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Yup , we are all ready for wall to wall 0/55 after all those nice bookie chaps have to get their dosh back
Good Innit ….well done all round …except for the long term future of racing of course …..
IMO
Ricky
Yup , we are all ready for wall to wall 0/55 after all those nice bookie chaps have to get their dosh back
Good Innit ….well done all round …except for the long term future of racing of course …..
IMO
Ricky
Another nail in the coffin of the sport – but it doesn’t matter because bookmaker friendly fodder is the way forward now.
With Frankel, Excelebration and Nathaniel all off to stud there isn’t much to look forward to in terms of flat racing in 2013.
I’m reaching the point now where I could quite happily walk away from the sport and have no regrets whatsoever – for me it’s getting to there point where one more small straw will be enough to break the camels back.
I’m reaching the point now where I could quite happily walk away from the sport and have no regrets whatsoever.
See you later then!
No one’s forcing you to enjoy the sport or take part in it but with people like you always pulling in the opposite direction we’ll get nowhere we’re better off without you.
You tell them, MrUnoHugh!
There is so much negativity in the racing community. I think the people who cannot enjoy racing without a superstar Frankel figure are like football ‘fans’ who only attend cup finals. Plastic fans.
It seems like a type of snobbery when you can’t enjoy everyday racing, or sulk because you’re not winning on low grade races. This is a good deal for increasing race prize money and I think it should be celebrated.
I would agree with the two previous posts at how silly this argument has become. There has certainly been an increase in low grade racing and most of it is indeed fodder for betting shops. But it also provides much employment and opportunity for those lower down the racing pecking order.
As it’s detractors repeatedly comment, they never watch it and never bet on it. Yet it seems to worry them to death for some reason – it’s a full-blown obsession for Ricky!
I don’t understand Paul’s point at all. Flat racing is by it’s very nature regenerative. No, there won’t be Frankel et al in 2013, but who knows what we may see at Newmarket or Ascot, at The Curragh or York? To dismiss the whole season before the previous one had finished is absurd.
Mike
Cheer up lads! Increased prize money pool in the middle of a recession can’t be all bad.
I dislike low-level racing too, I think UK would be better with a calendar similar to Ireland, I annoys me that prize money in France and Ireland seems better than here, it annoys me the bookies benefit a lot from racing and put little back, it’s outrageous they export jobs abroad to avoid paying their due, but … good news is good news don’t put a bad spin on it.
Mike , let me explain my so called obsession …
Betting and watching low grade has no relevance for me personally , however the point is this
To continue getting the levy agreed , this Low grade dross will become more and more prevalent , who knows if there will be a ceiling on the amount staged , but I am certain you can see the long term health of the sport being eroded
Owners will eventually breed and race their horses in other racing countries , France , Ireland , perhaps even Germany , Uk racing will be mostly( apart from a few historic festivals ,) flat aw dross ..or turf low grade dross take your pick …..
If you cannot see this then fair enough
To the other numpties who think we should sit back and enjoy this tripe , then you obviously haven’t been used to the best racing in the world , and don’t know enough to make any difference
I rest my case , if you dont understand that the long term future of flat racing in the Uk being under threat , to make way for commercial racing to facilitate bookmakers , then you need to take a long hard look at where you and this sport are heading
IMO as always
Ricky
if you dont understand that the long term future of flat racing in the Uk being under threat , to make way for commercial racing to facilitate bookmakers , then you need to take a long hard look at where you and this sport are heading
IMO as always
Ricky
To see where the sport is heading look at Greyhound racing.
Instead of Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS) it will be Bookmakers Afternoon Racing Service (BARS).
" …….. and this afternoons BARS action comes from Lingfield, Southwell and Portman Park, with BERS* action from Kempton, Wolverhampton and Lucksin’ Downs, which is, of course, exactly the same as yesterday and tomorrow.
"Don’t worry the new artifical surface tracks at Haydock, Newcastle and Musselburgh will soon be opening, so we can bring you BMRS+ racing as well."
*Bookmakers Evening Racing Service (BERS)
+Bookmakers Morning Racing Service (BMRSRicky
Firstly, thanks for the insults as per usual. I really think it adds to the debate.
The canard about all owners upping sticks and disappearing has long been touted (it reminds me of all those people who are always ‘going to leave the country’ if there’s a Coservative/Labour government…never happens). By definition, low-grade owners are hugely more likely to be less well-off, syndicate-based fans who are primarily in the game for fun and entertainment. They race in the UK and will always do so.
The Levy system is unworkable for the future, we know this. However, racing has to deal with the here and now. If the bookmakers pay more Levy when there is more racing (which figures say they do) then I am really struggling to see why having a lot of racing is such a bad idea (in the current climate at least).
But there is a more important point that is rarely mentioned. Today’s Southwell card gives an opportunity for 91 horses to race. It’s not glamorous, there’s no black-type races or top stables but the show keeps going with absolutely vital employment for trainers, jockeys, stable staff, vets, farriers, caterers, lavatory attendants and Uncle Tom Cobley. These courses are a great proving-ground for young riders, up-and-coming trainers and small-time owners. This is the economics of real-world racing away from the glam and glitz.
You cannot have high-grade racing without low. You cannot have a Premiership without a football league. To remove all these meetings would crush the grass-roots of UK Flat racing, lead to huge redundancy and have a Beeching-type effect on our racecourses, who are doing their best to stay viable in tough economic times.
Mike
Ricky
Firstly, thanks for the insults as per usual. I really think it adds to the debate.
The canard about all owners upping sticks and disappearing has long been touted (it reminds me of all those people who are always ‘going to leave the country’ if there’s a Coservative/Labour government…never happens). By definition, low-grade owners are hugely more likely to be less well-off, syndicate-based fans who are primarily in the game for fun and entertainment. They race in the UK and will always do so.
The Levy system is unworkable for the future, we know this. However, racing has to deal with the here and now. If the bookmakers pay more Levy when there is more racing (which figures say they do) then I am really struggling to see why having a lot of racing is such a bad idea (in the current climate at least).
But there is a more important point that is rarely mentioned. Today’s Southwell card gives an opportunity for 91 horses to race. It’s not glamorous, there’s no black-type races or top stables but the show keeps going with absolutely vital employment for trainers, jockeys, stable staff, vets, farriers, caterers, lavatory attendants and Uncle Tom Cobley. These courses are a great proving-ground for young riders, up-and-coming trainers and small-time owners. This is the economics of real-world racing away from the glam and glitz.
You cannot have high-grade racing without low. You cannot have a Premiership without a football league. To remove all these meetings would crush the grass-roots of UK Flat racing, lead to huge redundancy and have a Beeching-type effect on our racecourses, who are doing their best to stay viable in tough economic times.
Mike
Great post Mike.
Perhaps I am just a naive numptie but I thought this was GOOD news!
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
You cannot have high-grade racing without low. You cannot have a Premiership without a football league. To remove all these meetings would crush the grass-roots of UK Flat racing, lead to huge redundancy and have a Beeching-type effect on our racecourses, who are doing their best to stay viable in tough economic times.
Mike
That is indeed true but the balance is going the wrong way and will continue to do so until racing gets it act together or it’s too late.
I like horses.
I like competitive horse racing, equally, whatever the level.
I enjoy races, any races, even more with a financial interest.I have never understood why people despise what they call "dross" racing. To me there is no "dross" racing in UK.
National Hunt is full of low rated ex- flat horses – are they now magically transformed to non-dross over hurdles/ fences? Are Point to Points all dross?If a brown object runs 2 seconds a mile slower than another, the racing spectacle / enjoyment / punting is not altered a jot.
I agree,
The "dross" horses have their benefits because you can watch them longer in the home straight adding to your racing experience rather than trying to watch an Epsom Dash for example.
It’s a sad fact that there are far more moderate horses than talented and even top-class horses.
If you are to have a racing industry, they have to be catered for. They have to be given opportunities to race and the so-called "dross" provides this.
I often struggle to summon up much enthusiasm for poor-quality Flat and all-weather racing but, as far as jumps racing is concerned, it provides entertaining viewing to many people, including me, even if the quality of the races is moderate at best.
Even poor, low-grade races provide a spectacle on many occasions through the sheer unpredictability of the action, including the potential for thrills and spills.
I can happily watch a poor quality jumps race in a betting shop or on At The Races even if it is regarded as beneath contempt by many people on this forum.
If you didn’t have the low-quality action, there would be nothing to make the better horses look good!
It’s a sad fact that there are far more moderate horses than talented and even top-class horses.
It’s not ‘sad’- it’s totally inevitable. There’s far more moderate competitors in every sport than top-class ones – as you rightly point out, that’s why they are top class!
Mike
Since I started taking an interest in racing there has always been the suggestion that the big owners will disappear overseas because of the poor prize money etc.
As of yet I’ve not seen it really happen.
In football you constantly hear that the bubble will burst but again still waiting.
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