drawing in paying punters during the winter.
I’ve never found the course enticingly simple to get to, and maybe that puts off others as well. Sure, it sits just off the southern part of the city’s ring road, but at the end of a stretch which shrinks from three lanes to one a good way before it reaches the course and really doesn’t afford you that quick a journey. It’s neither far enough out of town to be in any way a rural track, yet not as well connected by public transport as some urban venues to be easily reached by such other means.
I’m sure some b*ggers would love to stick a couple of hundred houses on it and extend the sprawl of the Oadby area yet further. I’d rather they didn’t. It’s a proper course, with proper Cheltenham-alike white wooden framed permanent obstacles (not many of these around any more) and a proper test of rhythm jumping and stamina. Moe’s already alluded to the friendliness of the place, and I’m honour bound to make mention of the superb salt beef sandwich stall as well.
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.
The seven NH meetings staged in 2015 so far have reported attendances of between 509 and 848, the last figure being the number for the Sunday meeting last weekend.
Those figures seem uninspiring and to put them in to some sort of context with other courses, are indeed uninspring, with only the AW tracks at Lingfield and Southwell regularly pulling in crowds of less than 1000
You can delve for yourselves at:
http://www.hblb.org.uk/attendance
and on the ‘Select report’ menu choose ‘Racecourse and Year’
I’ve been to Leicester a couple of times, both Flat meetings and while not quite feeling I’d landed in heaven, enjoyed the experience, as I have all racecourses. Some are just better than others
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