Ludlow 2.45 – Void Race

[espmadrid]

Starters need to be less fussy, there was nothing wrong with the start.

How the recall man didn’t see the starter waving his flag is a mystery.

You can’t blame the jockeys for that one, but they probably will.

....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.

[phil walker]

A total farce of a race. I agree entirely with the comments of Jonathan Neesom on Racing UK:

1. Why was the race deemed a false start?
2. How/why didn’t the flag man see the starter wave his flag to signal it was a false start?
3 Who made the decision to void the race about a mile from home, and why did it take so long?
4. Why has nobody in charge of racing, whatever they are called now, made a statement about this race?

It was extraordinary and totally embarrassing. Luckily I didn’t bet in the race but feel sorry for anybody who did, and am surprised the jockeys didn’t raise merry hell on course.

[moehat]

I did have a bet in the race and my horse was going nowhere so I was relieved to get my money back. We were stood near to the start but didn’t see what happened; Mike did say that someone was waving a flag but I said that surely they knew what they were doing, and the horses jumped the first fence [which was just a few yards from the start] pretty much in a line. They were on the second circuit when they pulled up. Bloke next to us said he’d been going racing for 50 years and had never seen anything like it. Bookies couldn’t even give people their money back until an oficial announcement was made, and that took ages.

[grey dolphin]

Yes. There appeared to be nothing wrong with the line up so we were at a loss as to why O’Neill was waving his flag. It was a short run to the first and the flagman seemed more intent on getting out of the way than watching. Noone was disadvantaged at the start and it would have been more sensible to let the race finish and hold an enquiry afterwards, although no doubt that would have broken some technical rule.

If I was an owner or trainer I’d be furious and looking to recoup some expenses.

[apracing]

Although there’s been no official indication, I believe the reason the starter called a false start was that the rubber band snapped – i.e he didn’t release the starting tape himself.

So we have the starter (an ex jockey) acting like a pedantic nitpicker, the recall flagman (an ex jockey) acting in the spirit of self preservation and the clerk of the course (an ex jockey and failed trainer) hardly acting at all.

Their actions will be covered in a report to the BHA, which will be written by the stewards secretary (an ex jockey).

So absolutely no chance of a whitewash or a cover up there then!

[highflyer1]

Luckily I didn’t bet in the race but feel sorry for anybody who did, and am surprised the jockeys didn’t raise merry hell on course.

The punters get their stake money back, no need to feel sorry for them. The jockeys couldn’t care less, they get their fee. It costs each owner £500 on average to have a runner on a Sunday — a combination of the entry fee, the horse transport, overtime for the travelling head lad and the groom, and the riding fee. No, it’s the owners who should be raising merry hell.

It will be an utter travesty if Ludlow are allowed to pocket the £12000 prize-money. If the BHA have any sense of decency, they must direct that this is apportioned equally among the ten owners as compensation for this sorry debacle.

[moehat]

I was going to ask about compensation for the owners and what happened to the prize money. Can’t believe they aren’t automatically compensated [especially as I did hear of one trainer, not in this race, who charges all owners for mileage even if the horse box has several horses in it].Annoyingly can’t see a recording of the race and am trying to remember which horses were going particularly well as I’d assume their handicap mark won’t change [that would add insult to injury].

[eddie case]

Absolute farce, why did it take so long to stop the race? who decided to stop the race after 2 miles?
Does anyone have any recollection a few months ago of the starter waving his flag furiously but the race being allowed to continue in it’s entirety?

Think the advanced flagman was thinking of self preservation, maybe partly understandable with the short run to the first and the runners coming at speed at an angle from off the track.
Why do they continue to start jump races in this method, the ones on the inside are likely to be squeezed out against the inside rail as occurred with Carruthers at Cheltenham.

If this method continues the advanced flagman needs to be further down the track at Ludlow, maybe stood on top of the second fence in the race.

[moehat]

[homersimpson]

If this method continues the advanced flagman needs to be further down the track at Ludlow, maybe stood on top of the second fence in the race.

I’m sure the HSE would be very interested in this proposal.

[andyod]

Are they going to haul all the jockeys in before the stewards like they did at Liverpool? Or maybe just all the staff of the track.How much will they be fined? I would think those jobs at the track are all part-time,a couple of times a year,not enough money to take a regular person from a full time job.

[Drone]

We were stood near to the start but didn’t see what happened; Mike did say that someone was waving a flag but I said that surely they knew what they were doing, and the horses jumped the first fence [which was just a few yards from the start] pretty much in a line. They were on the second circuit when they pulled up

Did you enjoy Ludlow Moe? as if memory serves a trip there was on the list of eager must-do’s during your retirement

Umm…Ludlow Moe…has a nice ring to it

[moehat]

I’m a regular now, Drone

. Our racing club went there so we met up with them. It’s quite a treck from Derby, so we did plan to spend the weekend there, but my dog has been a bit poorly and I couldn’t face putting her in kennels. It’s a stunnigly beautiful area and we really will stay for longer next time. On the way back last time thesatnavlady kept trying to get us to go onto the M6 toll road but, in trying to ignore her we ended up in Wolverhampton . This time I decided that she probably knew what she was talking about, so we did use the toll road and it made the journey an absolute doddle

. It’s a bit like motorway driving was when the M1 first opened; we were tootling along in the inside lane as most cars whizzed past us very fast in the outer lane[we did wonder if the police ever monitored it]. On the way there we passed a tree we weren’t sure about but decided it was a copper birch; we then noticed that Copper Birch was running in the ‘void’ race and, as we both had an ‘aha’ moment, Evan Williams [his trainer] walked past us. That was it; must have been an omen [even though his form figures looked pretty grim]so we both put 50 pence towards a bet on him which, thankfully we got back. He was the first horse to pull up but we don’t know if he’d just twigged there was a problem [the jockey, not the horse] or whether he was so far back he’d given up. We always like to watch them jumping the last fence so we took ourselves off there only to find it was the first fence as well. Quite an adventure really; whod’ve thought of there being such excitement at Ludlow and ‘we were there’. We were a bit concerned that there was no one standing near to Ludlow’s version of the Melling Road and hoped that, when the races were on, they did actually put the rail across and stop people driving across the track

Still, as pensioners, we also got our free cup of tea and bar of chocolate. A grand day out.

[Drone]

The tree you saw was more likely to have been a copper beech but the copper birch does exist, and I’ve no wish to put a dampener on the best betting system going so I feel sure Copper Birch would have won…gutted for you

From Ludlow to Wolverhampton, talk about a culture shock

Never been on the M6 toll road; it does sound like a reincarnation of motoring as it was meant to be

http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/50/285×214/137724_1.jpg

That’s you tootling the slow lane in the Morris Minor, me pressing hard on the Mark 2 Jag’s loud pedal in the fast lane and Gingertipster in an Austin Somethingorother hogging the middle lane

[moehat]

Blimey; I hadn’t noticed that. We had said the tree was a ‘Copper Beech’ and I hadn’t spotted that the horse was Copper ‘Birch’ No wonder it never looked like winning Need to pay more attention when I’m having coincidence bets….The toll boothes were weird as well. Some of them manned but some not [The Phantom Tollbooth]. Mike said there was a brilliant article in one of the papers about Ludlow yesterday, the guy who wrote it saying that he hadn’t realised you couldn’t actually go there for one day as it took so long travelling from any main road to the course itself, along windy roads which are always full of tractors; he said he realised he should have cancelled the milk and advised his family he would be ‘away for some time’. We’re going to stay in Much Wenlock next time [which sounds as if it should be in the Cotswolds].

[Burroughhill]

The mother-in-law lives in Ludlow so we have to make the regular cross country trek through those windy lanes. You should try it in the winter when there’s snow on the ground

[moehat]

We noticed the snow stakes [or whatever they’re called] in the ground [they towered above us which was a bit worrying ]. Is there a pub/bed and breakfast place in the area that you’d recommend [not your MIL obviously!]? Preferably half timbered with a resident ghost.

[Author]

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